At its January 2017 Nintendo Switch Presentation, Nintendo not only unveiled its latest console, but also revealed one of its biggest games: Super Mario Odyssey.
It’s a massive 3D platformer in the vein of Super Mario 64, and ventures into new territory for the Mario games: a realistic(ish) take on New York City. After months of waiting, the game is finally out. Read on to find out everything we know about Super Mario Odyssey, including the release date, price, and the best deals.
Read our Super Mario Odyssey review.
When is Super Mario Odyssey out?
Super Mario Odyssey release date: 27 October 2017
While Nintendo had promised a release in time for ‘holiday 2017’, Christmas came early this year: Super Mario Odyssey came out on 27 October 2017.
How much does it cost?
Super Mario Odyssey price: £59.99/$59.99
Like other high-end Switch titles it officially costs £59.99/$59.99 – but you can find it for much less.
You can order it right now from Amazon, which has the best price we’ve seen for the UK – just £41.99.
What is Mario Odyssey gameplay like?
After the Mario Galaxy and Mario 3D World games have focussed on small, contained levels, Super Mario Odyssey is a return to the style of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, with a large hub area and several other worlds to explore for stars and other collectibles.
The most striking new feature of Super Mario Odyssey is its new worlds, as he jumps out of the Mushroom Kingdom and travels round in a giant airship to visit a variety of new settings.
The strangest of these is New Donk City, which is a quasi-realistic Mario take on New York, complete with yellow taxis and the first almost-normal-looking humans we’ve ever seen in a Mario game. It feels very strange to see Mario in anything approximating the real world, and this looks like to be the most talked about element of Super Mario Odyssey.
Don’t worry though, it’s not all realistic. Mario also visits a few more colourful settings, including the food-themed Luncheon Kingdom, first revealed in full at Gamescom 2017 in a special presentation – skip to the 9-minute mark to see the world in action.
We particularly love the Mexican-inspired Sand Kingdom that you’ll come across early in the game, and the dinosaur world we saw for the first time in the E3 2017 presentation.
That hat store also hints at another of the game’s big new changes: Mario’s hat. Not only can he now use his trusty cap as a weapon to throw at enemies, he can also turn it into a platform and jump on it. And that’s only the start.
Super Mario Odyssey outfits
The E3 gameplay trailer (see below around 15:30) revealed a whole load of new hats and outfits for Mario to wear, from a Mexican mariachi outfit through to American football gear. These are purchased with purple coins and you’ll need to wear outfits to unlock secret levels in each kingdom.
There’s more though. Mario can also use the hat to take control of various creatures and objects in the game world. These range from standard enemies like Goombas and Koopas right up to Bullet Bills, a yellow taxi cab, and even a giant T-rex.
Super Mario Odyssey co-op multiplayer
The game also has co-op multiplayer, as producer Yoshiaki Koizumi hinted at during E3:
“Well, the first thing I would want to say about multiplayer is that since this is the Nintendo Switch, and it does have two controllers, it’s very easy for you to imagine handing one to another person, so there’s probably something that you will hear about multiplayer,” Koizumi said.
We now know that Mario Odyssey features a co-op mode where the second player gets to control Cappy and fly around where ever they choose. “What’s more, Cappy is invincible so he can protect Mario from harm,” said Nintendo
If you want to see more of the game in action, check out this gameplay footage from E3, which shows off both New Donk City and the Day of the Dead themed Mexican area:
Super Mario Odyssey photo mode
As confirmed during Nintendo’s September 2017 livestream, Super Mario Odyssey has a dedicated photo mode entitled Snapshot Mode that allows you to freeze time and capture the perfect in-game snaps.
Move and tilt the camera, add Instagram-esque filters and even change the aspect ratio of the photo before wirelessly sending the finished photo to your smartphone.
Super Mario Odyssey trailers
First, here’s the game’s initial announcement trailer:
Next up, watch the gameplay trailer from E3 2017, which shows off a few of the new settings and the many, many ways the game will use hats.
Super Mario Odyssey screenshots
Author: Dominic Preston, Deputy Editor
Tech Advisor's Deputy Editor, Dom covers everything that runs on electricity, from phones and laptops to wearables, audio, gaming, smart home, and streaming - plus he's a regular fixture on the Tech Advisor YouTube channel.