Super Mario Odyssey Review

One of the most delightful experiences in modern gaming.

By: Ryan Ramakrishnan

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch

Super Mario Odyssey is a masterclass in platforming, level design, and how to incorporate utter joy and charm in any video game.

Right from the start, Super Mario Odyssey genuinely impressed me for a bevy of reasons. It is designed with so much love and appreciation for video games as a whole and particularly that of the age-old Super Mario franchise. Odyssey improves on what its countless predecessors mastered and includes some of the most unforgettable music, worlds and includes near-perfect platforming gameplay, unmatched by most games of the modern era. And to top it all off, this game launched before its platform, the Nintendo Switch, even hit its first year on the market.

Story

I am always conflicted on whether or not Mario games need innovation in terms of story. Super Mario Odyssey offers a plot that basically replicates what its many predecessors used. Mario ultimately needs to save Princess Peach from Bowser. It is anything but fresh and new. The same story was used in the 1980's when Super Mario Bros. hit the Nintendo Entertainment System. The catch is that Mario has a new friend named Cappy. This hat with eyes allows him to transform into many objects and species around him and lets Mario find new ways to get to Peach. Cappy's sister, Tiara, is also kidnapped by Bowser, alongside Peach. The only other new edition to the familiar storyline is that Bowser has a group called the Broodals, who are helping him ultimately have a wedding with Princess Peach. It is simple and charming but also far too familiar. With that in mind, I truthfully don't know if it is necessary for Super Mario games to ever have compelling, three-dimensional plots. Maybe, they are best in their most welcoming, sweet, simple form.

Gameplay

3D platforming has rarely, if ever, felt so good in a video game. Nintendo's Mario games have always been solid on this but I firmly believe Super Mario Odyssey does it the best. The game feels so good when you run, jump and roll around. It is smooth and versatile. Super Mario Odyssey's biggest catch is of course not its near-perfect platforming.

Where this game succeeds at being something truly special is Cappy. He lets you use him (the hat) for the platforming and its many challenges. The game lets you toss the cap to use as a weapon. It can also be used as a tool for getting higher jumps or even collecting coins. The variety of abilities that this new tool opens up makes for some of the most fresh experiences with a Mario game I have ever had.

Cappy allows you to posses various enemies and other inanimate objects in the world. With so many different possessions, Super Mario Odyssey allows you to find Mario in some interesting forms, each with their own gimmicks. Some notably cool and fun examples include the Glydons and the T-Rex. I liked the Glydons because they are these friendly dragon-like creatures that let you glide from great heights across the kingdoms' maps. Playing as a T-Rex is insanity, something I never expected in a Mario game. This dinosaur lets you wreck everything in sight as a literal dinosaur. What can be better? Besides them, Super Mario Odyssey is packed with plenty of other things to possess. There are two notably exciting Cappy possessions available towards and after the end that I'd love to talk about but will refrain from to avoid spoiling them.

Using Cappy's many possessions, Mario can solve some unique puzzles. Some of these may be simply platforming challenges, some calling for precision, others calling for timing. Puzzles also include travelling off the beaten path for power moons or getting through sticky situations. It is welcoming to see each kingdom have a variety of things that cannot be accessed without the possession of certain creatures or objects. 

There are a handful of boss fights to take on, those of which aren't incredibly challenging but do have some difficulty to them. I think these are designed well enough, usually supporting a new possession ability you have come across prior to that fight. These fights do of course go through a few predictable phases. They are still designed nicely and fun to partake in, mainly because of the new abilities you come across. There is also one boss fight in Super Mario Odyssey that sees you take on a giant dragon on a castle, looking like something straight out of Dark Souls. 

Super Mario Odyssey includes stores in every single kingdom to use your coins and purple currency to buy new costumes, stickers and decorations. I liked the ability to continuously change my costume for Mario, always excited to buy new ones in each subsequent kingdom. 

Super Mario Odyssey's level design is large-scale. Every kingdom has plenty to see and do. Super Mario Odyssey isn't necessarily an open world game but each kingdom does act as its own sandbox, each filled to the brim with power moons and varying paths. The levels also do, at times, come with side objectives, basically to get more moons of course. The loop of finding more and more moons in Super Mario Odyssey makes it incredibly addicting thanks to the impressive level design of all the unique kingdoms the game has to show you. 

One kind of level within the kingdoms is actual 2D platforming. They are so awesome for the sake of nostalgia. These sections play just like an old-school Mario game and even let your costume be see. It is disappointing that these were brief each time. I'd like to be play through much longer sections of these. 

Graphics

I have been playing several games on PlayStation and Xbox that look amazing, with photo-realistic graphics and things of that nature; however, Nintendo somehow doesn't need any of that to blow me away. Games from Nintendo's first party rarely try to be what they are not. Mario doesn't need to look like a real person and Koopa don't need to look like real turtles. The 3D Mario games have always looked quite gorgeous with their own take on what defines good graphics. Super Mario Odyssey is no exception.

Having released not even a year into the Switch's life-cycle, Nintendo delivers a visually appealing game in every aspect with Super Mario Odyssey. This game looks fantastic at all times. Whether it is the shiny waters of the Lake and Seaside Kingdoms, the vivid color pallet of the Luncheon Kingdom or the noir tone of the Cap Kingdom, Super Mario Odyssey offers plenty of sights to behold, each boasting wonderful graphics. Each kingdom honestly comes with its own individuality and pure charm. They look vast and that's because they are, each designed to look stunning. 

