Now that the hype is over.. does Mario Oddysey deserve a 10/10?

I like the game a lot, but I’ll honest, I expected more. There were some parts where the game felt more of the same from previous installments. I also felt like it didn’t capture the essence of Super Mario 64. It feels a lot more like Galaxy but with bigger levels. I know it’s been years since I played, but I still remember Mario 64 having unique level design and more interesting gameplay moments. Oddysey is still fun to play, but there are definitely times where I felt like they catered to casuals too much and it was too easy. I’m not actually done yet, but those are my impressions so far. In my book, Mario 64 is still the best. What say you, SW? Does Oddysey deserve all of the praise it has gotten?

I love the game, but it's no 10.

It's made by Nintendo, duh.

It’s the most deserving of the 10 in recent memory. Those who are down on the game must not like fun. The road to the end game was a blast, and the post end game stuff has made an incredible game even better.

Mario Odyssey is ahead of Zelda BotW in my book. And those two are faaaaaaar ahead of the rest of the pack.

I don't know. There are definitely elements of the game that I dislike. The large quantity of moons means that not all of them are as high quality as the others, and the worst of which are such a difference-in-kind that they almost disobey the idea that Super Mario Odyssey is a platforming game. The good far outweighs the bad for me.

The controls are excellent and it is the deepest move-set Mario has ever had. The level design is mostly excellent, though not all kingdoms are made equal. The best ones can visually demonstrate your progress and show you how comfortable you have become with the mechanics as you can jump your way around and bypass large portions of the level to get to where you want. The best moons are encased in challenges where the level design relaxes a bit to give you the freedom to express yourself; allowing for multiple solutions to a single problem.

It's a terrific game. I don't really like to use scores, but I can definitely see why someone would give them game a 10/10. Equally, I would understand someone being less impressed by the game. It's an excellent game for those who are very much into mechanics, and have fun simply progressing with a tool-set, and don't always expect to be get something out of doing that.

I'd say yes. Still not sure if it matched Galaxy 2, but damn close if it didn't.

Then again, I think it would be more fair to ask if its Metacritic average - 97 - is fair, and I think that it is. There are enough reviews that address issues that bring the score down for others that the mix of 9's and 10's with a very small handful below seems right.

Its my least favorite 3d mario thus far. Everyone talks about how great the mechanics are... but I play games and not mechanics. And this game can be clunky.

Like who thought it be fun to change into a zipper?

I guess I just miss the tight courses you ran so gracefully in Galaxy 2. I don't see myself going back for a while with Doom and Skyrim dominanting my Switch time in the immediate future.

Yep. Together with BotW and D:OS2 they are the 10's of this generation for me.

And I also think we are never going to see another 10/10 game on a MS or Sony platform. (Aside from maybe Cyberpunk 2077. CD Projekt RED could be making the final farewell.) Because we are now in the era of microtransactions and I don't think their first and third party can make another game without trying to screw us over.

@enzyme36: That's a bit of an oxymoron. :P

Video games are made up of mechanics. You have to play mechanics in order to play a game.

Yes

It deserves an 11 that's for sure. With all the new worlds you get after you beat the game, to the different ways of olatforming to reach moon coins is freaking amazing.

I feel the kids who say doesn't deserve a 10 are kids who grew up on gears, UC (pretty much PS3 /360 games) and the people who feel that it does are people who grew up playing games during the ps2/n64 era.

The game is overrated and deserves a 7/10 at best. 7/10 means it is still a “good” game but that is all it is.

Reviewers for years have over inflated Nintendo’s scores. It is sickening really.

More than Uncharted 4 that's for sure.

@stuff238: tell us why it deserves a 7/10?

No all the moons everywhere lessons the feeling of achievement you're supposed to get from getting them. And I expected it to take more than three hits to kill a boss as we got further in game. 8/10 in my book.

