This video is a re-upload of my original Mario Odyssey video because I didn’t properly credit Joseph Anderson in it. Most of the first half of this video is a summary of some points from his excellent 2-hour-long in-depth review of the game, and if you want more Mario Odyssey analysis I’d highly recommend watching it: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ob96q5ip2ZjHcmQ.html

fails darker side once

Odyssey gives you a great moveset and the only thing you can do with it is to skip level design.

Odyssey feels like an indie title that received Mario Branding and AAA production value without addressing any of the fundamental issues. If it weren't for the Mario Branding, everyone would call the game padded and repetitive, I know this because Sonic Frontiers has a VERY similar gameplay loop to Odyssey except the controls aren't as tight and people rightfully trashed on that game. Many of the complaints made about Frontiers can clearly be seen in Odyssey: 1. The abundance of shameless on-the-nose callbacks to previous games. 2. The platforming being mostly relegated to challenge rooms and sub areas. 3. An overabundance of Sub Areas 4. An expanded Moveset that doesn't suit the world design. (Traversing the worlds in Odyssey never demand more than simple jumps from the player. Sonic's ground detection is always at odds with the small bumps in the ground's collision) 5. A deceptive number of Worlds in the game. (Cloud, Ruined, Dark Side and Darker Side are barely even worlds and either should've been bigger or turned into sub areas.) 6. An overall lack of challenge. 7. Effortless busywork making up the majority of the overworld's content. (Walking on Glowing Squares, Running in a Hamster Wheel, Planting Seeds, Collecting Music notes etc...) 8. Reused Assets everywhere 9. Reused Missions everywhere I could go on, but since it's a Mario game, people call it "game of the year" and "a return to their childhood" when it's just a $20 indie game masquerading as a Mario game.

Botw seems worse to 100% then mario oddysey, I think there's a 9 hour video just for korok seed locations

great video and i agree with most of your points, but somehow i still had a blast playing this and actually find modern zelda really lacking in interesting content. interesting how its the opposite for us.

Mario games have made my buy Nintendo consoles in the past. I played Odyssey for free on Yuzu and gave up. This game kinda killed my love for Mario games, after 4 decades of loving the franchise. It felt barren and tedious.

I agree with the odyssey complaints, but the Botw comparisons give that piece of garbage game waaayyyy too much credit

It's a shame because it has the best movement system in the entire series, I just never clicked with the levels and soundtrack over the years. I love Jump Up Superstar, but the world music selection is not memorable. Where is music on the level of Slider, Dire Dire Docks, Bob Omb Battlefield, Delfino Plaza, Mario Galaxy's grandstar theme? It's far froma bad game, but Nintendo could have done better with the theming of the game.

its funny that you use BOTW as your comparison, cause I couldn't put MO down but got bored of BOTW before I even finished the tutorial lol

I never felt connected to MO the way I was with mario galaxy 1 and 2. Its a pretty picture, but has as much depth as a shallow pool of water. I enjoyed the game, but it never scratched that itch.

but mario has at least level design, zelda botw has none in exchange for "freedom" making it less engaging and boring, i want classic dungeons back, a actual game not a sandbox bore-fest

NGL I thought the game was going to have the sauce when I did the first 2D section. After a few worlds, it just felt gimmicky to me with the only consistent being getting the moons. Not even in my to 50 games of all time.

I respect the dedication to making a 19 minute video about this subject, and I certainly agree about some points. But I find it laughable that you mention almost nothing good about the game to make it sound worse. Not to mention that Mario is simply just fun to play as, it's super satisfying to exploit the movement to skip small segments or just extend your jumps to crazy degrees. But whatever. What's my main argument with this comment, why did I put it down here? "Absurdly Overrated" isn't just this game. It's the entire series. I've been working on a pretty in-depth retrospective on the mainline Super Mario games for a while now, and out of every game I talked about in the video (19 games to be specific), none of them stood out as "One of the best games of all time". Not that I don't like Mario, it's one of my favourite franchises, but almost every time I reached a super highly regarded game (entire 3D series except 3D Land & Galaxy 2) I ended up being disappointed. Not even that I didn't like any of them, but some of them (Galaxy 2, 3D Land, 3D World, Odyssey) weren't the absolutely fantastic games I was expecting, just "great" and nothing more. I'd never consider any of the games in the series to be a top 100 video game or whatever. If anything, a lot of the games that were SUPER highly regarded by fans and critics ended up being near the bottom of my ranking. 64, Galaxy and especially Sunshine were games I kinda hated by the end of them. They had good qualities for sure, but overall I did not like playing them at all. I'll explain my reasoning when I get to that review in the retrospective, but you can ask me my opinion on a specific game in the replies if you want.

