Super Mario Odyssey (2017)

Enjoyed my revisit more than I did the first time around.

• Love the controls, but wish wall jumping and long jumping felt a bit better. Making levels like sandboxes was probably the best decision they could have made to let players express themselves through the movement.
• I honestly kind of remembered this game being like Kirby, in that I remembered having to use enemy abilities to progress in the game. It definitely has a bit of that feeling, but not as much as I had thought.
• Love traveling the world and the different characters uniting and interacting despite their differences.
• Pretty great demo of showing what game share via game chat can do for Switch 2.
• After playing Galaxy 2, seeing how brisk collecting moons is in Odyssey was a breath of fresh air, which is good considering you can get 999 moons in this game. Game is full of CONTENT.
• Love being able to change my outfit. A small touch can go a long way.
• My biggest complaint is that the purple coins can be too well hidden, wish there was a way to get hints for them in-game besides using amiibo.

Honestly not sure how they're going to follow this up for the next 3D Mario game.

I may lose friends or popularity points over this, but this game did not remotely live up to the hype for me. I've heard it described as not only revolutionary for Mario, but as "the best game on Switch" (perhaps now only to have been outdone by Tears of the Kingdom). But having not even played a ton of games on Switch, this still ranks near the bottom for me. For some context, this is my first 3D Mario platformer since Super Mario 64, a game I loved and did multiple 120 star runs in growing up, but haven't touched in a very long time.

So first, what did I like? The worlds had a decent variety. I appreciated that each of the kingdoms had its own distinct look and feel not just in its environments, but in its characters and set pieces as well. Even with this diversity of environments, the art is evocative and consistent throughout. This game also introduces a new mechanic (at least as far as I know, again, haven't played more recent Mario entries) in which you can throw your hat at an enemy and sort of "become" that enemy with a new movement style and ability. This was probably the coolest thing about the game and I liked that they extended this mechanic quite far and allowed you to use it on a very wide variety of enemies, with very few being immune to it. Though most enemies you can take over can really only do one thing, the significant variation on how you move and interact with the world with each of them was pretty neat.

What did I not like? Most everything else. The game felt surprisingly rather shallow when it came to the actual gameplay loop. Even if the worlds had nice distinct aesthetics and were objectively quite large, they didn't really feel very interesting to explore. This is due in large part to the more important issue for me: I feel like the game is purposely designed for a constant dopamine feed to the point I felt exhausted with it until it quickly lost its effect on me. Power Moons are vomited all over the map. Some have more interesting little "quests" you need to do to get them (usually those give you a pack of three) but many others are just kind of strewn about, do a butt slam here, think to look under a bridge, jump up a tiny hill, or break a shiny block. Yeah, you're constantly making progress and that may feel good in some way, but the triviality of so many of these obstacles made Mario's orgasmic moment of celebration fall flat to me after the fourth moon I grabbed in the last 3 minutes. Some moons are behind puzzles, but again, triviality robbed me of any real engagement. They're so overly simplistic, not even Aloy could spoil the solutions fast enough.

Given it's my most recent (though still quite distant) experience with this kind of game, I can't help but compare to Super Mario 64 where stars felt so much more individualized, with unique challenges that push you to explore the world's nooks and crannies. Stars in that game felt like an exciting reward and a carrot at the end of the stick for finding all the different ways to interact with the level or complete a difficult series of platforming (though to be fair, I'm well-aware that distant nostalgia has clouded my memory, it's been a long while). There's some of that here, but it weirdly feels overly streamlined to the point I never felt I had the chance to explore and appreciate the world at my own pace because 10 steps away was another "challenge" to get another "reward." It really feels like they wanted to just inundate you with so many rewards nonstop that there was little room for adding those individualized touches, at least beyond the triple packs of moons that require a specific quest. Aside from exploration, the rest of the game is fairly trivial with overly-simplistic boss fights in which the only real challenge is "do you jump on them now or throw your hat at them first?" So combat didn't add much either.

