Curator’s Choice: Super Mario Odyssey
“An absolute masterclass in pure mechanical joy. Super Mario Odyssey captures the spirit of exploration and movement freedom like no other platformer, offering a dense, highly creative sandbox that constantly rewards player curiosity.”
Editorial Review
Super Mario Odyssey is a joyous, highly creative 3D platformer that represents a spectacular celebration of player curiosity and movement freedom. Exploring a series of massive, themed sandboxes (ranging from prehistoric valleys to the bustling streets of New Donk City), the game's core innovation is Cappy—Mario's sentient hat. By throwing Cappy, players can 'capture' and control dozens of unique entities, completely altering the gameplay. You can capture a T-Rex to smash stone walls, a Cheep Cheep to swim without drowning, a Goomba stack to reach high ledges, or a zipper to open up secret paths. Traversal is exceptionally responsive, utilizing classic jumps, long-jumps, wall-jumps, and hat-bounces to chain together incredibly fluid movement. The primary loop is finding 'Power Moons' (over 800 in total) which are scattered everywhere: hidden behind pixel-perfect platforming challenges, awarded for dynamic minigames, or found by simply ground-pounding a suspicious spot. Perfectly optimized for Switch handheld and docked play, running at a flawless 60fps.
What We Love
- •Joyous and responsive movement controls
- •Highly creative capture mechanics
- •Exceptional level variety and themes
- •Phenomenal 60fps performance
Keep In Mind
- •Main campaign is relatively easy to complete
- •Some Power Moon locations feel repetitive
- •Optional motion controls can be awkward
Why It Belongs
Super Mario Odyssey is a pinnacle of sandbox platforming design. It proves how a single capture gimmick can be expanded into hundreds of distinct, satisfying interactions, creating a dense playground where curiosity is rewarded every minute.
Player Fit
Superb for players of all ages who love 3D platformers, creative mechanical variety, and self-directed exploration. Players looking for high-stakes combat, complex narrative progression, or highly punishing execution trials will find the low-friction completion requirements and whimsical tone polarizing.
Entry Strategy
The absolute premier starting point for 3D platforming. It is exceptionally forgiving to beginners while offering incredibly deep, high-skill movement mechanics for platforming veterans.
Cultural Context
Released in 2017 as a critical system-seller for the Nintendo Switch. It won numerous family and platforming awards, became one of the best-selling Switch games of all time, and stands as a masterclass in modern Nintendo design.
Atmosphere & Mood
About
Storyline
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