My first 15 hours with the game was great but it seems the more the game require of me post game the more problematic the game's initially minor problems became.
Story
It has become the norm to accept the that no-one plays Mario games for the story and this becomes rather obvious as the game progresses. The cliché of saving the princess is ever more apparent but this time around Bowser is attempting to force marry Princess Peach. This is a rather disturbing premise for the game and the ending makes even worse. In the end the story is a throw away.
Graphics
Mario Odyssey takes on a journey across a great variety of worlds and each offer their own visual flare. Some areas visually stronger than others and have a strong art direction and is very cohesive. Others simply look dated. The levels with the stronger visual elements are the ones that shy away from the more realistic approach and tend to show the limitations of the system. As you play you would experience strong visual presentation and other moments you will be treated with rudimentary visuals as simple as colored blocks.
Sound
The music and sound effects are simply great. This element of the game is the most cohesive and delivers high quality throughout the experience from the small nuances to the varied sound track.
Gameplay
The Mario games are known for its solid gameplay and this game delivers in some respects. It is also the area that was the most inconsistent in delivery. It’s worth noting that I played the game with the standard controller and this proved to be a persistent annoyance throughout the game. This is mainly due to the poor design of the controller. The face buttons size becomes more problematic and the right analog stick is almost constantly nestle under your thumb which also controls the camera. Using the joy cons independent of the attachment felt comfortable for most of the casual elements of the game but as the game challenges you, this setup proved more of hinderance than an aid. So, the standard controller may prove to be a drawback to the overall experience for some people.
Mario Odyssey core game mechanic relies on using the possessed cap Cappy. This feature allows you take control of almost everything that is “sentient”. Because of this, the game opens to a large variety of gameplay mechanics and allows for a very interesting play through as you experience the effects of playing various enemies. Mario Odyssey takes full advantage of this mechanism throughout the game and is a foundational element of the gameplay.
This mechanic is typically interesting but rarely “fun”. Some enemies play much better than others and the ones that are not as refine are typically a short lived experience. At the end of it all I did not desire to play any of the capture enemies after their time expired. Because of this, the base Mario becomes more of an active element in general gameplay. Mario with Cappy is highly functional but lacks independence. What I mean by this is that Cappy’s gameplay relies on possession and enemies typically cannot be neutralized by throwing the cap since most of them can be controlled by the cap. This makes some encounters more of a hassle than a quick knock with the cap.
The overall structure of the game is open area. Each world takes you to a new open area to which you can explore, complete small quest and minor puzzles to earn moons. Outside of the main story to guide you through the game, these sidequest and mini challenges boils down to a hundreds of mini fetch quests with the same reward. The incentive for collecting moons is that it unlocks new customs and possibly opens up some new areas. Your first play though you will be able to collect a specific maximum number of moons but upon completion the moon fetching quadruple. This is done by activating a stone artifact that scatters another X number of moons throughout the world. I wish I can say that I enjoyed this extra but its hampered by share number and the general lack of actual level design around the acquisition of the hundreds of extra moons. So, if you love collecting items scattered across the map that may or may not be tied to a puzzle or level, then this feature is a dream come true.
My main gripe with game however is the controls. Mario controls very well for basic movement. The moment you push this requirement further with the standard controller frustration seeps in. I have experience random speed accelerations, wide turns and many camera problems. The game has a semi automated camera and at times this feature can be truly annoying. Again, if you are playing the game casually as to just do what is necessary for the main story, its generally OK. But, push beyond that and all of the game’s shortcoming become a reality. Couple this with Cappy lock on feature being locked to motion controls makes motion controls mandatory for certain sections. If you are gaming undocked or with Joy con attached to the standard controller accessory the experience worsens. This lead to the experience becoming more and more aggravating as the controls get in the way. Couple the controls and camera with some simply poorly design elements like Jaxi (mount) the experience downgrades to simply terrible.
The lack of a traditional structure and intense fetch questing makes this game a one time playthrough assuming you have the desire to collect all of the moons. Because moons are scattered almost everywhere and there is a lot of them, their acquisition is immensely cheapened. Its also worth noting that you will fight the same bosses several times throughout the game with a minor increase in difficulty.
Overall Mario Odyssey is a good game but it tries to have too hard to have just lots of stuff and at times its all over the place. This type of gameplay may appeal more to the item collector junkies and less to the level completion platformer type.