Super Mario Eclipse pitched as the Super Mario Sunshine sequel players wanted

Super Mario Eclipse is getting pitched as the follow-up Super Mario Sunshine never got. A piece carried on Steam News is titled "Super Mario Eclipse Is The Sunshine Sequel We Always Wanted."

The argument starts with Sunshine, and it doesn't go easy on it.

The writer opens by saying it "isn't a great game," even while praising its look. They call its vibes "immaculate" and describe the visuals as "the epitome of early 2000s gaming nostalgia."

That's high praise for a game they're mostly criticizing. The piece credits Sunshine's blues and beach setting with a nostalgia that is "undeniably irresistible."

The core complaint is that all of that polish was covering for deeper problems. According to the writer, Sunshine "suffered tremendously from a rushed development cycle."

That sets up the case for Eclipse as the game that fixes what Sunshine got wrong. The opening of the piece doesn't get into specifics, though, so there's no word here on what Eclipse adds, how big it is, or who's making it.

If you've spent years wishing Sunshine had gotten more time in the oven, the pitch is easy to like. How well Eclipse actually lives up to it is something the piece's opening doesn't spell out.