There's no two way about it, the platforming genre has for the most part been one that has all but disappeared of late. And it's only fitting that the spiritual successor to the game that started it all, Super Mario 64, is the one to bring it into the modern era.

More than just the next game in a series, Odyssey is as essential as Nintendo's other big Switch release this year The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

There’s a sense of urgency with Super Mario Odyssey that is hard to shake, a first for the series. And one that helps establish Odyssey as the genre’s most important releases this side of the Y2K bug. The urgency or momentum results in a remarkably varied experience that goes from a beachside volleyball game one minute to controlling a tank the next. Or in some of the more impressive sequences, traverse a wall to reach a higher point. A wall that transforms into an 8-bit Mario platformer. Genius.

By now you probably have seen Super Mario Odyssey’s core mechanic, which is to use Mario’s companion Cappy to enter the bodies of certain enemies. It’s a strange concept and one that Nintendo is fully aware of just how strange it is. The first Cappy transition is prefaced with an almost drug-induced trip as Mario falls down a colourful well of frog imagery and bright lights. Because, well, the first creature that Mario becomes one with in Odyssey is a frog. Naturally, coming from Nintendo this choice makes perfect sense. In the overall design of this new adventure and in explaining the mechanic. As frog Mario, donning the same red cap and bushy moustache, you can jump higher. A lot higher.

And in one fell swoop Cappy is explained.

Click Here to Read Our Full Super Mario Odyssey Review