No Man's Sky offers players an unimaginably vast, procedurally generated infinite universe to explore. Classic Super Mario games offer surprisingly challenging platforming through intricately designed 2D worlds which require precision and skill.
The two gameplay styles are totally incompatible - right?
Not according to the four Melbourne-based developers who just released No Mario's Sky, an indie homage that serves as possibly gaming's weirdest mix-tape.
Developed by Ben Porter, Max Cahill, Alex Mc, and Sam Izzo, No Mario's Sky is described as: "Featuring 1,000s of Goombas, an infinite universe, Muscle Toad, 'original' music, 'faithful' physics, social commentary about interplanetary colonialism, and a radical space ship; No Mario's Sky is the hackneyed remake-gone-mashup you've been craving."
Like the Mario games that graced the NES and SNES, everyone's favourite plumber hops around colourful, brick-filled worlds, stomping on enemy Goombas in search of Princess Peach. However, here he can explore both left and right around a scrolling and slightly curved world, eventually meeting (a disturbingly hench) Toad only to be told "our princess is on another planet". Cue Mario hopping in his shuttle and jetting off through space - 2D space, of course - to planets unknown, encountering randomly generated environments and variant foes.
The controls aren't quite as polished as Nintendo purists would like - 'Mario' can get caught on obstacles, and with only keyboard controls it's tricky to pull off the pixel-perfect jumps that made the originals great - but with a limited number of lives and a 'game over' when you've walked into one Goomba too many, the game is hugely challenging.
Most impressively, the game was created in just 72 hours for Ludum Dare 36, the latest in a long line of game jams. Held every April, August, and December, each event challenges creators to craft a fully functioning game over a weekend, with each Dare focused on a different theme suggested by the community. This most recent jam was centred on 'ancient technology' - in this case, likely a nod to the abandoned alien relics encountered in No Man's Sky proper.
For now, No Mario's Sky can be downloaded for free here. However, given Nintendo is fiercely protective of its properties, and recently forced the takedown of the similarly fan-made Pokémon Uranium, don't expect this to be around long.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