I need to buy a new wiimote and galaxy 2. If I recall galaxy 2 was the better game.

well in the contect of the types of games getting 10s these days i would say yes. its a very well made and very enjoyable game. it does what it does very well. its not as good as galaxy but i would rate it higher than sunshine.

i think something got lost in translation with the promotion of it though. the impression i got was that new donk city was the hub like peaches castle of delfino plaza. but this isnt the case at all. so some hoping for the mario 64 or sunshine style i think may have been little let down.

thats not to say that what they have done is bad though. personally it kinda turned out what i asked for a few years ago. i was talking about crackdown and the platforming in that and how cool it would be if nintendo made a mario platformer where the player was just plonked in a place and told "sort it out". thats kind of what they have done. new level. get 10 moons. the game doesnt care which 10.

some are trivial to get. some require a fair bit of work. but it lets people choose what they want to tackle and when. for the completionists there is an awful lot to do. but if you just want to see the credits you can do that quickly if you so choose.

so it is kind of a semi linear/semi open world game with a philosophy of just letting the player figure it out. the big challenge (and something the game does well) is making the act of getting those stars fun.

its not perfect. i could nit pick at the handling (mario is very slow off the line for example). but overall it is great fun.

I love Odyssey a lot, but it's not as deserving of the 10 as Breath of the Wild. I personally enjoy it more, but it didn't feel mind blowing like Zelda was.

I also personally prefer Galaxy 2 and 3D World's more focused and well designed style over the open ended platformer. They are both much more rewarding at every turn.

Yeah, I’d say it’s the easiest 10 I’ve ever given.

@jumpaction: Yeah I may not have said that right... and I recognize the classic Nintendo top notch level design and when all the parts are working together. But something about the gameplay flow holds this game back a lil for me.

...but hey, calling it my least favorite Mario is like calling it my least favorite Hanzo sword. Still better than most out there, and I'll get around to finishing it.

Still have yet to beat it and likely won’t before the year is over. I still have PREY, Wolfenstein II, and Nioh to clear first, then I’ll take it on.

Thus far my favorite games this year are Horizon, PUBG, Nex Machina, and Destiny 2 (PC). And yes, I played and beat BotW, all but the last 10 or so shrines and the korok seeds.

No it does not, very good game, but a 10 is ignoring a lot of flaws with it

@aigis: I don't think anyone who says a game is 10/10 considers it flawless. Does anyone really believe in a flawless game?

@jumpaction: Knack 2 exists

But in all seriousness you are correct that there are not perfect games. But there are some problems that would be considered major problems rather than nagging issues. Mario odyssey has a few of those (repetitive boss battles, making you travel back to pad out the game, the short time to "beat the game", etc...). Now there are some that will say that doesnt bother them and thats fine, but for me they were things within the forefront of the game that should have been handled better and even if they were I still dont think it would be a 10 for me. I just dont think the game is that special, it does nothing to give me that experience of amazement or uniqueness. Its a fun game but a 10 is generous in my mind.

@Basinboy: ewwwwwww Horizon

@aigis: I see what you mean. It all comes down to preferences though, and people get different feelings from a game depending on those perspectives.

For example, as someone currently in the process of developing a (2D) platformer, Super Mario Odyssey has inspired me like nothing else I have played this year. The move-set in Mario Odyssey is outright inspiring as far as baseline movement in a platforming game. Different perspective elicit different reactions from all kinds of players. For me the core problems revolve around moons that ignore this tool set; differences in kind so great that they almost seem like abundance for the sake of it. A great exercise in creativity but it's excessive too. My game revolves around a belly-flop move; seeing how Mario puts the ground pound to task gave me new ideas to implement in my game.

That being said, those core problems that I have don't outlast the alighted inspiration this game has given me; it changed the direction I had on the game I was working on.

In conclusion, we all play games for different reasons. A game like Mario Odyssey is the type of toy-box that is best enjoyed in the absence of a story or even a purpose; it's effectively a mechanics playground and the level design best understands that when it is treating the game like a jungle-gym (such as the Koopa races). It's no generosity in my mind for someone to give the game a 10/10 or a 9/10 or whatever, because I understand that everyone comes to their own conclusions of 'fun'.

