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Super Mario Odyssey could be another Nintendo Switch contender for year’s best title

The world’s most famous plumber has a whole new range of abilities, thanks to sidekick Cappy, while levels such as New Donk City feature incredible environments and mechanics

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In Super Mario Odyssey, Nintendo’s famous plumber has access to a whole new range of abilities thanks to new sidekick Cappy. Photo: Nintendo
The Nintendo Switch may have the best opening-year line-up for any console ever.

The hybrid system that can both be taken on the road and played on the living room TV launched with the likely game of the year in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Nintendo has followed that up with a string of great games that include Arms, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2, while the upcoming Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is increasingly looking like a great new strategy game.

Review: Splatoon 2 is easily the slickest game of the past year

It appears that Nintendo will be capping the year off with another candidate for game of the year with Super Mario Odyssey. At the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017 in Los Angeles, Nintendo showed off the game and it was by far the most impressive hands-on experience at the event.

Those who got to try the game spent time in two areas: Metro Kingdom and Sand Kingdom. They offered two different experiences. Sand Kingdom was more conventional and showed off what Mario and his new sidekick, Cappy, can do against enemies such as Goombas and Bullet Bills.

Mario can transform into enemies and other characters, thanks to Cappy. Photo: Nintendo
Mario can transform into enemies and other characters, thanks to Cappy. Photo: Nintendo

As its name implies, Cappy is a magical hat, which Mario can toss to defeat rival Bowser’s minions. But being a makeshift boomerang isn’t Cappy’s only power and the Sand Kingdom level also showed off its special ability. If Mario throws it at certain enemies, he can transform into them. Mario needs to throw Cappy at Bullet Bill to become the enemy so he can fly across long gaps. In addition, he can also use Cappy as a stepping stone to cross chasms that he couldn’t normally cross.

One of the shops in Super Mario Odyssey. Photo: Nintendo
One of the shops in Super Mario Odyssey. Photo: Nintendo
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