I can see this video is a controversial one. But i agree with everything u said. I felt this way from the beginning but was just called a "hater" or a "contrarian".

I love the botw comparison, botw is not a good zelda game, sure it's a good open world game but it doesn't have the elements of a zelda game, mean while SMO recreates the 3d mario games very well by having bigger worlds and bringing back old elements.

I just beat the game and I completely agree!! It's very shallow. There were some fun moments but not anything close to breath of the wild.

This was an interesting watch. I know one of my college friends who did play and like this game say, when this game came up in conversation, mention the concept of "too much of a good thing can be a bad thing," because there's just too many Power Moons in this game. And after hearing what you have to say, I have a fuller understanding of that--even though I still kinda knew where he and you are coming from. That being said, I will bring up a couple more things to add--though you did an excellent job already, I just thought these next couple points are also important to bring up. First up, you touched on the story a little bit but I noticed that that wasn't a concept that came up a lot. I know that the story doesn't help in the grand scheme of things, and with how little you did bring up the story, you did mention that it doesn't help the overall gameplay--especially when a lot of the more challenging moons only come up after you beat the story. But at least the story does have some substance that does help a little bit. Not much overall, and it isn't very powerful, but it does help a little bit, because it does bring up a storyline that, while touched on in previous Mario games (i.e. Paper Mario, Super Paper Mario, etc.), hasn't been brought up much in the mainline games and is something that, unless spoiled for you on KZfaq or social media, you don't expect (the start and ending being the main points). Bowser kidnaps Peach to forcibly marry her and, presumably, combine their kingdoms together so he can rule over his own kingdom as well as the Mushroom Kingdom. Yoshiaki Koizumi got to shine in producing this game and really brought something in to add to the typical save-the-princess storyline that always gets used, and I thought it was creatively done, using the world-building. Some people may be tired of that storyline and wish it changed, but I thought it was good. Plus, the Broodles are finally a new cast of characters/species we've never seen before, which is a breath of fresh air after Nintendo's over-abundance of Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings (some of my personal favorite characters, but I understand others' complaints about their overuse). These are some positives about the game that I, at least, think work--though I could see arguments going other ways. I've only ever beaten this game twice in my life, and both times it was 100% completion. There was a two-and-a-half year gap in between. And, let me tell you, this game works best if you play it for 100% completion and allow for a long period of time between each playthrough. It's easy enough for me, being a big-time gamer, also working on making some of my own games now, and, on top of all that, having a fulltime job. So, yeah, this game is probably the most fun the first time through, but its replayability suffers. My college roommate said the same thing. I agree with what you said about the game being oversaturated with nods to Mario, as though it's a testament to Mario himself. But, for a game like this, I kinda felt like that was some of the point. Mind you, it probably would've made better sense had it happened during a year where it mattered a bit more, but, I mean, hey. Could it have been dialed back a bit. Probably. I dunno, I'm rambling at this point. My main point I'm trying to get at is, this game isn't all that bad, and it's enjoyable enough if you play it with the right attitude in mind, and don't play it through too often. But there are ways it could be improved, too, and I will talk about those. (Kinda surprised you didn't go over any yourself, but maybe a topic for a future video.) What the game probably could've used most was fewer moons, stronger awards for harder missions, replace the niche moons with some weaker award, like the blue coins from Sunshine but with a better purpose (like the Koroks), a bit more of a progression system (Ceave Gaming goes over a lot of these points as well, and also why Nintendo seems to be backing out of progression to begin with. I recommend checking him out if you haven't), a longer story to cover more of the content, and improved world-building (while not necessary and maybe asking a bit much, I would love to have seen them actually make an open world out of all this like it was supposed to be at one point, like BotW and Bowser's Fury). At least I can't complain too much about the races and characters. They seemed to nail that pretty well. Finally, one last point: I, as well as many others in this comments section, think your comparisons to this game with Breath of the Wild were fair, for the purposes of example. It works considering it shows how different types of progression works. On the other hand, of course, BotW isn't a perfect game, either, so it all kinda comes down to preference. Bottom line, I think both games are fantastic. They're not perfect by any means, both having way too much content, but they are enjoyable for what they do. And then, Tears of the Kingdom was even better than BotW imo (others can disagree with me there if they wish). Point is, I'm excited to see what Nintendo has in store for us next. Maybe we can actually see a more perfect game come out from them!

