Summary
Being one of the strongest 3D platformers in recent years,Astro Bothas frequently drawn comparisons to other games that fit into the same category. Arguably the other most influential 3D platformer of this console generation isSuper Mario Odyssey.
With Sony’s platformer gaining wide critical acclaim, it’s been put into competition with Nintendo’s platforming king. So, how do these two titles stack up against each other, and which is worth going out of your way to play through first if you haven’t tried either before?
5Platforming - Super Mario Odyssey
What makes the platforming in Super Mario Odyssey so enjoyable is how open-ended it is. The wide sprawling levels challenge you to try out a variety of different techniques to reach every corner you can, and this is encouraged by the game.
Cappy gives Mario a larger arsenal of different manoeuvres than he has had in any game prior, and while some of these can be finicky to pull off, they’re incredibly empowering to use once you’ve mastered them.
Platforming In Astro Bot
While it doesn’t quite reach the heights of Mario’s manoeuvrability, the platforming in Astro Bot is still strong. Astro has a more simple selection of abilities throughout most levels, with his laser hover being fun to use as a tool in combat or traversal.
However, what shines in Astro Bot is the use of power ups as they expand Astro’s moveset in meaningful ways, and the levels arestructured around these power upsensuring you enjoy using them every time.
4Structure - Astro Bot
Astro Bot is a clearly structured game, with awide selection of levelssplit over a handful of worlds. This means you’ll always have something new to try, and while returning to levels is encouraged, you won’t need to go back more than once or twice to see everything.
This makes working through everything Astro Bot has to offer feel rewarding and well-paced. After reaching credits, you’ll likely want to see everything you missed, and that isn’t hard thanks to useful tools that make finding everything a breeze.
Structure In Super Mario Odyssey
Mario Odyssey takes a different approach with fewer levels, but they are a lot bigger and more expansive. This adds a lot of depth to exploration, and makes the better levels feel more lived in and fun to explore. However, there is not the same attention to detail in every level, with some feeling like an afterthought compared to others, and since they’re so long, this sticks out more.
While you’ll have a fantastic time returning to your favourite world to scour for more details, you might be hesitant to return to the more uninspired options, even if you’re missing out on all of their collectibles.
3Aesthetic - Super Mario Odyssey
In spite of being an older game on a more outdated console, the aesthetic and design of Mario Odyssey still reigns supreme, thanks to an inspired approach to most of the games' levels that makes them more memorable.
While some of the levels aren’t as good as others, the best ones are massive highlights and carry the experience. Years after finishing Mario Odyssey, you’ll likely retain vivid memories of some of the most beautiful and inspired areas of the game, in spite of the system’s limitations.
Aesthetic In Astro Bot
Astro Bot is an undeniably beautiful game that takes full advantage of the PlayStation 5’s capabilities, but it slightly misses out on surpassing Mario Odyssey’s high standard. Each of the levels in Astro Bot look fantastic, but because of the high level count, some of them are just easy to forget.
There are still memorable levels that stick out, but because the levels are so much shorter, even some of the best start to blur together. Having a hub area to explore is fun as well, but withall the collectibles littered around, it feels a little unorganized the more you fill it out.
2Collectibles - Astro Bot
Astro Bot has a fantastic selection of collectibles to work through in each of its levels, and it feels rewarding to get everything in a level, giving you a good incentive to be as thorough as possible, maximizing just how much you get out of everything the game has to offer.
These collectibles also have more tangible rewards, with bots often featuring cameos from the PlayStation’s history, as well as being used to traverse the Crash Site, and then puzzle pieces are used to get cosmetic bonuses for more customisation.
Collectibles In Super Mario Odyssey
The name of the game in Mario Odyssey is moon collecting, and while this is satisfying for most of the main game, the deeper you get into the lengthy post-game, the more tiresome it can become.
While the number of collectibles in Astro Bot always feels achievable, the pure number of moons flung around the massive levels in Odyssey starts to feel like a less and less rewarding chore the longer you go on. However, if you want something more time-consuming, then this is the preferred option.
1Winner - Astro Bot
While Mario Odyssey just clinches Astro Bot with its platforming and aesthetic, Astro Bot beats Mario Odyssey by quite a wide margin in structure and collectibles. Of course, though, this is based on what you prefer personally.
The wider scope of the levels in Mario Odyssey provides appeal to explorers who are looking to sink their time into collecting everything they can. Astro Bot on the other hand, offers a shorter experience that respects your time a little more, with less to do, but a higher fun-per-minute ratio in the long run.
