For the last year, the Wii U has been struggling for respect as a console. People have been waiting for the console to get games or at least a must-buy killer app. It may have taken a year but it looks like Nintendo has finally come through thanks to the latest game in their iconic Super Mario franchise.

The latest game in the Super Mario series is getting massive praise from the critics and appears to be the killer app that the Wii U desperately needs. While it may not be quite as great as Super Mario 64 or Galaxy, it’s certainly much better than New Super Mario Bros. U. Maybe that one would have been a system seller if they took the original SMB trilogy and updated it to modern graphics and gameplay tricks.

Giant Bomb (100%): World continues to make the case that it’s possible to reinvent a classic over and over again. World might not be the same revelation that Super Mario 64 or Super Mario Galaxy were, but it doesn’t look at traditions as a crutch, and instead uses what you know as a way to delight and entertain.

God is a Geek (100%): Beautiful, colourful, amusing, and bereft of any cynicism whatsoever. A utter breath of fresh air that plays like a dream; this is almost certainly the game Nintendo should have launched the Wii U with. However, here we are, finally getting the incredible Mario title we deserve.

VideoGamer (90%): With a secret world so good it’ll make long-term fans (and me) squeal with glee, and how easily it oozes personality and skill, Super Mario 3D World is the best entry the series has offered up in years. It may not hit the highest of highs that the plumber has done in the past, but it’s awfully close.

Edge (90%): In the same month that its platform holder rivals debut their new hardware, Nintendo has issued a timely reminder that it is games that sell systems, while also setting a new visual benchmark for the most treasured series in gaming. This is Mario like you’ve never seen him before, and unlike so many of his next-gen rivals, he nips along at an effortless 60fps. If the true measure of new hardware’s worth is how stark the difference is between it and what came before, then this is the most next-gen game that 2013 has yet produced.

The Escapist (80%): Super Mario 3D World delivers exactly the kind of experience that’s kept longtime gamers coming back to Nintendo’s flagship series for decades and that’s won new acolytes with each successive release. It’s at once a straight-shot of polished gaming challenge and a cozy drift through whimsy and nostalgia; video-game “comfort food” that’s surprisingly nutritious.