Every game is a box. Inside of that box are infinite possibilities made comprehensible by the rule set of walls and corners, compact and approachable. It's a place for a developer to play and tinker until, finally, everything is set in place for the player to take the controls. Literally and figuratively, this might sound confining, but creating these walls is the first step towards creating something worthwhile, and doing something wonderful within them is the last step to creating an experience. Again, literally and figuratively, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a bite-sized epitome of this philosophy.
In this box you'll find many staples of the Nintendo design philosophy, especially in regard to the Super Mario Bros. style of things. You're seeking out the star in every level. Without Mario's ability to jump, however, Captain Toad more or less waddles through these diorama-like stages, which waste absolutely no time or space in introducing you to a particular twist on the overarching design. The Captain will alter entire stage layouts with switches, traverse multi-leveled trains, ride mine carts while firing a plant cannon at floating foes, maneuver around looming bosses and even slide down a massive pinball machine. And he'll look damned adorable doing it.
You'll traverse every level in two ways, actually. Toad makes his own way through, of course, but the simple act of rotating the entire stage with the right stick (or gyro controls, if you're into that) literally opens up another dimension to the game. Peering around corners and through tunnels independently of Toad's perspective is how you solve many of the game's conundrums, really highlighting the unique kind of engagement Toad's brand of platforming promotes. Because Toad really can't do all that much, aside from pluck and throw plants or grab the occassional power-up, the hunt for secrets and stars feels more of the mind than of the reflex. It's all a natural extension of Toad's considerable lack of maneuverable skill. If not strong, then smart. Working both him and yourself through each stage is the meat of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, and a tasty meat at that.
Through it all, the level design works on a baseline of simplicity ever complicated by unique environmental hazards on their own merit of complexification, rather than the stacking of those hazards over the course of a game, which some might consider the stronger trend in today's platformers. Yet, like the best Mario games, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker never falters in the goal of keeping the game fresh until the very end. At around 70 levels and multiple secondary objectives per stage, that's a feat still worthy of commendation.
For a game that began its life as a small collection of levels in a far larger, far more ambitious title, Super Mario 3D World, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is as much a surprise for its ability to stand on its own as it is expectedly polished, bubbly and colorful. Without an expectation for rigorous difficulty and far-reaching feats of game design genius, you'll undoubtedly find satisfaction in getting Toad through his first solo adventure.