Super Mario Dolor

Super Mario Dolor is a Blender game developed and published by Ziggity on GameJolt. It is a platformer and stealth horror fan-game based on the Super Mario Bros. franchise.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Great bait and switch premise. The game dupes you into believing it's a standard Mario game, then slowly makes things weirder and more unnerving until the game starts getting scary, and consistently stays at that unnerving mood throughout.
 * 2) Great replayability value. While the game is short, an abundance of collectibles, plot critical easter eggs, some secret levels and even multiple endings based on how many of them you find give players plenty of reason to come back and try to get the best ending. It's a great example of how a game with only a few levels can still have lots of depth.
 * 3) The gameplay is simple, but with good physics that are comparable to those in the real Mario games.
 * 4) Well designed boss fights that are decently challenging and require some thought to win without being too frustrating.
 * 5) Occasional violent moments that add to the game's creepy atmosphere rather than detracting from it. On a related note, jumpscares are used sparingly, but hit hard when they do happen.
 * 6) Rather elaborate plotline with good symbolism, genuinely scary throughout and a rather emotional conclusion, tackling themes of loss, grief, coping and acceptance.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The game's graphics aren't very good and are bootleg tier quality, though to be fair it's not a game meant to be enjoyed for the graphics anyways.
 * 2) Some moments are a little over the top difficulty wise.