Mario & Luigi: Brothership – A Fun Ride That Runs a Little Long

Setting Sail for Concordia

The Mario & Luigi series has always had a certain charm from afar. I mean, it's a series of role-playing game style adventures staring the most iconic duo in gaming. It's absolutely something I’d meant to explore but never quite got around to. So when Brothership launched, it felt like the perfect time to finally jump in. New entry, fresh start, no homework required.

This time around, Mario and Luigi find themselves in the fractured world of Concordia, a land literally split into scattered islands by a mysterious force. It’s up to the Bros. to reconnect these drifting lands, restore order, and uncover what’s really pulling the strings behind the chaos.

It’s a strong premise on paper, and very on-brand for Mario. It's colorful, strange, and just a little bit absurd. But while the setting does a lot of heavy lifting early on, the journey to something truly compelling sure takes its time. And while I wasn't really sure what I was expecting out of the experience, I'm happy with what I got. Even if it took a lot longer to get good than I'm personally used to.

A Story That Takes Its Sweet Time

If there’s one thing that stood out right away, it’s that Brothership is in absolutely no rush.

The opening hours feel… safe. Maybe a little too safe. The game does a lot of guiding, a lot of explaining, and not a whole lot of grabbing your attention. The characters you meet early on don’t leave much of an impression, and the stakes take a while to really show themselves.

In fact, it’s not until many hours in (closer to that 15–20 hour mark for me personally) that the story starts to reveal its teeth. Once it does, things improve. The world feels more cohesive, the conflict gains clarity, and some of the later narrative beats land much better than the early ones.

There’s also a noticeable amount of hand-holding, both in story progression and objectives. You’re rarely left wondering what to do next, which is great for accessibility, but it can come at the cost of discovery and momentum. Depending on what you want out of an adventure like this, your mileage certainly will very.

Still, by the time the credits roll, the story does enough to justify the journey. It just takes a long road to get there.

Bros. in Battle: Timing Is Everything

Combat is where Brothership really finds its footing, and then sticks the landing.

The turn-based system is lively, interactive, and surprisingly strategic. Timed button presses keep you engaged while on offense and defense, turning what could be a passive system into something that constantly demands your attention.

"Bro Attacks" are the real stars of the show. They’re flashy, satisfying, and require just enough skill to feel rewarding when you nail them. Pair that with the Battle Plug system, which lets you tweak builds and adapt to different encounters, and you’ve got a combat loop that stays fresh for a long time.

There’s a genuine sense of progression here, too… eventually. The only downside? It takes forever for the game to fully open up. New abilities, deeper strategy, and more interesting options are drip-fed at a slow pace. Early combat is fun, but it’s nowhere near as dynamic as what the game becomes later on, and I would have loved it if we got more of the good stuff sooner.

Once everything clicks, though, it’s easily the highlight of the experience and I genuinely had a blast any time I threw the Brothers into combat.

Side Paths, Hidden Stops, and Mixed Rewards

Brothership doesn’t hold back when it comes to content. There’s a lot to do. Side quests, optional objectives, exploration, and more are scattered across Concordia’s many islands.

On paper, that’s fantastic. In practice… it’s a bit of a mixed bag.

Some side quests offer meaningful rewards such as new gear, useful upgrades, or little story moments that add depth to the world. Others? Not so much. You might spend your time completing a task only to walk away with consumables you’ll likely never use. That inconsistency can make it hard to stay motivated to complete everything, even if you’re the type of player who usually does.

That said, there is value here beyond rewards. Some side content expands on characters and adds flavor to the world, which helps offset the weaker main story moments from earlier in the game. It's going to be on you to decide if a little added juice is worth the squeeze though. While I had a fun enough time battling for experience points and more loot, the repetition for little reward wore on me. And that's not a great thing for an RPG.

A Few Bumps in the Ride

For a Nintendo Switch title, Brothership is generally solid, but not flawless.

There were moments where performance dipped, with occasional frame rate hiccups that felt a bit out of place for a game with this kind of visual style. It’s nothing game-breaking, but it’s noticeable enough to pull you out of the experience now and then.

The pacing, as mentioned before, is probably the bigger issue overall. Between the slow start, slow unlocks, and sheer length of the game, it can feel like it overstays its welcome just a bit.

Clocking in at around 60 hours for a thorough playthrough (all side content included), this is not a short adventure, and trimming some of that runtime could have made for a tighter, more impactful experience in my opinion. Or, if the rewards were more meaningful, I'd have been okay with the runtime here. But by the end, I just wanted to see the end credits and move on to something else.

Fun, But Easy to Drift Away From

At the end of the day, Mario & Luigi: Brothership is a solid, enjoyable RPG, especially if you’re coming in fresh like I did. It doesn’t hit the ground running, and it definitely asks for your patience. But if you stick with it, there’s a lot to appreciate: engaging combat, a charming world, and enough depth to keep things interesting over the long haul.

It may not hook you right away, and it may take its time giving you the good stuff, but when it gets there, it does deliver. Though you run the risk of fatigue by the time the game really opens up.

For casual RPG fans, or anyone curious about finally jumping into the Mario & Luigi series, I do feel that this is a worthwhile voyage.

Just be ready for a long one.