Games Like Super Mario Odyssey
Quick Answer
The closest games to Super Mario Odyssey are Super Mario 64, Astro Bot, A Hat in Time, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Below are 10 picks with the reason for each — what carries over from Super Mario Odyssey, and what does not.
What Made Super Mario Odyssey Work
Odyssey's capture mechanic means the moveset keeps changing — every enemy is a temporary set of verbs. The kingdoms are dense with moons rather than gated by them, so you can leave whenever you like. It is the most generous 3D platformer ever made, and that generosity is what people are asking to find again.
Super Mario Odyssey is Nintendo EPD's 2017 Switch platformer. Mario travels between kingdoms in the Odyssey airship, from a desert kingdom to New Donk City, collecting Power Moons with the help of Cappy, a living hat that lets him capture enemies and objects and use their abilities. Moons are everywhere and the next kingdom opens quickly, so the game rarely asks you to grind. Fans usually want another platformer with the same density of discovery and variety of movement.
Also written as Mario Odyssey — same game, same list.
10 Games Like Super Mario Odyssey
1.Super Mario 64(1996)
The original, and its moveset is still the deepest thing about it.
Why it fits: Nintendo EAD's 1996 Nintendo 64 launch game introduced the open-course, star-collecting structure that Odyssey returns to, and its long jump and wall kick carried over.
What is different: Far fewer collectables and no capture; the camera and controls are of their time.
Where to play it: Nintendo 64; on Switch through Nintendo Switch Online.
Games like this →2.Astro Bot(2024)
The only recent platformer with as many ideas per hour.
Why it fits: Team Asobi's 2024 PS5 platformer, The Game Awards' 2024 Game of the Year, packs almost every level with a new gadget or power-up.
What is different: Linear levels rather than open kingdoms, and gadgets are given per level rather than captured.
Where to play it: PS5.
Games like this →3.A Hat in Time(2017)
The best indie take on the collectathon, and very funny.
Why it fits: Gears for Breakfast's 2017 platformer is a hat-themed collectathon with open acts and a movement set of dives, wall jumps and hat abilities.
What is different: A smaller indie game with rougher edges; hats give you abilities instead of capturing enemies.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch.
More about this game →4.Super Mario Galaxy 2(2010)
Idea-per-level design at its absolute peak.
Why it fits: Nintendo EAD Tokyo's 2010 Wii sequel packs short, idea-driven galaxies together and brings Yoshi back.
What is different: Short, linear galaxies built around gravity, rather than big kingdoms you roam freely.
Where to play it: Wii; re-released on Switch in 2025.
More about this game →5.Kirby and the Forgotten Land(2022)
Ability-swapping platforming that keeps changing your verbs.
Why it fits: HAL Laboratory's 2022 Switch game has Mouthful Mode, where Kirby takes the shape of a car, vending machine or traffic cone — a capture-like mechanic.
What is different: Easier and more linear, with levels you clear one at a time rather than open hubs.
Where to play it: Switch.
Games like this →6.Banjo-Kazooie(1998)
The classic collectathon, and denser than Odyssey with things to find.
Why it fits: Rare's 1998 Nintendo 64 collectathon has large worlds full of collectables and moves learned from a mole named Bottles.
What is different: Slower movement and much more backtracking for collectables; worlds are denser but smaller.
Where to play it: Nintendo 64; also on Xbox 360, in Rare Replay on Xbox One, and on Switch through Nintendo Switch Online.
Games like this →7.Psychonauts 2(2021)
Every level is a new concept, executed properly.
Why it fits: Double Fine's 2021 platformer builds every level around one character's mind, with its own mechanics and visual style.
What is different: Story and characters come first, with more dialogue and combat than Mario ever has.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
More about this game →8.Sonic Frontiers(2022)
If open 3D traversal was the appeal more than the platforming.
Why it fits: Sonic Team's 2022 game places Sonic in large open zones, with fast traversal, rails and platforming challenges scattered across them.
What is different: Speed and combat in one large open world, and the platforming is looser than Mario's.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Switch.
More about this game →9.Pseudoregalia(2023)
A small game entirely about how good it feels to move.
Why it fits: A 2023 indie 3D platformer for PC focused on a fluid movement kit and exploring a castle at your own pace.
What is different: Moody and sparse, with no hub kingdoms and few collectables; it is about movement tech in one castle.
Where to play it: PC.
More about this game →10.Donkey Kong Bananza(2025)
Made by the Super Mario Odyssey team: a 3D platformer where you punch through almost any surface, in levels just as dense with secrets.
Why it fits: Nintendo EPD Tokyo, Nintendo Switch 2, 2025. The same studio's next 3D platformer after Odyssey, with destructible terrain in place of Cappy's captures.
What is different: Switch 2 only, and smashing through terrain replaces Odyssey's captures as the central idea.
Where to play it: Nintendo Switch 2.
More about this game →
Where to Start
If you have not played Super Mario Galaxy 2, it is the best next step from Nintendo. Astro Bot is the strongest recent platformer outside Nintendo. For more open exploration, A Hat in Time is the pick.
How We Picked These Games
Every pick is a 3D platformer, or close to one, with open or semi-open levels and a movement set that changes or expands. We included Mario 64 and Galaxy 2 as the closest Nintendo relatives, and modern games that share Odyssey's constant invention.
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Games Like Super Mario Odyssey Compared
Year is each game's first release anywhere, on the platform in the next column. "Play it now" is where it can be bought or played today.
| Game | Year | First released on | Play it now | Closest to Super Mario Odyssey in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Mario 64 | 1996 | Nintendo 64 | Nintendo 64; on Switch through Nintendo Switch Online. | Open courses and star collecting |
| Astro Bot | 2024 | PS5 | PS5. | A new power-up almost every level |
| A Hat in Time | 2017 | PC | PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch. | Dives, wall jumps and hat abilities |
| Super Mario Galaxy 2 | 2010 | Wii | Wii; re-released on Switch in 2025. | Short, idea-driven levels |
| Kirby and the Forgotten Land | 2022 | Switch | Switch. | Mouthful Mode, a capture-like trick |
| Banjo-Kazooie | 1998 | Nintendo 64 | Nintendo 64; also on Xbox 360, in Rare Replay on Xbox One, and on Switch through Nintendo Switch Online. | Big worlds full of collectibles |
| Psychonauts 2 | 2021 | PC, PS4, Xbox | PC, PS4, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. | Every level its own mechanic |
| Sonic Frontiers | 2022 | PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox, Switch | PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Switch. | Open zones with platforming challenges |
| Pseudoregalia | 2023 | PC | PC. | A fluid 3D movement kit |
| Donkey Kong Bananza | 2025 | Nintendo Switch 2 | Nintendo Switch 2. | The same team's next 3D platformer |
Which One to Play, by What You Liked
If you liked Super Mario Odyssey for capturing enemies with Cappy, try Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Donkey Kong Bananza. Kirby borrows the shape of objects; Bananza comes from Odyssey's own team.
If you liked Super Mario Odyssey for open kingdoms full of moons, try Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie and A Hat in Time. Worlds you are free to explore in any order for the next collectible.
If you liked Super Mario Odyssey for the movement tech, try Pseudoregalia and A Hat in Time. Two smaller games that live or die on how good it feels to move.
If you liked Super Mario Odyssey for a new idea every few minutes, try Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Astro Bot. Levels built to show you one trick, then move on.
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Related Lists
- Games like Super Mario 64 — Mario's two open-course 3D platformers, twenty-one years apart.
- Games like Astro Bot — Platformers with a new idea in every level.
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