having done basically everything except for the super duper extra whatever that unlocks after all flagpole tops (whoever came up with this idea for 3d world or whenever it began needs to be shot, if you need to pad the game out with that then make the game better to begin with)
it's a good game and i had fun but i'm somehow underwhelmed
the special world was cool but not really memorable like SMW's and it doesn't serve any greater purpose since it can't be a shortcut. you don't get anything for finishing the final level of it either. so it existing is essentially just more stages which is.. fine i guess? mario world's secrets actually accomplished things for you progression-wise rather than just acting as bonus content detours. the design decision of using the modern mario progression of "collect things in any level to open a gate later" fucked them bad on that front, the game just seems directionless. wow, nice secret exit idiot, here's 50 coins from captain toad. go fuck yourself. why no top secret area or something to find to excite you?? hell, if you're going to have pipes to other worlds, at least squirrel one of the levels away in the exclusive area so you get more interesting content for exploring??
there aren't any truly clever secrets like some of the shit in SMW either, no ghost house insanity where you use the cape to fly up around the suspiciously high borders or tight P-switch timer doors. it wasn't particularly hard to figure basically anything hidden out and there aren't that many secret exits in the first place.
it feels like it was rushed or undercooked somehow but i know that's not true because they spent a ton of time on it and there's a lot of stages and content. the level design is certainly better than it has been for a very long time but i wish some of that had gone to making more clever or trickier secrets. also as noted there aren't really many bosses and the ones that do exist are all pathetically easy but those aren't really a mario mainstay anyways so whatever.
the search party levels started off dog shit but the first two are by far the worst, the others are okay i guess. bizarre design choice there too. some of the shitposting was funny
yes i bring up mario world a bunch of times in this post but it's because it's the closest mario game to this one, clearly inspired many parts of it, yet it fails to match its inspiration.
the wonder stuff was fun and made for a number of cute gimmicks i suppose