Princess Peach: Showtime!

Princess Peach: Showtime! is a running-and-jumping game where you play Princess Peach, exploring a magical theatre and transforming into different leading roles. Play is like other Mario games but with more focus on your game-changing abilities. It stands out not only as Peach’s first solo game since 2005 but also for offering diverse, bespoke challenges that reflect the themes of her varying roles in both gameplay and aesthetics.

CONTENT RATING

Violence

PLATFORMS

Nintendo Switch

POSITIVE GAMEPLAY

Exploration

Identity

Imaginative

Playful

Simple Fun

PLAY STYLE

Player vs Enemies

When Peach's trip to the Sparkle Theatre is compromised by the villainous Grape, it's up to you to save the theatre and put things right. You traverse each room's stage and beat the challenge Grape presents in his rewritten script. Each sequence has one of ten themes that Peach matches, changing her appearance and abilities to adapt to challenges including combat, traversal and stealth, figure skating or even baking. For example, you play the Wild West-themed levels as Cowgirl Peach, who can grab items and enemies with her lasso and ride her horse through platforming sections.

As you progress through each level, you rally other actors to your aid and conquer the final challenge tests your knowledge of Peach's current moves. This could be a boss fight, a platforming trial or a big performance. Each transformation (Swordfighter, Detective, Kung Fu, Patissiere, Cowgirl, Dashing Thief and so on) requires practice to best use, and over time you can find your favourite.

The result is an action-packed game that celebrates Peach's character and her influence over the Mario universe. The wide range of personas and playstyles ensures there is something for everyone and prevents the gameplay from ever feeling stale.

GAMEPLAY TRAILER

Good to know

Insights to ensure your child's gaming experience remains safe and enjoyable

Consider time investment

Adventure games often take a long time to finish. Encourage regular breaks to get moving, rest their eyes and balance their time with other activities.

Nurture key skills

Many adventure games incorporate problem solving and critical thinking, important skills for school, work and more offline. Talk to them about their game to see how it supports them and their goals.

Build resilience

Encourage children to take risks with their characters in-game to safely learn potential consequences. Talk about what might happen outside of the game and why it's important to keep those risks in-game only. While playing, encourage them to think about innovative risks their character can take.

Skill level

Suggested by Family Gaming Database

This game is not particularly difficult. Younger children may enjoy the easier levels and transformations whereas older children can aim to become proficient with all the forms.

Content rating

Rated PEGI 7 for Violence. This game features mild violence, which is either directed at Princess Peach, who is a cartoon-like human or at her fantastical enemies, many of which are puppet-like in terms of design with loose wooden parts. The violence itself is cartoon-like in nature and results in unrealistic reactions: enemies flash when hit, disappear in puffs of smoke when defeated, and do not display any visible harm or hurt. Peach also flashes when hit and sags to her knees when defeated, after which the screen turns black. She does not display any visible harm.

PEGI rating explained?