At this point, there aren’t many people who haven’t played **Super Mario Odyssey**. It first released in late 2017 as one of the Nintendo Switch’s premier first-year titles, and it was quickly met with critical acclaim.
The game came during a time when fans felt the series was starting to stagnate. In 2016, there were titles like *Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam*, *Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash*, *Super Mario Run*, and *Paper Mario: Color Splash*. While most weren’t bad, they all carried that same corporate Mario feeling. Even *Super Mario 3D World*, which is now widely regarded as a great game, was criticized at the time for its linearity and similarity to *Super Mario 3D Land*.
**Super Mario Odyssey** was essentially Nintendo’s way of saying that new and fresh ideas were back on the table for the series.
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### A Look Back: The Hype and the Release
Super Mario Odyssey’s initial blowout trailer dropped a little over eight years ago. Right off the bat, it showcased several of the game’s flashiest elements. Its signature capture mechanic was prominently featured, alongside a glimpse of New Donk City and the game’s popular theme song. This trailer really helped fuel the hype at the time.
Mario was back, and fans were more excited than ever. That excitement only increased as Odyssey’s release date drew closer.
When it finally launched, the game received glowing reviews. However, public opinion has dwindled a bit in recent years, especially with the release of *Donkey Kong Bananza* as a form of competition.
So for today’s review, we’re taking everything from the past eight years into account — no nostalgia goggles here! (It’s weird to say that about *Super Mario Odyssey*. How is it so old already?!)
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### Movement and Mechanics: The Heart of Odyssey
Odyssey’s biggest claim to fame is undoubtedly its movement options.
If you’ve watched any videos online, you’ve probably seen how versatile Mario’s moveset is when combined with Cappy. The game’s signature cap throw adds a ton of depth—it can be used as an attack or even as a platform to jump off of.
Combine moves like Mario’s roll, Cappy’s directional throws, and Mario’s triple jump, and you can really start cooking. The skill ceiling in *Super Mario Odyssey* is incredibly high, and it’s also rewarding.
The developers clearly expect seasoned players to access all sorts of secret areas that most players never see. In other words, they’ve placed plenty of coins in hard-to-reach spots just in case you do manage to get there.
But that’s just the base Mario movement.
Each of Odyssey’s captures has its own unique movement style, and there are even some vehicles to ride throughout the game. I always found New Donk City’s scooter really fun—it’s fast, silly, and kind of pointless, which in my opinion is a winning combination.
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### The Capture Mechanic: Hit or Miss?
Speaking of captures, most of them are hit or miss.
The captures themselves are inherently very simple, each with only one or two different attacks to use. However, *Super Mario Odyssey* shines in how it integrates these simple captures into the environment.
For example, Mario can capture a miniature tank to shoot at walls and enemies, or a stretchy Wiggler to easily weave between small platforms. The Luncheon Kingdom is built around the Lava Bubble capture, which lets Mario swim through lava and make high jumps.
These captures feel seamlessly integrated with their environments, despite their simplicity.
That said, it would have been nice to see some more complex captures toward the end of the game. Even the capture during the final sequence is pretty simple overall.
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### Motion Controls: A Forced Flaw
Capturing enemies does reveal one of *Super Mario Odyssey*’s greatest weaknesses: its forced motion controls.
If you’re playing in docked or tabletop mode, this isn’t much of a problem. But if you’re playing in handheld mode—which many players do—the game becomes awkward to control.
Many captures require shaking the controller to perform extra actions. For example, you can’t attack at all in Cheep Cheep form unless you shake the controller to perform a spin. In handheld mode, this means shaking the entire console, which feels unnecessary and tiresome.
Furthermore, several of Mario and Cappy’s moves are locked behind motion controls. While this isn’t a big deal in docked or tabletop modes, handheld players are at a slight disadvantage.
It kind of feels like the developers were desperate to force motion controls onto players, and it definitely shows in the final game.
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### Boss Battles: Creative and Satisfying
On a positive note, one of *Super Mario Odyssey*’s biggest strengths lies in its boss battles.
