Nintendo Switch

Super Mario Odyssey Review

Item: Super Mario Odyssey
Rating: 9.6
Author: Moe Train

By Moe TrainDecember 13, 20251 min read

Super Mario Odyssey key art, Moe Train Games review, scored 9.6 out of 10

9.6/ 10

The Verdict · Elite tier

The happiest game on this list, and the gap to second place is wide.

PlatformsNintendo Switch

Reviewed byMoe Train

DateDecember 13, 2025

GenrePlatformer

DeveloperNintendo

The Good

Captures turn every enemy into a new toy
New Donk City is Nintendo showing off
Hundreds of moons mean exploring always pays

The Rough Edges

Some moves are locked behind motion controls
A few kingdoms feel like hallways between the great ones

Super Mario Odyssey is pure joy with a capture button. Mario throws Cappy, lands on a Goomba, a T-Rex, a tank, a slab of meat, and every single capture is a new toy. Nintendo took the playground energy of Mario 64 and shipped it around the world: a city, a desert, a kingdom made of lunch.

New Donk City alone is worth the price. Pauline singing, taxis bouncing, a festival that turns into a full musical number: it's Nintendo showing off, and they earned the right. The moons are everywhere, hundreds of them, so exploration always pays you something.

Super Mario Odyssey, official screenshot 1 — Official screenshot: Super Mario Odyssey. Photo: Nintendo

Every capture is a new toy: a Goomba, a T-Rex, a tank, a slab of meat.

If I'm marking it down, it's for the motion control moves locked behind shaking the controller, and a few kingdoms that feel like hallways between the great ones. The postgame will also consume your life if you let it, which I did.

A 9.6. Odyssey is the happiest game on this entire list, and the gap to second place is wide.