I used to wonder what it was like to be a Bullet Bill, pushed ceaselessly forward in one direction. Now I know.

After playing the first few levels of Super Mario Run at an Apple Store last week, I worried that the game took too many liberties with a series that I’d loved as a certified, website-creating megafan for decades. After spending the better part of a day playing the game in the comfort of my own home, I feel like I’ve been able to enjoy Super Mario Run more on its own terms, even if I feel it’s missing a lot of what makes other Mario games (and even other mobile games) special.

Thinking about Super Mario Run as a platform game (or even as the platform game’s simple mobile cousin, the “endless runner”) isn’t quite right. In practice, it plays more like a freeform rhythm game with platform game clothing. Instead of seeing an encroaching red note and strumming in time on a plastic guitar, you see a sequence of pits, coins, and enemies and have to plan when and how to jump as Mario runs forward ceaselessly.

This can make the first time through any level downright annoying. You’ll miss items you had no chance of seeing and run into enemies that you didn’t have time to anticipate (with the phone held in portrait mode, you can’t see very far in front of you to plan ahead). But the levels are short, each with a strict timer of one to two minutes. Just like in a rhythm game, a few repeat plays help give you a feel for the patterns and paths you want to follow and make it easier to recall what’s coming as soon as you see it.