I just have to talk about it.

Super Mario Odyssey is the best game to come out this year, and I don't think it's even close, which is saying quite a bit considering the amazing releases this year.

I'm sure anyone interested has already seen the coverage and read the reviews, which are unanimously great, and well deserved. Super Mario Odyssey is a pure joy to play. It truly is the sequel to Super Mario 64 that I've been waiting for. Sunshine was a disappointment, and the Galaxy games were good (great, even!) but still didn't quite provide the same experience that 64 did. 3D Land and World were likewise good games (or seemed to be from the little time I spent with them) but weren't really in the same vein as 64.

Odyssey is Super Mario 64 on steroids. I worried that there would be an over reliance on the cap-throwing gimmick and that it would grow old very quickly. I was wrong--you spend 90% of the time or more just as Mario, and there are some really clever puzzles involving the capture mechanics.

The game strikes the perfect balance of challenge for everyone. You spend the game collecting moons (Think stars from 64, but in far greater numbers). Some are very easy to get, like ground pounding in the right area or just talking to the right person. Others (especially ones that get added to the game after you "beat" it for the first time) are much harder than even the hardest stars in SM64. There are almost 900 unique moons, and you can "finish" the game with far less than 200, and then go on to collect as many or as few as you wish.

This is a game that is all about the joy of just playing. Numerous large worlds to explore, lots of neat platforming challenges that require really learning the skills, neat integration of 2D Mario areas and callbacks. This game is incredible.

The one minor bummer is the motion controls. They're not "required" strictly speaking, but there are a few moves that can only be done with them. You're not missing much by just not using them for about 99% of the game, but there are a few moons that do require moves that you can only perform with them. It's a real bummer, since there are more than enough buttons to map those moves to them, but Nintendo is gonna Nintendo I guess.

I said it about Breath of the Wild, and it's even more true for Super Mario Odyssey--this is a game that is absolutely worth buying a Switch a for.

P.S.--I finally played Life is Strange: Before the Storm over the past few days while I was sick. It's really good, much better than I anticipated. I didn't have any desire to see a prequel story, but I was wrong. It's been excellent, and Chloe and Rachel's dynamic has been really captivating. Can't wait for Episode 3!