Super Mario Odyssey

There is a moment in Mario Odyssey — you know the one, if you've played it — where the music swells, the skyline opens up, and you realise Nintendo has done it again. They have made the Mario game.

Cappy is the key to everything. The hat-throwing, possession mechanic transforms what could have been a straightforward 3D platformer into a toybox of ideas that never repeats itself. Possess a Bullet Bill to fly. Possess a Cheep Cheep to dive. Possess a T-Rex and rampage through a dinosaur kingdom while jazz plays. Every kingdom has its own logic and Cappy remixes it perfectly.

The level design is Nintendo at their most generous. Kingdoms are dense with Moons, secrets, and surprises. The post-game adds another entire layer of challenge that rivals the best the series has ever offered. I spent 40 hours before the credits and another 30 after.

The two-player mode where one player controls Mario and one controls Cappy is an underrated gem for couch co-op, making this one of the best Switch games to share with someone who doesn't normally play games.

If I'm being harsh, some kingdoms feel more fleshed out than others. The Seaside Kingdom and Snow Kingdom are slight compared to New Donk City or the Luncheon Kingdom. And the final boss comes a little earlier than I'd have liked, leaving the best surprises for post-game rather than the main story climb.

But these are footnotes. Mario Odyssey is pure, concentrated happiness.