Super Mario Odyssey

In Super Mario Odyssey you once again join Mario and his new buddy Cappy, a spirit that possesses Mario's hat and allows him to take control of other characters and objects, and follow as they set on a journey across various kingdoms to save Princess Peach from Bowser, who plans to marry her. 

In contrast to the linear gameplay of the more recent Super Mario titles such as the New Super Mario Bros series and Super Mario 3D World, the game returns to the primarily open-ended, exploration-based gameplay previously featured in the hit classics Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. 

From start to finish Super Mario Odyssey had be saying “wow” more times than Owen Wilson has said in his whole career. Simply put, this game is a masterpiece. 

Once I had completed the main story I had accumulated at total of 175 of the game’s Power Moons. Not even half of the grand total that can be found. The total number of Power Moons in Super Mario Odyssey is a staggering 999. And as someone who knows they’ll probably never get around to collecting all 999 of those moons, I was curious to know what you would get if you were able to achieve that great feat and let me tell you, it’s a lot better than the literal turd you get given in Breath of the Wild for collecting 999 Kokoro Seeds!!

Super Mario Odyssey is Nintendo's most ambitious Mario title to date with each kingdom you visit being vastly different from the next. You have your classic lava and snow levels but then have others which I won't spoil that really change up the formula for the Mario brand which was both surprising and refreshing. Visually, Super Mario Odyssey looked stunning. Mario's animations were so expressive and detailed and the environments you explore are vibrant and vivid. One of my favourite little details is when Mario rolls around in sand or snow it will visibly stick to him for a while as well if he gets hit by an enemy such as a Bullet Bill he will be covered in charcoal. It's these little, subtle touches that allow you to became more and more immersed into the world of Super Mario Odyssey. The game handles very nicely and the physics are as smooth as ever. I always felt 100% in control of Mario and the many different things Cappy possessed.

Normally water levels get a terrible wrap when it comes to video games, think Labyrinth Zone from Sonic 1 or the Water Temple from Ocarina of Time. Majority of the time they suck and are some of the worst portions of games. Here in Super Mario Odyssey I can safely say they are some of the best and I think that is in part due to the fact that you can possess a Cheep Cheep which allows you to zip around the level effortlessly. And the water itself is simply beautiful. It glistens and shimmers and just looks so stunning.  

Another aspect of Super Mario Odyssey that I really enjoyed was the nods to many of the plumbers previous titles. It would be rude of me to ruin any of these surprises but I can assure you that if you are a long time Mario fan you will not be disappointed. The surprise that awaits you after you complete the story had me visibly gasping and saying "oh my god, oh my god" over and over for a good couple of minutes.

My only criticisms of Super Mario Odyssey are the forced motion controls that have deterred me from playing the game in handheld mode. Which isn't a really bad thing because I think this game needs to be played on a television to really appreciate the visuals but I think it just limits the experience when you aren't able to use certain moves because they are restricted to motion controls.

I also feel that the plot of the game is becoming very tired. Peach gets kidnapped by Bowser, Mario defeats Bowser and saves Peach, rinse and repeat. It's been done time and time again and I feel that a new big, bad villain who is much more powerful than Bowser needs to be introduced to keep the story fresh.

My final gripe with the game is with the camera which could be a tad fiddly at times, impacting on depth perception or moving in a way that blocked my view of things which caused me to miss time jumps and fall to rather cheap deaths.

But these qualms are nothing when you look at this game as a whole. Super Mario Odyssey was such a joy to play and if you own a Switch and not this game, go out now and get it. If you don't own a Nintendo Switch, go out and by one simply to play this game. I can't stress it enough, Super Mario Odyssey is a must play for everyone!!

Super Mario Odyssey is now available on Nintendo Switch.  

5/5

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