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Micro Review: Kill the Plumber World turns Super Mario on its head

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A reverse-platformer where good guys are bad, baddies are good, and hot snow falls up

Price: $2.99 / £2.29
Version: 1.0.2
Size: 63.0 MB
Platform: iPhone & iPad
Developer: Keybol

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The awkwardly titled Kill the Plumber World, well-polished after a successful Kickstarter campaign, mixes up the well-worn 2D platformer genre surprisingly effectively with a clever role reversal twist. Take control of a whole host of enemies as you try to thwart Mario – sorry, Generic Plumber Man – in his quest to save the Princess.

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Ever thought about the little guys before? Didn’t think so

It’s an interesting take on a familiar formula, and manages to stay fresh for a lot longer than you might expect. Each level is a brief, puzzle-like experience in which you need to master your own move set as well as the environment and the movements of the auto-running hero character. The levels are varied and interesting, giving you control of lots of different enemies with distinct abilities over the course of the game.

Though the cartoony graphics and upbeat audio are all original, the game is about as close to Super Mario as the developers dared to go without prompting a lawsuit from Nintendo. That’s no bad thing though, as it helps to elicit a kind of reflected nostalgia as you experience the Kill the Plumber take on old school mechanics.

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Sometimes you’ll control multiple enemies at once

It’s a love letter to 2D platformers, Super Mario in particular, and will force you to sympathize with the “evil” minions next time you play a conventional platformer. With dozens of levels over three distinct worlds and no IAP in sight, we’d definitely recommend giving this one a whirl.