For some, an entire genre can inherit flaws simply by being in that genre. There are some who simply don't like Mario for the absence of story or lack of any contextual sense; that is enough to be a minus point for them whereas I couldn't care less if Mario was just jumping around without Bowser's input.

Even in the number of flaws or the impact those flaws will have on some; others will simply not care at all. There's no universal right answer. Some flaws you consider beyond nagging are simply nagging to others. I certainly didn't think twice about traveling back from the end of a level because 1. there's a fast travel system and 2. because I'm messing around with Mario's jumps at nearly every opportunity. :P That was never even a flaw for me.

Flaws are absolutely worth bringing up though because the exchanging of ideas and perspectives is what makes discussing this hobby fun, but of course, the exchanging of ideas has to come with a certain level of mutual understanding that these ideas are subjective thoughts on the objective elements that exist in a game.

I'll be honest. Knack 2 is a better game. It has coop, more moves, better graphics, better story and most importantly a challenge. MO is way too easy. The controls are unresponsive and it's more about "look what Mario can do! " than the actual gameplay.

I would give it at least a 9.5. There's only a very few game I could give a 10, and I have not fully decided yet if I would give this a 10.

Eh, who cares about the number exactly. It's clearly at least a 9 (a bit less for those that aren't into this style of game), and it'll definitely be a 10 for some depending on their preferences (e.g if they enjoy the sandbox style of gameplay, and the large number of collectibles that vary in difficulty).

You make some good points. I'm going to think about this for a bit.

I haven't played all the way through the game yet to be certain about my thoughts on whether or not it really is a 10. It's a great game, that's for sure. Comparing it to everything else that's out there, it makes a great case for it's score.

BUT... if Super Mario Odyssey truly is a 10, then Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild is an 11.

Probably not worth the godly hype, but sure it's a great game anyways, and easily a must buy for Switch owners. Question should be though, is it a killer app in the sense that by itself is it reason enough for someone without a Switch and maybe someone not planning on getting one, is this a game that by itself should make people reconsider?

Heh, scores are a silly discussion really. "Does it deserve this persons opinion boiled down into a number form?" Basically the question here. Could be a clear cut "no" if somebody gives a trash game a 10/10, or an amazing game a 1/10. But of course it's not that cut and dry here.

All I can say is that I do easily see why the game got a bunch of 10s. It's a really great game.

I'd like to actually finish it and reflect first. Still think it's a bit early for this thread. Big game and it's been out for what, two weeks? Doubt most people have actually completed it.

Anyways, my attempt to answer lol. Was an 8 for me at first. Shot up to any easy 10 for a long stretch of my post-game experience. Then started to wind back down a bit. Now I'm thinking more of a rock solid 9. Probably stay settled on that, but I'll have a better idea after I've wrapped up the game and chill for a bit.

I definitely think Odyssey deserves a 10, but I also argue that every home console 3D Super Mario except for Super Mario Sunshine (an excellent game nonetheless, probably a 9/10 for me) all deserve that rating. However, Odyssey does not top Super Mario Galaxy 2. I still do not know that I would place it above Super Mario Galaxy or even Super Mario 3D World for that matter. Comparing Odyssey to the Galaxy games, I believe the latter executed its ideas better and stretched them out to their fullest. Odyssey, however, has a bevy of ideas, most of which deserve longer welcomes. In metaphorical terms, Odyssey is a delicious soup and the Galaxy games a pair of juicy steaks, while Super Mario 64 is the bread and butter, Super Mario Sunshine the exotic, tangy alcoholic juice, and Super Mario 3D World the chocolate covered strawberries. Hungry yet?

@Micropixel:

Breath of the Wild probably is an 11. It's still currently in a league of its own when compared to any game ever made in my opinion. I rank it just above Super Mario Galaxy 2 as my favorite game ever.

Simply put: No.

Botw is like a 6 imo Odyssey is like a solid 8

*cough* *cough* FANBOY that is why. I wouldn't be surprised if this person has not even played the game, but they can rate the game. HA!

The Sunder video sums it up best.

"... I very firmly believe the standard number rating system for game reviews is archaic and detrimental to constructive conversation and discussion surrounding the industry and especially big new releases" - Sunder.