I will caveat that a lot of my qualms in the prior paragraph I felt did improve some as the game went on. I did ultimately finish it and thankfully around about Metro Kingdom (which I understand to be a highlight for most people), the triviality wasn't quite as steep and the set pieces came alive in a way I at least found more engaging. However, even in the main quest of that world, you're supposed to find some musicians and for the most part, they're just hanging out and not hard to find—especially as your map marks them for you—and each of them gives you a moon, because why not? Regardless, it was better at least and I even died once or twice to certain challenges. If the whole game were more up to this standard, I'd comfortably give it something more like 3 stars, but having to play half the game to get this point is not great, especially as it didn't feel "fixed" for me, just better than it was. I also soured on it when I saw after beating the game that the worlds were now showered with even more power moons. I just shook my head, played through the ending segments, and wandered around Mushroom Kingdom , then happily uninstalled the game.

Obviously, this game is super popular. At the time of this writing, it's #24 on Grouvee. You'll find its page littered with rather glowing reviews. While I don't really buy into any "objective" standards for games being good, it's pretty clear that this game clicked super well with its audience in a way it just didn't for me. So while I generally don't like such statements anyway, I have even less ground to say "the devs should have done X" because clearly the game did super well as it is. While I can kind of understand some of that nonstop dopamine appeal, even if it didn't work for me, I have to admit I don't quite see how it's that good for people, even reading some of those numerous quite pleased reviews. That said, I have a hard time thinking of too many things I would've liked to see different that might've made this more of a 4 or 5 star game for me, so perhaps this was more a genre issue as well. I will also grant that while I'm quite comfortable with my 2-star rating, after I clicked through my reviewed games so far, I probably like this one better than most any of my other 2-stars and it's probably somewhere between 2 and 3. With lesser known games, I often feel a little bad about being too harsh and will round up even a 2.3 or 2.4 to a 3, but I certainly don't see my honest rating hurting this game's popularity, so I'll go with my gut and say maybe these 3D Mario games just aren't for me anymore.

Surely one of the best 3D platformers I've ever played, though to be fair I haven't played that many (I'll get to Crash eventually...). The graphics look how I imagined Galaxy's graphics looked when I was younger, if that makes any sense.

I really enjoyed how they took the basic 'world' themes and added flair. Sand world is now Aztec and Mexican inspired, lava/Bowser world is now Japanese inspired, and forest world is juxtaposed with machinery.

I also think the overall level presentation is well-executed, being both classically linear but still exploratory. As in, you still have to go in order for the most part but each level is like its own tiny open world.

The sheer amount of moons available serves as a nice accessibility feature, I remember Galaxy being pretty tricky for me as a little kid, so being able to grab some easier stars at the time definitely would've helped.

The movement is fantastic, I don't think I need to elaborate on this.

The 2D segments are really charming and creative, I love how your outfits carry over in them too. The addition of outfits is super cute in general.

The fact that this game has a lot of creative ideas honestly goes without saying. This is Mario, after all. The capture mechanic really helps Super Mario Odyssey stand out amongst its siblings.

Man, writing this review really makes me want to boot it back up and get the handful of moons I haven't gotten yet.

OK. I did the thing.

I listed all the references and easter eggs to Nintendo Games in the Mario movie. There are A LOT.

You can find the list in spanish here.

I hope you like it because it was a lot of work. Just don't ask how I got the pictures for the article. If you noticed a reference I didn't included, please let me know.

If you like Mario games, this is a Mario game, and its a damn good one. That's my review.

I have never played Mario Galaxy or Sunshine, so the closest thing I can relate this to is Mario 64. And yeah, Mario 64 has its charms and its jank, but (similar)? concept in the sense that its a 3D Mario game and you run around getting collectibles. This is not to say Mario Odyssey is even close to the same game, its not. But in GENREAL relation, you run around in open worlds, exploring different nooks, crannies and areas to collect power moons.

