Details from EDGE’s Super Mario Odyssey review
Despite being two weeks away, Super Mario Odyssey already received its first review this week. UK magazine EDGE published a verdict in its latest issue. It couldn’t have been better, with Super Mario Odyssey being given a perfect 10.
If you’re interested in what EDGE actually said about the game, you can find some tidbits from the review below. There isn’t much in the way of spoilers, but a couple of points may touch on things that you may want to know for yourself – like the rough number of capture possibilities. So keep that in mind before proceeding.
– There are 50-odd capture possibilites. ‘It pays close attention to the physics and handling of each of these new forms, making each one enjoyable to command’.
– The transformations ‘are not always essential, and in many cases Mario’s repertoire is enough to get by, though it’s often quicker or easier to make the switch. Sometimes you’ll bench Mario for the simple novelty of playing as something else’.
– ‘Even leaving Cappy out of the equation, our hero has been furnished with his most expansive moveset to date….it’s tempting to say Mario has never felt better in the palms.’
– Portable mode feels a little like a compromise compared to playing with Joy-Cons in separate hands, partly because it can be hard to make out distant targets on the smaller screen. The TV feels like Odyssey’s natural home.
– There are a clutch of stage-specific quests that offer more traditional, structured progression but generally you’re free to choose what you do next.
– ‘Not all activities are created equal but you’re never far from a brilliant new idea or a clever twist on an old one’
– Mario’s finest ever selection of boss fights.
– ‘The party continues in the postgame too’ but no explicit details. There’s some kind of spoilery stuff about references to earlier games
– ‘There is a lot of BOTW in SMO, from the chance to scout out potential destinations from high above ground, to the way the soundtrack often lets you acclimatise to your surroundings in relative quiet before the stage’s theme announces itself. But it’s most obvious in the way its environments appeal to your natural curiosity, sights and sounds teasing you away from your present path – and in its sheer volume of diversions.
– ‘Link may have more Korok seeds to find than Mario has moons, but not by many.’
– ‘Odyssey feels like a true reinvention of the sandbox platformer’
– ‘by giving you a broader number of ways to collect moons, it’s a game that’s more considerate of every type of player’
– ‘Peach, for her part, is no damsel in distress and her role expands in the post-game, although not in the way you might expect’.