And he's not wrong. This thread exemplifies that perfectly. Rather than having a constructive meaningful conversation about a game (in this case Super Mario Odyssey) what we have here is a portion of people throwing out an arbitrary, meaningless score with no words connected to it to give it any kind of definition or weight, responses from people suspect to whether they have played the game in question and finally a portion of posts contemplating what a 10/10 actually stands for.

There is more discussion about what a score means in this thread than there is about the game itself. Simply put, scores are perpetually damaging to the discussion and community surrounding video games. Gamers depend on them so much as a metric to measure the quality of a game that conversation about game scores has replaced conversation about actual video games. If you cut out the conversation regarding what a 10/10 means here, then you can actually dig down and find something really interesting - the exchanging of thoughts and perspectives between individuals passionate about a hobby.

This thread is going to happen the next time a high profile game reaches a high grade like a 10/10 and people are going to forget again that people have vastly different opinions on what is good and what isn't; that flaws can objectively exist in a game but game design being part psychology will dictate that said flaws affect a player's experience in different measurements. Conversation shouldn't be about whether a game deserves a 10 and really a conversation about the game, individual's experiences and what they liked/ didn't like. These same threads happened with Breath of the Wild earlier this year and they probably would have happened with Divinity: Original Sin 2 if more people had a chance to play it (and if it was part of some larger franchise/ had some stakes in fanboy wars).

10/10 has never meant "perfect" because there can never be a perfect game. This is why reading reviews is a waste of my time.

@jumpaction:

Nice vid + write up, and yeah, you already know I agree lol. Been saying the same for a while, it's archaic, reductive, and generally pointless.

Kicking around number scores has become this deeply entrenched part of gamer "culture". And whatever, it's probably not going to end soon, but as you said it doesn't make for a stimulating discussion. I'm in here talking about how the game was an 8 for me at first, then jumped up to a 10 for a bit, and has currently leveled off as a 9. Wtf does that really mean though haha. At best you could gather - a slow start, heats up big time, cools off later.

Nothing about the game itself, what I liked, what I didn't like, why my experience ramped up and then tapered off, etc.

Now to be fair, we are posting on SW. This place has always been about scores, sales, exclusive counts, and graphics. Pretty much what this place was made for, not really meant for game discussion. Can't knock people too much for just doing the SW thing I guess.

But of course the problem being that the score craze is ever present throughout most of the gaming community. It carries far too much weight for something so silly and meaningless, an issue further compounded by the fact that most of these reviewers aren't up to snuff for a proper analysis, nor do they use the full scale. Basically a questionable source + a lacking context regarding scale. Yet treated with such importance.

Anyways, gaming is still young, this industry is still figuring things out. I'd imagine we'll move past this stuff eventually.

As an aside, you should have been around here when GS scores had 0.1 increments haha. One game could have a 9.0, another an 8.9, and it would be some huge deal, people would legit get mad over the shit lol.

It’s fun but so far 8/10 for me Zelda is a 10 though.

Nope.

I think some people here are over analyzing the question lol.

Imo Mario Galaxy 2 is still the best 3D Mario game ever made.

It's not so much your thread man, just in general lol. And yeah, it does make for a meh discussion, but whatever it's SW right.

But to answer your thread, nah, not for me personally. Solid 9, a bit too underwhelming in certain aspects to be 10 to me. Would love to see an Odyssey 2 remedy this games shortcomings the way Galaxy 2 did for Galaxy 1. I love what's here, the foundation is superb, but a bit of wasted potential tbh.

Though for context, I'm not sure if I'd give a 10 to any game I've played this gen.

You played it?

Sonic is better.

@daredevils2k: Because it doesn't deserve any higher. I was being generous when I said it deserves a 7/10. Personally, I would give it a lower score.

Nintendo fanboys review games on a 9.5-10 scale. A 10 on a nintendo console is around 7-8 for PS4/Xbone standards. Whenever I see a nintendo games score, I minus 2-3 full points to get the true score. I have to minus the points it's given because of "nostalgia", "nintendo" and "charm".