Super Mario Odyssey

***Super Mario Odyssey*** is a Nintendo Switch 3D platform video game released on October 27, 2017. It is part of the _Super Mario_ series. It has gotten a lot of positive ratings and is one of the highest-rated games of all time. It had sold 29 million copies as of June 2025.

The game has an online side mode called Luigi's Balloon World. The game's soundtrack is in the _Nintendo Music_ app.

## Story

Bowser and the Broodals, a group of rabbits, kidnap Princess Peach and Tiara, and take them to Bowser's airship. Mario comes to rescue Peach, but he fails, being launched towards the Hat Kingdom. However, his hat stayed on the ship, Bowser stepped on it, and it flew to the back of the ship and ripped.

But a hat named Cappy grabs a piece, and he flies to Mario to team up with him. Cappy uses the piece to look like Mario's old cap. The two go and collect Power Moons, and in the Amber Kingdom, they find a ship named _Odyssey,_ making it work with Power Moons. The two climb aboard and chase Bowser, as they travel to various kingdoms. They fight bosses along the way and collect Power Moons to reach more areas.

They meet up with Bowser on the Moon in a cathedral, and Mario fights with him. Mario wins, but the battlefield breaks. Mario "captures" Bowser using Cappy, allowing Mario to take over Bowser. Peach and Tiara jump on Bowser's shoulder and escape the cavern. Bowser goes to propose to Peach again, and so does Mario. Peach rejects them both and gets on the _Odyssey_ with Tiara and Cappy. Mario rushes to the _Odyssey_ in time, leaving Bowser on the Moon.

## Gameplay

_Super Mario Odyssey_ is a game where you control Mario as he travels through different worlds called "Kingdoms" in a hat-shaped ship named Odyssey to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser. The game has Mario exploring these Kingdoms, similar to how it was in Super Mario 64. In each Kingdom, Mario needs to find and complete tasks to get Power Moons, which power the Odyssey and unlock new Kingdoms. There are checkpoint flags scattered around that let Mario quickly travel back to them. Some levels have "flat" zones where the game switches to a 2D side-scrolling style, like in the original Super Mario Bros.

## Awards

|Year|Awards|Category|Result|Ref.||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|rowspan="7" style="text-align:center;"|2017|rowspan="3"|IGN's Best of E3|Best Platformer||rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"||
|Best Nintendo Switch Game||||||||
|Game of Show||||||||
|rowspan="3"|Game Critics Awards|Best Action/Adventure Game||rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"||||
|Best Console Game||||||||
|Best of Show||||||||
|_Destructoid_s Best of E3|Best of Show||rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;"|||||

## Reception

Generally, Super Mario Odyssey is liked by game critics and players. On Metacritic, Super Mario Odyssey has a critic score of 97/100.

Andrew Webster from The Verge said the game works well on the Switch, letting players enjoy long or short play sessions. He compared collecting "Power Moons" to finding hidden mini-dungeons in Breath of the Wild. However, he found the motion controls frustrating and preferred regular controls. The game’s 2D Mario segments were compared to puzzles in The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.

## Infobox (video game)

- **title**: Super Mario Odyssey
- **platforms**: Nintendo Switch
- **developer**: Nintendo EPD
- **released**: October 27, 2017
- **director**: Kenta Motokura
- **genre**: Platformer