Even the 2D levels within the 3D world of Odyssey look amazing. They are inspired to be 8-bit levels from the NES-era of Mario but have a fresh coat of paint. 

One of the most impressive parts of this game is without a doubt the Metro Kingdom. New Donk City, as it is called, takes inspiration from New York City and urban landscape in general. the Metro Kingdom offers some of the most bizarre but wonderful things to see. You literally look off in the distance to tons of tall buildings, people walk around in bustling crowds, billboards and glowing signs are everywhere. New Donk City is an oddly alive city that resembles the real world liie nothing in Mario's wide history of games has ever done before.

Mario himself can change costumes in this game, and there are a lot of costumes to choose from. They each have an awesome unique look to them. The same can be said for the many things you posses with Cappy.

What came off as one of my personal most appreciated features was the photo mode. With the press of a button, I was able to move the camera around in all directions, put Instagram-like filters, zoom in and out and play around to my heart's content until I got the perfect shot. Super Mario Odyssey's photo mode left me with a good 200 pictures on my Switch's library of captures. I'm still planning on sinking many hours to come and the game has, since release,  gotten some updates with new filters, so I will undeniably have hundreds more. 

Sound

One thing Nintendo seems to experts at, especially with Mario's games, is music. Like the level design and visuals, Super Mario Odyssey impressed me on all ends with its music. The soundtrack consists of some of the most joyous tunes you'd expect from the series. Every kingdom has their own music, some brand new, others a mix on old school music. It is, like many of the costumes, moons and locations, nostalgic to the series in many ways. Longtime fans of Mario will appreciate what Nintendo did with the music in Odyssey. The game's music is consistently fresh. Sometimes I am humming to upbeat and light tunes, other times I am feeling tense as boss fights or end-game kingdoms offer me some frightening challenges. Super Mario Odyssey appropriately uses music incredibly well. I truly never disliked the tracks that were playing in this game, in fact, I think I loved it all. Mario games just have a way with their music. There is also one song called, "Jump Up Superstar" which is used in celebration of Mario as a whole in one special scene in New Donk City but also acts as a main theme of the game. It is incredibly catchy. 

Collecting the countless moons in this game offer a satisfying chime. I literally got excited with every time I got a moon and heard the sound effect. Other sound effects in Super Mario Odyssey equally succeed. Every enemy and NPC has their own voice, although voice acting is still not a thing in Mario. The grunts of Bowser, the laughs of the Broodals, the wall crumbling sounds of the Charging Chucks or various bullet bills, Cappy and his species' gibberish sounds they make when giving you dialogue and the sounds of the motorbike are just a small handful of literally dozens of unique, character-specific sounds you hear. Nintendo delivers on giving everyone and everything its own sounds and noises. 

Content

Playing like a sandbox game, Super Mario Odyssey's level design allows you to go off the beaten path at any time. Fortunately, this is included in all of the kingdoms. You will have to find a certain amount of power moons to move forward in the story; however, that only lasts so long. Once you beat the game, you may revisit any of the kingdoms and find that several more moons made their way into them. With the bevy of moons you likely never found and the addition of plenty more to stumble upon, each kingdom suddenly offers its own little open world full of exploration. This game manages to include 999 moons by the end should you do everything it offers.

Super Mario Odyssey's addition of purple coins (or whatever shape they choose to take, depending on the kingdom you are in) makes for even more exploration. Hidden everywhere, just like the power moons, these coins come with up to 100 per kingdom so you will have lots to find.

I am very pleased to say that the exploration to find every single power moon alone is not always a walk in the park. Some are hidden in small crevices, many call for puzzles pr platforming challenges. Some of the moons make you complete challenges like 100 jumps in Metro Kingdom's jump rope challenge that will make you stress but feel pure satisfaction once accomplished. Each kingdom, especially the aforementioned Metro Kingdom, comes with so many paths to go on and areas to explore, all making the game expand greatly.

Completionists will be in heaven with finding several hundred moons and purple coins. It will likely be no small feat to find it all, provided no guide online is used. To top it all off, you can even challenge yourself to harvest enough coins to buy every costume and sticker for Mario and the Odyssey respectively. If you are a player who wishes to enjoy the platforming and save Peach from Bowser to put the game down after that, Super Mario Odyssey will come off as more bare-bones for you but it is still impossible to deny the amount of content that this game offers within each of its kingdoms alone. 

Conclusion

Truth be told, I could go on all day about every minute aspect of what makes Super Mario Odyssey. It is a game built on absolute love for the franchise, frankly a love letter to fans of Mario and games as a whole. Even if it weren't driven on nostalgia for Nintendo's beloved platformers, Super Mario Odyssey still stands alone as a masterfully crafted platforming game. It shows what open, vast and creative level design looks like in a game of this nature. Super Mario Odyssey is packed to the brim with collectibles, each packing its own satisfaction to behold. It is truly a delightful game, one that is immensely fun to play and hard to put down. Everything from joyful, unforgettable upbeat and exciting music to the wide array of special and gorgeously designed kingdoms make Super Mario Odyssey is a system seller for the Nintendo Switch and a masterpiece altogether. 

Did you collect every single power moon? What was your favorite kingdom and why? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.