Nintendo’s smartphone spinoff Dr. Mario World has closed its surgery doors, with players no longer able to play the puzzle game.
The game officially shut down yesterday (October 31), although players in some regions could play the mobile title briefly into today, November 1, as the servers shut down at 6am UTC.
A memorial site, “Dr. Mario World Memories“, allowing players “to look back at your play history”, will be launched following the complete shutdown of the game.
The game’s official Twitter account posted confirmation of the closure (thanks, VGC), along with a piece of key art of Mario and his medically-dressed pals thanking players for their time in the game.
Blue: "Tomorrow marks the end of the Dr. Mario World game's service."
Yellow: "Thanks so much for playing, everyone!"
Red: "The game won't be playable, but don't forget that you'll be able to look back via a web page that's being set up. Good luck out there!" #DrMarioWorld pic.twitter.com/fbiOPulYXo— Dr. Mario World (@Drmarioworld_EN) October 31, 2021
The game originally launched for Android and iOS smartphones in July 2019. It revamped the long-dormant Dr. Mario sub-franchise, which debuted on the NES and original Game Boy in 1990. A twist on drop-down puzzlers popularised by Tetris and, to a lesser extent, Columns, it tasked players with lining up pills as they fell into a medicine bottle, rotating colour sections to eradicate matching viruses.
The shutdown of the mobile version was first announced on July 28, when it also ceased the sale of diamonds, Dr. Mario World’s in-game premium currency.
While Dr. Mario World only lasted a little over two years, Nintendo is no doubt hoping for greater success with its next mobile game, Pikmin Bloom. Developed in conjunction with Niantic, it will be an augmented reality title like Pokémon GO, but seemingly much calmer, with an emphasis on planting trees and beautifying the world around you as you walk, rather than battling and collecting creatures.
In other news, Reddit has launched its first-ever crossover avatars, partnering with League of Legends for a series of user images based on characters from the upcoming Netflix animated series Arcane. The first two are available now, based on the show’s main characters Jinx and Vi, with further characters to become available over the next few weeks.
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