It almost goes without saying that Odyssey offers tight controls, creative platforming and gorgeous art with near-perfect levels of polish. There are certain things you know you're getting with a Mario game. Just as Galaxy's spaceship would only advance after you collect a certain number of Lumas, Odyssey's Moons power up an airship that will fly you to new kingdoms.īy subscribing, you are agreeing to Engadget's Terms and Privacy Policy. There are hundreds of Moons dotted around more than a dozen kingdoms, some nestled in hard-to-reach and hidden locations, others handed out for defeating bosses or winning races. The structure is essentially a combination of Super Mario 64 and Galaxy. It's a coherent enough narrative, but the joy of Mario has never been in its story. This time around, Bowser is going from kingdom to kingdom collecting items - a ring, a gown and so on - for a wedding ceremony. The setup in Odyssey is as familiar as ever: Bowser has kidnapped Princess Peach, so you need to collect an arbitrary item (Power Moons rather than Stars this time) and chase him down to save the day. Super Mario Odyssey is just one more step in the right direction, another evolution of a perfect formula. The truth is, Nintendo has constantly reinvented the idea of a 3D Mario game, relentlessly pushing the franchise forward with each release. 'A return to form.' 'A reinvention.' There are lots of clichés we fall back on when describing a fresh game in a long-running series.

Super mario odyssey 2 player