The game controls so good. Mario is like an extension of you. There is a bunch of different skills to master for your platforming, jumps, dives, rolls, hat spins. It just feels fun to play, running around and exploring in the different worlds. It also has the perfect balance of easy satisfaction and hard ass platforming.

For me, the best part of the game is all the retro throwbacks. There is a ton of 2D SMB warp pipes that you run through different areas revisiting the 1980's. One kingdom at the end of the game that is a throwback that feels like it was yesterday that you walked in to (no spoilers). The Donkey Kong scene in New Donk City, and the game ending music after rescuing Peach from Bowser. It is just so fun, its like Nintendo intentionally targeted older generations for this entry.

You can beat the game fairly quickly and roll credits, but there is so many things to find, buy and do, it is far from over after beating Bowser. I have a little over 200 power moons, and I think there is 999 to get in total? Fair to say, I may have beat the game, but I am far from done playing it.

This game is the ultimate pick up/put down game. You can play it for 20 minutes, run around and find a few things and put it away for a month. You can speed run it. You can marathon it for 3-4 hours at a time. You can give it to your wife or kids to play and grab a few moons and then take it back. It is the best of casual, serious, committed or on the go play. It really lives up to the classic theme of Mario that anyone can pick up, play and enjoy this game.

I don't even know I have any negative criticism, unless you plan doing a 100% run. Some of the moons and coins are in really dumb, hard to find, obscure places which would be nearly impossible to find without a guide. But if you wanted to take this game as far as you can, and then wash your hands of it, you would still easily enjoy your play time. Hand's down an instant classic and a must play.

After not feeling a couple of different games I decided to go safe with a critically-acclaimed game I should play. And well, surprise surprise, it is great. Super nice level design, varied gameplay. I mean, it's a mainline Mario game; the folk at Nintendo have it all figured it out and know how to make a good 3D platformer.

(A shame that it's sullied with the stench of motion controls, though. I really wish they gave that up once and for all.)

BTW, I don't know if it's a testament to the advancement in emulator technology, the convergence of console and PC hardware, or the lacklustre hardware of the switch, but how crazy it is to be able to emulate current gen consoles on a laptop?

I have four children. I will probably not have anymore. And by probably I mean God and a doctor would have to conspire to allow me to have more children against me and my wife. Like do I need to spell it out for you? This is my review of Super Mario Odyssey. I don't have to write about my sperm count if I don't want to!*

I bring this up (How many children I have, not how I'm getting a surgery to stop me from having so many children) to let you know I have been a four time first hand witness to the joy of baby movement. Seeing a little baby get up on their feet and waddle around is simultaneously a joy for them and a joy for you. They're so happy about something so simple. It's a sensation you witness again when they learn to jump and ride their bikes, just to a lesser extent. It feels like a joy that only exists in little itty baby children... But it also exists in Mario.

Every Mario is defined by its movement. Super Mario Bros offered a new level of precision and direction previously unknown. Super Mario Bros 3 introduced a sense of speed and flight through the Tanuki/Raccoon. Super Mario World allowed that flight and speed to gain a weight through the cape. 64 brought it into another dimension. Sunshine added propulsion. Galaxy integrated gravity into that movement. And that movement is so intuitive and playful that it really brings you back to that pure little itty baby child joy.

And that is perhaps most true in Odyssey. Yes, the level design is a pristine open-concept chef's kiss. Yes, the gameplay loop of getting moons is leaps and bounds ahead of stars and shines. But the base- the thing that drives me back to Odyssey over and over is the movement. Rolling, spinning, long jumping, diving, ground pounding- Mario has so many options for movement! Like if you take everything out of this game- the textures, the prizes, the surprises- if you take it all out and just have Mario and a little playground for him to jump around in, I think that's still like a 9 out of 10.

