Super Mario Odyssey review: globe-trotting journey reflects and reinvents

Returning to a free exploration style after years of more linear adventures, the latest Super Mario is a relentlessly joyful celebration of the entire series, but it also drags Mario towards the future with the most modern game design we've seen from the series yet.

Nintendo has changed a lot in the 15 years since Super Mario Sunshine, its last stab at a game in this style, and that really comes through here in a positive way. While the core remains — travelling between diverse, sprawling worlds, running, jumping and examining every nook and cranny at your own pace for secrets — there's a confidence and a cheerful sense of humour here that wasn't there before.

Meet Cappy, Mario's new companion for his globe-spanning journey.

Attempts at exposition and lore-building are gone, leaving worlds and gameplay to speak for themselves. Characters — from the colourful people native to each kingdom to the huge collection of enemies — are all full of life and energy, and that includes Mario who finally steps up from being a blank cypher to carrying himself with a bit of sass. Every second spent in Odyssey's massive word is an opportunity for peerless platforming scenarios, addictive mini games or plain goofy fun, and it's all set to one of the greatest soundtracks Nintendo has produced yet.

Of course the roots of this style of game go back further than Sunshine to 1996's Super Mario 64, and while there is more than one direct reference to that game in Odyssey, this is a brand new take rather than a pandering recreation.

Captured creates and objects immediately get a mustache and hat, which never gets old.

Weaving theatrical set-pieces together with pure skill-based challenges, moving from the stripped-back introduction to the absolutely incredible final encounter that perfectly encapsulates the blend of old and new in a sort of playable music video, this is the free-form Mario fans have been asking for but it's also the same 2017 brand of Nintendo that completely reinvented Zelda earlier this year.

When Peach is kidnapped by Bowser yet again, Mario and his new hat-shaped companion Cappy set off in pursuit aboard the airship Odyssey. Their journey takes them through a dozen core kingdoms — each with a markedly different art style and theme — where Mario explores in search of power moons (the Odyssey's fuel source), and collects coins to buy new outfits and hats.

While some objectives in each level are obvious — whether it's climbing a peak or battling the massive boss roaming the world — there are hundreds you have to find on your own. One moon might be just hanging out on top of a box for you to grab, but another might require you to navigate a complex series of mazes and challenges. And of course, many can only be found with a little help from Mario's newfound pal.

Throwing cappy, with the flick of your wrist or the press of a button depending on the controller you're holding, can be used to attack enemies or springboard to high places, but also allows for the special "capture" ability that gives direct control of enemies and objects.

Some old characters and concepts return while others, like the New-York-style city where Mario first fought Donkey Kong in the arcade game, are totally reinvented.

Being able to play as classic Mario baddies like goombas, bullet bills and chain chomps is incredibly fun, but it goes beyond mere nostalgia fuel. Each captured object or enemy has its own set of abilities that are frequently put to interesting use to uncover secrets. As a goomba, for example, you can jump on top of other goombas to make a stack, and if you get your stack high enough and walk teetering through some hazardous areas, you might be able to meet a shy lady goomba who'll immediately fall in love and reward you with a moon.

Capturing adds a lot of variety to the exploration, and makes for some fun puzzles and challenges to contrast Mario's staple athletic abilities. It's also where a lot of the absurd humour in the game comes from, and it's a main part of the imagination-prodding that makes up Odyssey's signature sensation.

Capturable objects and creatures vary wildly in their abilities, and discovering how to use them is part of the fun.

Meanwhile the collectible outfits serve a similar purpose, with some areas off-limits until you're dressed a certain way, but they're mostly just for fun. Wearing weird outfits and exploring diverse worlds full of foreign creatures and unfamiliar mechanics makes for a charming "travel" theme that even Sunshine could never achieve back in the day, and it's helped by the full-featured and social-media-shareable photo mode you can use to take snaps.

One of the major mechanical changes to the series is in the way dying works this time around. Mario no longer loses a life when he takes too much damage or falls into a pit — and it's about time, as lives and game over screens barely made sense in the early 2000s — instead he is penalised a handful of gold coins and sent back to the last checkpoint flag he touched. These flags also serve as warp points for you to get around more quickly.

Classic 2D stages transform Mario into an 8-bit spite and wrap around and under the level's walls and floors.

It's a change that encourages rather than punishes trial and error, which works to the game's strengths of exploration and surprise. It also leaves the coins to function as currency rather than health, and both kinds of currency (gold ones you can use anywhere, and purple ones to buy region-specific items) are put to great use in leading Mario down rabbit holes and into secret areas.

I was surprised how consumed I came with certain objectives and moons, and it wasn't until I returned to some regions for a second time I realised I'd only scratched the surface of what was on offer before moving on. Whether you're spending time learning the intricacies of Mario's roll and long jump, or exploring the avenues of New Donk City on a scooter, just playing around in the world is bound to lead you on little journeys and to surprising discoveries and challenges you completely missed when chasing the more obvious goals early on.

In true Nintendo fashion, there are layers of complexity and challenge here which means virtually anybody can enjoy the game, from novices to dedicated gamers and from series newcomers to the most ardent Mushroom Kingdom fans.

By the time I'd seen the credits roll I had completed way less than half of the content on offer, with Nintendo smartly gating off a lot of the tougher moons (and fan service) until after the story is completed. At the time the handy map was showing me I had around 200 moons left to find, and that there were still 11 creatures or objects I was yet to capture. Without giving anything way, I'll just say this wasn't entirely accurate. Every time I thought I had an idea of just how many extra challenges lay ahead of me, something happened to expand the game's worlds even further.

For some, being led through the kingdoms and seeing the conclusion of the story will be satisfying enough, but for others that first adventure is merely a primer on the skills and mechanics they'll need to master in the game's later, positively diabolical challenges.

The game's reliance on using the Joy-Con controllers separated, one in each hand, is perhaps the only substantial criticism I can come up with. Mario feels great to move around with any controller, and I ended up preferring the Pro, but there are certain techniques you can only pull off with motion gestures. The camera also very occasionally developed a mind of it's own and made it hard to see, but neither of these niggles were big enough to impact my enjoyment of the game.

Mario Odyssey is an inventive, playful and incredibly polished experience that pays constant homage to the series' storied past while never feeling redundant or old. From the creative way classic characters and styles of play are inserted into the worlds to the brand new capture mechanic that gives a new perspective on what an open-world Mario game can be, this is a timeless journey I'll keep coming back to for a long time.

Super Mario Odyssey is out now for Nintendo Switch