But, but ... is that not what marketing and advertising is all about? Directing traffic to your game?
It is the point 16bit made. Marketing ain't gonna rescue a game that is mediocre. And even that term is relative. You can't compare a mediocre professional game with a mediocre beginner's hobby game. Or even a mediocre hobby game maker's game from a seasoned amateur.
On global scale, if you compare this game with something like Turrican or all the Mario games, you cannot honestly call it "good" or even "mediocre". You could call several of the Mario games mediocre compared to other Mario games. It is different leagues.