I finished this game years ago. I saw the credits and put it down so I could play Celeste or something.** After 100%ing Breath of the Wild on Master Mode*** and seeing my friends play Super Mario 3D World, a game I completed on the Wii U, I had a hankering for more Mario. I thought I'd play some Odyssey for a night to unfasten myself from this longing. But one night jumping as Mario wasn't enough. I spent night after night capturing T Rexes and driving my cool FLCL vespa. After a few nights of playing, I unlocked the final extra special bonus stage.

Final extra special bonus stages in Mario are less about fun and more about status. Like, yes, I did beat the extra special bonus stage in 3D World. No, it wasn't fun. Yes, I wish I had spent those three hours kissing my wife. But, YES, I am THAT good at 3D World and I can dust off my Wii U to prove it.

So when I unlocked Odyssey's ironman-esque final level, I didn't anticipate having fun. I expected to die. And I did. But I also loved it! I loved it for the same reasons my 18 month old children smiled when they danced with me or their mom. It's just fun to move. It's pleasant to have mastery over your body. It's nice to just be Mario.

Moving alone in Odyssey resurrects a joy long dormant and forgotten. A feeling that is otherwise unavailable to adults. And if that isn't a 5 star game, I don't know what is.

*I do, so I did.

**There are so many 10/10 games on the Switch. Joe Biden should buy every American a Switch. That's infrastructure and I'm serious!!!

***The best game of all time and Grouvee doesn't reflect that because of some glitch. Please tweet at Peter to fix it.

This might be heresy, but I never understood the lasting appeal of Mario 64, or any of the subsequent Mario games. To be honest, I'm not a huge platforming fan at all, and though I gave it enough hours and completed the main story (weird ending and all). Super Mario Odyssey didn't really do much to change my disposition,

It is a beautiful, polished and charming game for sure and has some memorable set pieces and concepts - I especially loved jumping into 2D Mario at points - once I finished the main story I just did not feel particularly satisfied with my purchase, and did not have any desire to play more of it.

If you loved the prior Mario games, I guess judging by the critical acclaim this game has, you'll probably enjoy this game. I'm glad I played it, only to say I played it. I won't be touching it again.

Super Mario Odyssey is a near-perfect game. It's one of those rare cases where Nintendo took everything they'd learned from 35 years of making Mario games and actually put it all together in an extremely satisfying way. You want a collectathon? Check. You want sandbox worlds to explore? Check. You want to let Mario wear whatever the freak you want? Double check. It's all there, and it all looks amazing. You can even explore worlds to your heart's content without getting booted out of the level after completing a challenge. Aren't we spoiled?

The one potential drawback of the game is, weirdly, that there are actually too many moons. It's not so much that it's too hard to get them all (which it is), but that you get a lot of repetitive moons. Where some moons are clever and unique, there are also moons that you find in every world in almost exactly the same way. Collecting the giant seeds, for example. This challenge is never fun, and it has to be done in almost every kingdom if you want to complete the game.

Finishing the game, however, is almost laughably easy. The bare minimum amount of moons required to progress all the way to the Bowser battle is like, crazy low. And a ton of moons are so obvious a three-year old could find them. But that's the thing. With Mario Odyssey, it's not just about finishing or completing the game. Every player has to find a sweet spot that works for them.

Do you want to do the absolute bare minimum and beat the game in two hours? Cool, do that. Do you want to go nuts and collect every single (like 700 or something??) moon? You're insane, but more power to you (get it?). Do you love platforming challenges, but hate every other part of Mario games? Great, there are enough platforming moons that you can gravitate towards those ones. And if you hate platforming, don't do any of them!

That's why Odyssey is actually a near-perfect game in my opinion. There are so many ways to play this game. The thing is, you have to be satisfied in choosing your own adventure and setting your own bars. And if you really want objective goals to work towards, the after-game content has two extra worlds based on moons collected AND checklists for all the different types of moons, so if you do actually want to get all of one specific type of moon, there's a Toad that will tell you how far along you are in achieving that goal.

There's really something for everyone here. And that's why it cracked my top 5 games of all time.

