Spirits isn't executed perfectly, and the single-player mode leaves a noticeable crater in the rest of the package—at least, if you come to Smash Ultimate expecting certain elements from earlier in the series to return. (After nearly 20 years of Smash games, that's likely.) But there's a reason Smash Ultimate can get away with its bonkers, thousand-fight conceit, especially during that mode's pacing fumbles.
The basic fact is, we could spend this entire review just talking about how refined, measured, and satisfying it is to pick up controllers and get into a four-player beatdown with friends. Smash Ultimate's basic foundation is good. Top-of-the-year good. Why-we-love-video-games good. And, thank goodness, the game's obsession with being capital-B Big doesn't get in the way of that fact.