If there's one game I've been looking forward to since the Switch was announced it was Super Mario Odyssey, the latest in a line of 3D games the starring the famous plumber. Mario, has normally had at least one major game per system, with the previous entry being Super Mario 3D World, which got rid of the collectathon aspect of previous 3D games, here we see a welcomed return to that style of gameplay. While all Mario games in the main series have been good, I'd be lying if I said that everything after the first Mario Galaxy stood out. Mario Odyssey is in fact the first game in the series to leave a huge impact, since the first Galaxy.
The game starts with Mario fighting Bowser as he always does, trying to rescue Peach as he always does, while jumping as he always does. Suffice to say, Mario gets beaten up and thrown off Bowser's airship, which is now off to prepare for the forced wedding of Bowser and Peach. As Mario is knocked out, a ghost hat named Cappy, decides to assist Mario, as his sister was kidnapped to be Peach's tiara for the wedding, thus they go from kingdom to kingdom, trying to stop Bowser and his wedding planners the Broodels from stealing artifacts for the marriage, as well as rescuing the kidnapped women. It's a fun story, with a neat ending, it's not the main focus, but compared to previous games, this certainly feels like the most story driven game in the series, even if it's barely there.
The kingdoms themselves are fun, few are memorable design wise, but playing each one is a blast due to the capture system, Cappy's special ability that lets Mario possess things and creatures. Personally the best kingdoms are the Metro Kingdom (the realistic city in all the ads), the Luncheon Kingdom (food based level) and Bowser's Kingdom, which has been redesigned in an incredible way. Though the fun is not limited to the visuals, even one of the most boring (visually) kingdoms is exciting to play once you capture an octopus that plays especially nostalgic for Mario Sunshine fans. I loved playing through every kingdom in this game, even if the levels weren't memorable in style, the gameplay always felt imaginative, or the set up of being there to stop Bowser's wedding checklist was just joyful enough to keep me from leaving the world, which is what all games should strive for in every level.
I loved this game, despite beating the main story there's still plenty to do, some of which is very reminiscent of Mario 64, I won't spoil it, but yes go on top of Peach's castle. My honest, biggest complaint through this, was a nitpick on Luigi not being in the game, even though he would've been a great joy to see somewhere, especially during the wedding sequence, which feels like every cheesy rom-com's third act, I cannot stress enough how much I love this game.
Maybe it's too early to call it, but Super Mario Odyssey is easily the best game of the year, I will be returning to it soon and I recommend you play it as soon as possible.
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