I’ve been eagerly waiting for Super Mario Odyssey to be released ever since it was announced last year. This anticipation grew once I finally got my hands on a Nintendo Switch and began playing Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, an installment to the Zelda franchise that revamped the series and in my opinion made buying a Switch worth it. Because of my love for Nintendo’s first major title on the Switch, I had a good feeling about its new Mario installment. This is especially since Mario Kart 8 is addictive to play, which makes me grateful I don’t have a copy myself, since I would play it every chance I got.

However, Super Mario Odyssey differs from the latest Mario Kart in that its pacing makes you love playing the game, but once you need to put it down, you can move on to other tasks. Unlike other games I have played, especially puzzle games that make you obsessed with passing the next objective, Odyssey is the right amount of addictiveness for a casual or professional gamer. The campaign only took me the weekend to finish and I was able to accomplish this while having people visiting me from out of town. The bosses can be a little tricky at first, but once you know their patterns, it shouldn’t take you more than a couple of tries. I enjoyed this in the game as I often put down a game for a while or sometimes for good if I feel the boss is impossible, which is probably why I have never played any Dark Souls title, it’s just the type of gamer I am.

I loved exploring the various colorful worlds that fill Super Mario Odyssey. My favorite, “New Donk City” tasks Mario to recruit 4 band members for the city’s festival and rewards you with “power moons” and an amazing 8 bit 2-D throwback to “Donkey Kong” which you complete while running around the city’s skyscrapers. After completing the campaign of this location, I can’t wait to revisit it now since I have completed the game and collect more power moons while further exploring the city itself.

Overall, I highly recommend this game to any Mario/Nintendo fan. Although this title doesn’t reinvent the the franchise like Breath of the Wild did, it still is a fantastically designed game. The bosses might be on the easier side, but these battles aren’t supposed to be the core of the game, exploring the sandbox-like world is. Super Mario Odyssey excels at this and many other features, like Cappy, make the game feel fresh. After leaving every location to continue chasing Bowser who once again has captured Princess Peach, I eagerly awaited my return, the sure sign of a brilliant game. I can’t wait for the weekend so I can continue exploring these environments while catching up on my favorite podcasts.