Princess Peach: Showtime! is an action/adventure video game. It was published by Nintendo on March 22 and was made for the Nintendo Switch. It’s a simple and fun game that is aimed towards a younger audience, though still enjoyable for older fans of the Mario franchise.  

The game follows Princess Peach, who receives a flier advertising plays at the Sparkle Theater, but upon her arrival, the antagonistic sorceress named Grape, accompanied by The Sour Bunch, her minions, steal the show and trap any occupants inside the theater. After losing her crown, Princess Peach meets Stella, the guardian of the Sparkle Theater. Throughout the game, the goal is to go through different plays and rescue the stars in each play, called Sparklas. In each play, Peach gets a different power and a costume related to the setting of each play. 

There was a lot to enjoy while playing the game, with my favorite part definitely being all the fun outfits we see Princess Peach wear. Some highlights for me were Cowgirl Peach, Patisserie Peach and Ninja Peach, as their costumes are all very cute and fun to look at. The gameplay is simple and direct. It’s essentially walking around, interacting with NPC’s and standing on circular platforms that send you into levels, and following the directions in each play.  

As nice as the game was, it was easy to get bored. Sometimes there’s a such thing as too simple, and Princess Peach: Showtime definitely fits that description. After the first few levels, I found myself wondering about what else I could be doing with my time, or what other video games I could be playing. Being simple isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially since it is aimed at a younger audience, but it felt more low-effort than anything. It lacks the charm that a lot of the Mario games I played as a kid had and is far from engaging.  

Overall, if you enjoy short and simple games or you like all things cute, I’d recommend this game for you. You can find it on the Nintendo Switch for around $60.