Exploration, Linearized: the Level Design of Super Mario Odyssey (Game Analysis 2)

Super Mario Odyssey is about as open world as a Mario game can get. With fifteen kingdoms to explore and nearly a thousand power moons to collect, not to mention the unique collectibles and outfits in each area, one would imagine that such a game would have a problem with making sure the player stayed on the right path and didn’t get lost. However, this is not so, and perhaps the best example of why is Luncheon Kingdom.

The kingdom is not the largest in the game, nor is it the fanciest, but the way it bridges the gap between exploration and a linear path is superb. Firstly, half of the stage is covered in lava, which naturally drives the player to look at the areas of dry land first, and immediately beyond that, there lies a massive, colorful crystal volcano, its size placement exemplified by the camera location in both cutscenes and play. This size and contrast with the rest of the stage makes the volcano stand out to the player, and solidifies it as an important location the player must reach somehow. To further encourage this assumption, there is also an object that doesn’t belong: a giant stew pot sitting on top of it, creating the idea that something is wrong or unusual about the location, driving the player’s curiosity towards it even more. As the player moves towards the volcano, multiple branching paths are encountered, as well as numerous landmarks and conspicuously placed objects, lava-surfing obstacle courses and sub-areas. These additions were deliberately placed in the player’s way, actively stealing the player’s attention and engaging the player in the side challenges the kingdom presents in order to ensure they collect as many power moons as possible before they reach the end of the kingdom, reducing the necessity of backtracking and making it more of a conscious decision on the player’s part, thereby reducing the sense of linearity in the game while keeping its pace more consistent.

Super Mario Odyssey is Nintendo’s latest “mainline” 3D Mario game, released in 2017. It follows the classic tale of Mario rescuing the kidnapped Princess Peach, and with it comes all of the tight, responsive control and feeling of Super Mario in the third dimension, while also introducing a whole slew of new moves for the player to learn and master in the form of Cappy, Mario’s travel companion in the game, and the game’s Capture system, which allows Mario to take control of various enemies and objects throughout the game in order to collect enough power moons to reach Bowser and save Princess Peach. It was a critical and commercial hit upon release, and many fans agree it is a worthy addition to Nintendo’s flagship franchise.

Unfortunately, not all of Odyssey and Luncheon Kingdom was perfect. At times, the level feels like it has too much lava and not enough land; the imbalance gives it a strangely empty feel and that the player is pushing forward in a straight line, despite the area being fairly saturated with content. If I were to change it, I would add more land-based challenges in the place of some of the lava segments, as the lava-surfing is a nice gimmick, but it feels very monotonous compared to the standard platforming, and more of the latter would likely mitigate the linear, single-path feel of some parts of the level.

Overall, though, Luncheon Kingdom is an impressive display of design mastery, marrying open-world exploration with a linear path, pointing the player in the right direction, but ultimately turning them loose upon the stage and letting them traverse the stage as thoroughly or linearly as they want.