Princess Peach Showtime Previews Reveal It’s Exactly What You Think It Is, And That’s Great

gameranx.com:

Several previews of Princess Peach Showtime have hit the internet, and now we have a much better idea of what to expect from the upcoming title.

As we have seen from trailers, the conceit of this new game is Princess Peach entering each stage as a literal theatrical stage, each showing a completely different play. She puts on a different costume, magical girl style, to fit the theme of the stage, and they subsequently unlock a completely different gameplay style.

So, the thing many, if not all, of us suspected from the trailers, is that this game is going to be easy. Sure enough, various previews from games media and Nintendo influencers confirm that that is exactly what it is. Some previewers compare it to Good-Feel’s games, such as Yoshi’s Crafted World. Nintendo hasn’t shed more light on the staff who made this game yet, so it may turn out that this was a Good-Feel project as well.

Certainly, some gamers can also make comparisons to the Kirby games. Princess Peach Showtime doesn’t base its appeal on difficult gameplay, a la Dark Souls, or emergent game design or open worlds. It’s a straightforward action game, which places a huge emphasis on presentation and elegant game design.

So don’t expect to feel rewarded for coming up with complex new combos or inventing new ways of locomotion. Peach has a jump button and a universal action button, whose function changes with each stage. For example, Cowgirl Peach uses her lasso skills to attack enemies or grab items, and can then throw those items to other enemies.

On the other hand, Ninja Peach has stealth based gameplay, which incentivizes attacking enemies when they aren’t looking, but also just slipping away from enemies completely. Patisserie Peach represents another gameplay mode found in some of the stages; instead of platforming, she spends her time on stage baking various cakes and pastries, in a cooking mini-game reminiscent of Cooking Mama.

There is some challenge in the game, but that comes in a way