I need to stop playing this game. I don't want to. But I need to.

Honestly. I just could be searching for Power Moons the rest of my life and be happy. I just found 500 of them to unlock the last secret level of the game. Finding more won't unlock anything else (well, maybe a couple of outfits more) but I. Don't. Wanna. Stop.

It's probably the most fun I've had with a video game in a long time. I love exploring levels and discovering things, and Super Mario Odyssey is all about that. A Power Moon could be hidden behind a bush, or inside a rock. I felt like a kid again in an infinite playground. It reminded me a lot of Breath of The Wild in that sense.

My only problem with it? I hated that Peach was again a damsel in distress. I know is the classic Mario setup, but it feels really old right now. At least she recovers her agency at the end of the game. Finding her traveling the world is really nice.

I didn't knew a 3D Mario could surpass Super Mario 3D World in my book, but here we are. I'm adding this one to my 'all time favorites' list.

I honestly don't know how Nintendo could keep this level of quality and creativity after so many years. Is a fracking miracle.

Super Mario Odyssey is another Mario triumph from Nintendo. I doubt anyone is surprised by that. If there's anything Nintendo does really well, it is mainline Mario games.

I thoroughly enjoyed Mario Odyssey's many locations and its semi-open worldness. Visiting every new world and exploring every nook and cranny was a joy. The cap mechanics are very enjoyable, both in what they bring to general world exploration and to combat. Mario Odyssey might be the best a Mario game has ever felt combat-wise and the boss battles were all thrilling. Perhaps the Broodals were a bit repetitive, but fun nonetheless. In terms of combat, exploration and pure spectacle Mario Odyssey hits the very heights of Mario perfection.

But where the game showcases some of the best Mario games have to offer, it also showcases the worst. Mario Odyssey is a mediocre platformer. And It may be Nintendo's worst mainline Mario game strictly in terms of platforming. One could argue that Mario 64 should hold that title, but I give it a pass given it was the transitional experiment from 2D to 3D.

Platforming in Mario Odyssey ranges from occasionally great to mostly ok, to sometimes lacklustre and painful. For the most part the biggest negative in terms of platforming is that there is very little of it to be found in the game. If what Mario games have repeatedly given us is a plethora of exceptional platforming puzzles, Mario Odyssey is the first to really fail. This is largely in service to the open world nature of the game. Where platforming was the best constant in the Mario World, it has been replaced in Odyssey with exploration. And I should emphasize, that exploration is some of the best there is in any game. The cap mechanics allow you a vast array of ways to navigate the world in entertaining ways. But the means that much of Odyssey is far flatter and more compressed than earlier games. There are fewer vertical challenges, and where we are presented with some we are often given a way to avoid those challenges by possessing an enemy. This further flattens the game and removes form it the core of what makes Mario games great platforming games. Couple this with the fact that many of the power moons are simply littered around the game unattached to any particular platforming challenge. Too many moons are simply hanging out in the open, or hidden under a bump in the sand. This means that much of the challenge associated with the game, finding moons, is no real challenge at all. I would love for more platforming to be attached to those moons so that there is a greater sense of reward and accomplishment for obtaining them.

When the game does offer decent platforming challenges, the free camera fails. The free camera is necessary for the free world exploration of the game, and it is a boon in that respect. But it is often a hindrance when platforming. Too often I found that I was fighting against the camera, trying to find an optimal position to allow the best perspective on a jump or a platform, and too often did that angle mislead me when executing actions. Or when I would find a preferred angle that did work, the camera would eventually drift back to a default position undoing my attempts. I found that there were occasions where simply knowing where I would land was unclear, even with the use of shadows for positioning. Compare this to the excellent camera in Super Mario 3D World, where the camera is expertly positioned to always provide a clear idea of where your character is in relation to platforms when jumping. There is a seamlessness to Super Mario 3D World, where the camera is invisible to the player, allowing for precise platforming while never getting in the way. Mario Odyssey's camera is often in the way, always on my mind and constantly in need of repositioning. This makes it very hard to focus on the pure gameplay and fully enjoy myself.