im glad you reuploaded this cuz this is one of my favorite videos covering this game (joseph's is just too exhaustive, lol). i'd love to hear your thoughts on mario wonder as well. overall i feel like nintendo has been taking this weird new approach with their games, where everyone eats them up and praises them, while in practice there's just something that feels off and cheap compared to how they were before (say, in the 90s or 00s). their focuses seemed to have shifted from creating fun engaging games that stand on their own as confidently experimental experiences going the extra mile to feel fully fleshed out with unique substantial content, to creating fodder for social media, capitalizing on the impulses of modern "ADHD" society and doing the bare minimum in what they used to do

Sunshine Supremacy

Complaining about the moons being everywhere only would be valid critisism if the game was too short because of it. The game takes 12 to 15 hours to beat as it is, with amazing moments happening every few minutes. I would compare this type of critisism to someone complaing about a great movie, because they don't like that the characters have normal conversations in between the epic action scenes

I can definitely vibe with the criticisms of Odyssey, as it’s definitely not perfect. More than that, I think it’s a watered down version of the 3D Mario games intended mostly to capture a grander audience than either 64 or Sunshine managed to. And to its credit, it worked. Financially speaking, Odyssey has eclipsed its predecessors. However, in terms of quality, it’s debatable whether or not it hits the mark of what made 3D Mario games great. That said, I still like Odyssey, and think of it much more highly than you appear to. Which is completely fine, I can see where you’re coming from. I just don’t know if I necessarily think it’s an empty and vapid experience, so much as a watered down one

"oh no, theres too much stuff to do", proceeds to reference botw

I disagree and i consider korok seeds a lot worse then power moons. theres only like 5 unique korok puzzles. We can argue side effects of the power moons implementation. but i think it makes the game perfect for handheld play you can quickly load up the game and find a power moon. I also disagree with using mario's movement to "skip" level design. the level design is very intentional to allow players to opt into this more challenging mode of play "skipping" sections. Its a way of incorporating something for both novice and skilled gamers instead of concrete difficulty settings. do you think you were just able to barely cross that large gap cutting off that section of the level purely by coincidence?

I remember a guy telling me i couldnt have possibly played odyssey because i thought it wasn't that great. I'm so tired of dumba55 people

bud its a mario game not hollow knight

The only part i really enjoyed is cascade kingdom's waterfall area

At what point does a game need to be perfect to be a good game? Like seriously. Bruh... Mario Odyssey is a good game. Simple as that. Somehow its "overrated" just because people like playing it?

All modern games are. I laugh at the concept that Zelda ALTTP is only "OK" while OOT is the best thing in the history of gaming. Oddly I simply can't go back to OOT while 16 bit Zelda is as timeless now as it was in 1992. Same fore Wii Punch Out, it simply isn't as fun as 8 bit Punch Out or 16 bit Punch Out was. Not to me anyways. Personally I think there's a line where people forget what good games were because mediocre games are all they've been getting, which makes games that are a cut above the mediocre yet below the old gems shine by comparison. Even old school gamers are prone to this, if they keep up with trends.

I feel like this was written by an AI

Where Chat GBT writes your videos:

A lot of the ideas in Botw are taken from older games.

While I understand your Criticism the Idea that you are the objective party that is Right while everyone else is wrong is just Arrogant

Galaxy is BETTER

I feel the same way 😢😢

You forgot that getting every moon gives yet another reward

Honestly, I’d say that most of these complaints more stem from Nintendo’s design Philosophy of making games that are easy and to get into, with a very heavy emphasis on making a move set that feels great to control. For the designers to have actually made interesting levels/challenges, they would would have had to basically make Kaizo like challenges, which is not something that they generally do. It would be excellent and incredibly engaging/brilliant game design had they taken that route, but historically, that hasn’t been the series’s strong suit or something that it’s known for. So I would honestly say that Super Mario Odyssey simply does more of the same. The greater appeal comes from simply exploring the world as Mario, regardless of how challenging that is for the player, because his movement is just that engaging (the capture mechanic really does not engulf most of the gameplay in practice like you made it out). Honestly, a lot of the arguments you made about how Mario Odyssey’s challenges are not fun or engaging for the player can be said about Breath of the Wild as well, since a very large portion of its content is optional and doesn’t meaningfully challenge the player and it is more optimal to skip a lot of it if you just want to beat the game. I’d say, the main take away is, so long as you give the player and interesting enough sandbox to goof around in and provide them with fun and engaging movement options, the player will likely find their own way to have fun, which tends to be the best way to appeal to everyone, even if that ends up being to the detriment of players looking for a challenge.

