During the Super Mario Bros. Wonder Direct, Nintendo shared more information about the game’s online features.

Players who have a Switch Online subscription will have the option to connect to the internet in-game, which will allow them to “play together” with other players from all over the world through live player shadows. This appears to be something of a substitute to true multiplayer, which is only supported locally.

A brief summary of the ways players can interact with each other online can be found below:

• When playing solo, other players can be seen on courses as live player shadows.
  • If players get hit, they can come back to life by bumping into one of these shadows.
  • Collectible Standees can be placed on maps, which also serve as revive points for other players.
  • The game tracks how much you have assisted other players using “Heart Points”.
• Players can create shared rooms to invite friends to play, however, they will only appear as live player shadows, offering the same benefits outlined above.
  • Additionally, players in the shared room can race each other by playing on the same level.

Although the Live Player Shadows are functionally quite similar to local multiplayer, it is somewhat disappointing that true online multiplayer doesn’t seem to be available in the game. Stay tuned for more updates as they come.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.