Generally speaking, the Mario series has always done boss fights well, but a few of Odyssey’s battles feel particularly satisfying. Knucklotec, the Ruined Dragon, and the big Broodal mech in Bowser’s Kingdom were all highlights for me.
None of these battles are particularly difficult, but they’re creatively designed and feel great to finally defeat.
Not all boss fights are winners, though. The Broodals, in addition to being lame and forgettable as characters, are reused several times and grow a bit stale by the end of the game.
Still, *Odyssey*’s boss battles are generally high quality, and their post-game rematches add a more challenging dimension.
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### Kingdoms: Small but Dense and Memorable
Eight years later, the aspect of *Super Mario Odyssey* that holds up the best is its kingdom design.
Compared to *Donkey Kong Bananza*, Odyssey’s kingdoms are smaller and more focused. Broadly speaking, I like *Bananza*’s bigger levels better, but Odyssey’s kingdoms are, in my opinion, better designed and themed.
Every single kingdom has memorable music. Each theme is super catchy and easy to recall after just a few minutes of playing. Plus, there are 8-bit remixes for when you enter the game’s 2D sections.
These seamless transitions really help Odyssey come together.
Some of my favorite tracks include the Wooded Kingdom and the Underground Moon Caverns — the latter takes you by surprise with how unexpected it feels in the Moon Kingdom.
New Donk City also remains one of *Super Mario Odyssey*’s biggest highlights. The New Donk City Festival is, in fact, the peak of the entire game.
Odyssey’s initial reveal trailer showed New Donk City and had players wondering if the game was truly open-world. It’s not—the city is somewhat small, contained on its own island—but it’s still great fun to explore thanks to all the tiny details hidden within.
This attention to detail is a recurring theme throughout *Super Mario Odyssey*. Not all kingdoms are huge, but they’re densely packed with small secrets to discover.
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### Power Moons: Abundant but Sometimes Tedious
By “secrets,” I mean **Power Moons**, which leads us to another point.
Earlier, I mentioned that the general opinion of *Super Mario Odyssey* has declined slightly over time. It’s still widely regarded as a great game, of course, and I agree with that.
However, people have started to see it for what it really is.
*Super Mario Odyssey* is full of Power Moons.
Since its kingdoms are so densely packed, you’ll often find multiple Power Moons in a row, often sitting out in the open. This is perhaps the game’s biggest problem: it’s far too easy to find Power Moons, and many are hidden behind purposefully repetitive tasks.
Growing plants, figuring out Hint Art, and tracking down a single bird all feel a little tedious.
This imbalance means most Power Moons are either too easy or too difficult to collect—not a great balance.
To add to this, the game requires collecting a certain number of Power Moons before moving on to the next kingdom.
While understandable, I think allowing players more freedom to decide how many Power Moons they want before progressing would be a better approach.
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### Story and Final Stretch: Underwhelming but Forgivable
*Super Mario Odyssey*’s story also leaves something to be desired, though most players aren’t chasing Mario games for their narratives.
Regardless, I was underwhelmed by the game’s final stretch.
The final boss is a reused Bowser battle with an extra bit of difficulty. The “true” final boss is probably the final sequence where you take control of Bowser—which is a highlight—but I think the experience would have been stronger with a more original Bowser fight rather than one similar to the Cloud Kingdom encounter.
For a game that does most of its boss fights well, *Odyssey* drops the ball at the last second.
The good news is the game makes up for it by including the entire Mushroom Kingdom as a post-game world. There’s plenty to do even after you roll the credits!
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### Final Thoughts
In spite of its problems, *Super Mario Odyssey* is a fantastic 3D platformer and certainly a must-play for anyone who somehow has avoided it until now.
It’s even better on the Nintendo Switch 2, where it has received a resolution bump and higher-quality textures.
I think the next 3D Mario game has many opportunities to build on what *Super Mario Odyssey* got right.
Given that we just got *Donkey Kong Bananza*, though, it might be a little while before the next 3D Mario arrives.
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### What Do You Think?
In the meantime, what do you think of *Super Mario Odyssey* today? Do you think it lives up to the hype, or is it just “good” rather than “excellent”?
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments down below.
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