That freedom is really Super Mario Odyssey’s greatest strength, too. There are a limited number of points throughout the game that require motion control even spots that seem like they need it often have a workaround if you’re really desperate to not waggle your controller. I cannot stress enough, however, that this is a minor quibble. While motion controls still work with both of those setups, they’re awkward as hell to pull off. But as someone who still regularly experiences desyncing problems with the Joy-Cons, I preferred using the Pro Controller or playing in handheld mode. If you’re playing with the Switch’s Joy-Con controllers, the motion control moves are pretty easy. And most annoyingly, a few options require the use of motion controls. Certain complex moves can require eventually holding down three or more buttons, all pressed with perfect timing, or letting go of buttons at the right time. Let me be clear here that the controls aren’t bad by any means, but given the sheer number of possible moves at Mario’s disposal, there’s, uh, a lot to learn. I had one single and minor frustration: the controls.

Did you find anything to be disappointing or even frustrating with how much the gameplay deviates from the traditional Mario style? Or did you wish it went even further? Nintendo EPD/Nintendo PHIL I will say that the radical departure from Mario’s typical skill set does still take some serious getting used to, though. Rediscovering how Mario works is a major part of what makes Odyssey a pleasure, as well as something special.

Cappy may once again give Mario a new hat to wear, but the core difference here is that with those hats comes a rediscovery of how both the game and Mario himself work - he’s still punching blocks and ground-pounding, but he's not physically the Mario we’re used to. Eventually I got around to the core Mario games, and while I loved adventuring around kingdoms and islands and galaxies as Mario, I still credit his expansive list of extracurriculars with maintaining my endearment to his quirky crew.Įven as I’ve always known Mario to hold a variety of jobs, one thing remained the same: He was still Mario. By the time I first checked out the series, Mario was already a kart racing champ, big-time partier and tennis star. My relationship with Mario started from a more unconventional place: I learned to love the Mushroom Kingdom through Mario’s side adventures. So Allegra, as someone without my old-man fondness for the Mario series, how have you liked Super Mario Odyssey? I can say with confidence that there hasn’t been another game this year that has so consistently had me grinning. And, just like I remember from my formative years, this emphasis on exploration and discovery serves as a bottomless well from which to draw buckets of good feelings. Spend as much time as you want messing around chances are you’ll be rewarded for it. The whole game is basically structured like a massive playground. Each of these “captures” has new moves of their own. There is so much in this game Mario himself has so many moves and abilities, and then on top of that over a dozen different enemies or allies can be taken over with Cappy, his new ghostly hat companion.

Then this week, once again, I felt that surprise and joy with Super Mario Odyssey. The most recent time a Mario game captured that same feeling of discovery was when Super Mario 64 first took the series into 3D. The whole game is basically like a massive playground

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