Not a game changer, but Super Mario Odyssey is a lot of fun.

Mario is basically the flagship Nintendo IP, and Nintendo is really good about keeping Mario fresh and new with each installment. Keeping the core gameplay of previous 3D Mario titles, that being the platforming and collectables, the game does a few things to try and add it's own flair to the design, and for the most part succeeds.

On your quest to save Princess Peach once again from the clutches of Bowser, you are aided by Cappy, a hat creature that allows you to possess certain creatures and objects, toss it as a weapon, and even use it as a platform. Pretty much all of the games unique mechanics revolve around making use of the hat, and it actually does a lot to keep the game feeling fun.

Taking control of a goomba allows you to jump on other goombas and start to form a stack of them, ten being the biggest stack I made, taking control of the Bullet Bills and flying around until the body explodes and you are ejected out, or my personal favorite of the pumkin with vine legs that you can extend. You can do a lot of different things because of your ability to possess things, and it adds a lot of fun ways to explore the world around you and discover more of the Crystal Moons you need to advance.

That being said, we come across the games biggest drawback, and that is the majority of the Moons you can find don't really require any effort or skill to get. Many are just around the corner, hidden in glowing spots on the ground, and far too many are like that. While exploring can be fun, only a handful of the moons in the game are actually rewarding to find. Some of them you even get by buying them in shops, and coins are so massively abundant it would be a fluke if you didn't have enough to buy them. And even if you didn't, just advance as normal and go back to the shop when you do have enough, no reason to try and gather coins specifically. With so many moons just feeling like time wasting busy work, I find myself wishing they just cut back on the number of moons in the game.

And how experienced you are with Mario games, or platformers in general, will determine how challenging the game is for you. If you're entirely new to the genre, I imagine you'll have a good wall to overcome, though nothing that is going to break your spirit. If you've played a few, there isn't really anything that will offer you that big of a challenge. Your joy will be entirely based on how fun you find it to just run around exploring the world and enjoying the visuals.

And the visuals are pretty great. There are creative enemy designs, fun environments, and a pretty big variety of things to see from world to world. Pair that in with being able to change Mario's outfits around (my favorite I unlocked was Pirate Mario) and the game doesn't get dull visually for the run of the main story. I haven't done the unlockable worlds after the completion of the game, mind you, so I can't really say for sure if it holds true for those worlds as well.

Other then the repetitiveness of hunting Moon Crystals, and the ease at which you can clear everything as a genre veteran, there really isn’t an issue with the game. A few times the controls can feel a bit awkward and take some getting use too, but that's pretty par for the course of the genre, and it honestly handles better then most out there. There really isn't' a story worth talking about, but there are some funny comedic moments that come up regularly, the ending sequence when you are leaving the final stage being one of them.

If you have a switch and like Mario, the game is definitely worth picking up, or even if you just have a kid with a Switch it's a solid choice if they are new to gaming. It may not be groundbreaking, and it won't be topping my best of the list for the year, but I don't regret the purchase in the slightest.