Wow another youtuber that focuses on exclusively negative content, great stuff, I hope it stays small and hidden away. Have you thought about making something that requires actual effort instead of shitting on popular things?

Perfectly fair to not like this game and I even agree with some of it but this video just felt like "Mario Odyssey isn't Breath of the Wild". Also all the talk of humanity and the "insidious" manipulation feels just a smidge pretentious

Agreed. I've watched enough playthrus of "SMOke&mirrors" to decide not to buy. Mario is not my fave game francise, but up to Galaxy were mostly enjoyable romps that didn't look like timewasters.

You proceeded to overrate BOTW in a video talking about why Odyssey is overrated...

I liked odyssey better than breath of the wild

Botw isnt even better than *other* Zelda games, much less mario odyssey-- arguably one of the best games on any nintendo platform.

Never let bro cook again 🔥

My problem with this video is that you can not like a game, but to say that everyone who likes this game has been brainwashed into doing so is ridiculous. Odyssey is flawed sure, but if it is nominated for Game of the Year then it is objectively a good game. This video can be boiled down to "I dont like it so you can't like it."

Bro thinks a watered down open world zelda is better than mario odyssey. Honestly its statements like this that make your opinion just flat out wrong lol.

Don’t lie people you play the game once and never pick it up again lol

Imo totk is the best

I actually agree with your points in this video. Even though I don't necessarily think it's a bad game.

I do really love how you skipped over the argument of "well if you don't like the game you shouldn't play it." You said "that misses the point" and then moved on. You just went on explaining why you didn't like the game. If you don't like it don't play it. You don't need to rant. If you're bored. Do something else. Go collect all 900 korok seeds and struggle to figure out those really tough shrine puzzles (sarcasm) since pressing three buttons was to difficult!

You're the kind of guy who only makes videos shitting on popular stuff to attract negative feedback because people leaving angry comments is good for the algorithm. Nobody is that dumb. We know you love the game.

This game and botw are both trash.

Nope

Counter argument: if It wasn't fun, I'd put it down, no amount of manipulation is stronger than boredom

Finally someone said it

Incredible game tbh 😊

Ur late

I liked odyssey, but i cannot deny it always felt like it could've been more

I think it's funny that people REALLY seethe when you criticize Nintendo games, as if they are these infallible masterpieces, every single time. The capacity for Nintendies to throw tismfits over their favorite international multi-billion dollar corporate mascot, is never to be underestimated. There are a lot of problems with this game, and people are definitely willing to overlook all of it for some simple shapes, pretty colors, and a recognizable Italian face. Odyssey isn't a bad game, it's just a mile wide and an inch deep. It's not the best Mario game, although it is the best one in over a decade following its release. It's not even the best version of Sonic Unleashed. I do think it's funny that this is the one time Mario tries copying so much shit from Sonic games, and it ends up suffering for it. Ironic. Planet Wisp is literally a level in this game. I'm still waiting on a better 3D Mario game than Super Mario 64.

Finally, someone who genuinely has criticism toward Odyssey. I've always loved Galaxy more, and I've had more fun with Sonic Adventure 2.

You sure have balls to make a video like this. Too bad you're objectively wrong. Almost to the point that this video feels like troll bait.

Mario Odyssey Fans when seeing the video’s title: *Triggered meme*

Mario odyssey is overrated and this channel is underrated

bro makes videos shitting on good things just to get attention, don't give in guys

No.

Odyssey felt rushed wouldve been better if they only had like 4 non story moons (per world) and like 12 story moons that are a decent challenge to get they made odyssey braindead easy for moon spam. Love this game especially how its controlled, but its flawed.

Mario oddesey is amazing dude, everyone loves oddesey.

I genuinely think Mario odyssey is the worst 3D Mario. I’m dead serious. I finished it once and never had any desire to go back to it.

Stop the video at 0:18 and everyone would be happier without your completely invalid opinion :D

Odyssey is the best game ever. No one cares. Everything you said is a good thing.