By allowing players the freedom to explore entire worlds to collect dozens of Power Moons – seriously, there can be over 70 to find in each of the Kingdoms – learning every inch of the terrain becomes a joy. As a kid, I knew what lay inside every painting in 64, down to the last detail, and running around New Donk City, Fossil Falls, and every other land in Odyssey is just as addictive. The worlds are simply stunning, each brimming with its own unique personality.
With so much to see and do, learning how to explore it all is one of Odyssey’s greatest strengths, and it helps that Mario controls better than he ever has in order to allow you to do so.
As you may have guessed by now, Mario has teamed up with Cappy, who becomes his hat and offers a range of new abilities. These become the basis for attacks and jumps, and can even be used to take control of iconic characters within the game. For example, throwing Cappy ahead of Mario before jumping on him will provide a bigger front flip, while throwing him while in midair will grant an additional second of air time to make that huge jump. But beyond these advantages, Mario simply ‘feels’ better.
Somehow the controls feel tighter: Mario seems more responsive, and his jumps sharper. Couple this with an expanded arsenal of jumps and attacks, and within a few hours of game time you’ll feel like an absolute master. There was one point where, in order to reach an isolated precipice, I did a long jump, threw Cappy, then did a dive (a new move for Mario where you initiate a ground pound before hitting ‘attack’ so he leaps forward), then bounced off Cappy to land at the cliff’s edge. Nobody being around to high-five me was the only sad part about this monumental achievement.