It should be noted that Odyssey does feature some stellar 2D platforming sections, all of which do away with the problems of the camera and provide more compelling platforming than the 3D segments. I wish this had been used more liberally, with more of these 2D puzzles available with increasingly complex challenges, but I am happy with what there was.

Sadly all of this means that the majority of the platforming in Mario Odyssey is unsatisfactory, sometimes far too easy, and occasionally frustrating. I absolutely adore discovering every corner of the Odyssey map, but the reason I play Mario games is to experience the best, most expertly designed platforming that video games have to offer, and Odyssey doesn't deliver on that front.

Mario Odyssey is a wonderful update to the Mario 64 formula, in that we have a magical 3D world to explore. And it is packed full of enjoyable characters (be they new or returning), cute little jokes, great music and some of the prettiest imagery in a Mario game to date. I found it weird how much projectile vomit was in this game, but it has a quirky sense of humour that makes that work. Odyssey captures much of what is fun about exploration and gives us the one of the best possible visions of a magical world full of disparate kingdoms. Odyssey is magical, as a Mario game should be, fun and funny. It's not the platformer I truly wanted, or the one that I think Switch owners deserve (I sincerely hope Nintendo ports Super Mario 3D World). It's also not the Breath of the Wild of Mario Games, something that radically shakes up an established formula, but it is still an exceptional game that is fun and provides what could idealistically be viewed as the final work of art to Mario 64s rough draft. It's what Nintendo would have made if the technology allowed it in the mid 1990s.

Despite my feelings about the platforming Mario Odyssey is a fantastic game. Even if the platforming is not my favourite, there are plenty of other Mario games that do deliver I that sense, and Mario Odyssey can be enjoyed for everything else it has to offer. It's a must play for everyone who can and a must buy for most Switch owners.

A few last notes:

1. I adore travelling Peach at the end of the game. I really wish this is what she had been doing during the course of the game and that some other conceit was invented to have Bowser and Mario duke it out across multiple worlds.

2. The Galaxy games are some of my favourite full 3D Mario games, and it's sad that Rosalina's presence in this game is a mere easter egg in the form of an 8-bit stencil. Given Yoshi has a nice little cameo paying homage to Mario 64, a similar appearance by Rosalina would have been nice. This is where you lost real points with me Nintendo!

3. The Mario 64 references and homage is spot on. So much so that I think the music triggered my deep-seeded anxiety and PTSD regarding the original.

4. More dresses please Nintendo.

Rating: 10/10

While there are certain flaws in any game, I would still say that this is basically a perfect game. While this is a different 10 than Breath of the Wild (I still think BotW is ahead of this) and other Mario games I would rate a 10 (3 and World for sure, Galaxy 2 and 3D World get close), it's still a 10.

I say this because 3D, exploratory Mario ala the 64 days is not my Mario. I never got into those types of games like I do other platformers, still prefer 2D as a rule (with exceptions, obviously). But it's totally deserving of a 10 because it is the best at what it does.

The exploration, the plethora of secrets, the creativity, the music, the actual platforming itself; all of it is brilliant. It's easy to get lost in this world because the world design is typical Mario. It all just blends together beautifully and the hat mechanic propels Mario in fun new directions. I mean honestly, in one of the first areas you're already controlling a dinosaur. It just feels magical because it's unpredictable and you never know what you will find.

It appeals to someone like me who likes to get what he can on the way to beating the game, but also to people who want a huge amount of shit to find. On top of that, there's much more after you complete it!

Not a long review because I never feel like doing those anymore, but just know that Nintendo has released TWO 10 outta 10 games in ONE year. That's absurd. This is a big statement because Nintendo as a developer has involved a lot of people over the years, but when you see their name as developer you can still count on them as being the best on the planet.