At least in my opinion, Mario games are all about entertaining platform actions and well-designed levels that reward thorough exploration and creative thinking. Ever since Super Mario 64 took Mario into the third dimension and provided new takes on familiar ideas, Super Mario Odyssey is the game that best captures these concepts, and is thus possibly the best Mario game in two decdes
The plot is the standard "Bowser kidnaps Peach" one, although this time, he's trying to marry her, and needs to steal various wedding-related objects in order to throw his wedding. The latter part gives you a sense of purpose, as you aren't just gathering Power Moons because the game asks you to, but to keep pursuing Bowser and his minions, and so that you can eventually settle the score with him.
Throughout Mario's adventure, you'll explore various kingdoms, which are often fairly interesting takes on the standard set of worlds. Each one has dozens of Power Moons hidden all over- some are in relatively plain sight and others are carefully hidden. Whether traversing obstacle courses, solving puzzles or defeating bosses, they're tests of your various skills, and present a variety of challenges.
The game has a fairly compelling hat throwing mechanic. Apart from being usable as an attack and a way of executing advanced maneuvers, you can take possession of enemies, and use them in various ways, such as using a Bullet Bill to fly across a long gap or using a T-Rex to smash your way through anything in your path. You'll need those abilities to overcome certain challenges, which may require you to use them in somewhat unconventional ways.
While the main story doesn't take very long to finish, and only requires you to find a relatively fraction of the game's Power Moons, there's quite a bit more to do once you finish. After completing the game, an entirely new world opens up, additional Power Moons can be found in the worlds you've previously explored, and some of the most challenging areas can be accessed by gathering even more Power Moons.
If I had to name a flaw, getting 100 percent completion is a daunting task. Not only are some of the moons very difficult to achieve, particularly those related to the mini-games (such as jumping rope or beach volleyball), but a lot of the moons are simply found by ground pounding in certain locations, and aren't as fun to find as some of the others. That said, you don't have to find any Power Moons that you're having trouble with.
All in all, if you're a fan of Mario games, I'd highly recommend Super Mario Odyssey, and if you're looking into buying a Switch, this game should be your first purchase for the system.
The best and most original Mario game since 64
At least in my opinion, Mario games are all about entertaining platform actions and well-designed levels that reward thorough exploration and creative thinking. Ever since Super Mario 64 took Mario into the third dimension and provided new takes on familiar ideas, Super Mario Odyssey is the game that best captures these concepts, and is thus possibly the best Mario game in two decdes
The plot is the standard "Bowser kidnaps Peach" one, although this time, he's trying to marry her, and needs to steal various wedding-related objects in order to throw his wedding. The latter part gives you a sense of purpose, as you aren't just gathering Power Moons because the game asks you to, but to keep pursuing Bowser and his minions, and so that you can eventually settle the score with him.
Throughout Mario's adventure, you'll explore various kingdoms, which are often fairly interesting takes on the standard set of worlds. Each one has dozens of Power Moons hidden all over- some are in relatively plain sight and others are carefully hidden. Whether traversing obstacle courses, solving puzzles or defeating bosses, they're tests of your various skills, and present a variety of challenges.
The game has a fairly compelling hat throwing mechanic. Apart from being usable as an attack and a way of executing advanced maneuvers, you can take possession of enemies, and use them in various ways, such as using a Bullet Bill to fly across a long gap or using a T-Rex to smash your way through anything in your path. You'll need those abilities to overcome certain challenges, which may require you to use them in somewhat unconventional ways.
While the main story doesn't take very long to finish, and only requires you to find a relatively fraction of the game's Power Moons, there's quite a bit more to do once you finish. After completing the game, an entirely new world opens up, additional Power Moons can be found in the worlds you've previously explored, and some of the most challenging areas can be accessed by gathering even more Power Moons.
If I had to name a flaw, getting 100 percent completion is a daunting task. Not only are some of the moons very difficult to achieve, particularly those related to the mini-games (such as jumping rope or beach volleyball), but a lot of the moons are simply found by ground pounding in certain locations, and aren't as fun to find as some of the others. That said, you don't have to find any Power Moons that you're having trouble with.
All in all, if you're a fan of Mario games, I'd highly recommend Super Mario Odyssey, and if you're looking into buying a Switch, this game should be your first purchase for the system.