Super Mario Odyssey continues the legacy of Mario 64, a game that will forever be remembered as a pioneering 3D platform. This time around, though, the environments are much bigger than before, with plenty of nooks and crannies to explore. Unlike the round, self-contained worlds from the Galaxy games, every world in Odyssey feels rich and expansive.

Cappy, a magical hat who replaces the plumber's battered old hat, is the co-star of Super Mario Odyssey. Mario can throw it to attack enemies, but what's truly new is that it also lets you "capture" enemies to control their bodies. That opens up entirely new types of scenarios: Possessing a Goomba lets you create towering stacks of them, while capturing a fire monster lets you easily swim through molten lava. The cap system is reminiscent of the suits we first saw in Mario 3, except this time you're ripping power directly from your enemies. It's the sort of thing that makes Mario Odyssey feel completely fresh.

During my hands-on time with the game, I was always curious to see what sort of power a new enemy could give me, as well as how it fits into the puzzles that you need to complete to finish every level. Of course, such a new mechanic has a bit of a learning curve. I spent my first few minutes with the game learning how to accurately throw Cappy around. By holding down the attack button, you can also make Cappy spin in place, which lets you jump on him as a makeshift platform. It wasn't long before I was throwing Cappy at everything.

Super Mario Odyssey brings over all the 3D controls that you're used to: Running and jumping felt as smooth and accurate as in Galaxy. And yes, the butt stomp is an essential part of the game. But now Mario can also roll to get around the world a bit faster as well as to knock down enemies. (It definitely looks like he learned a thing or two from Sonic.) There's also a spinning attack that lets you hit several objects or enemies at once.

When you're not running around and fighting off bad guys, Mario can also interact with non-playable characters in every stage. They usually offer some help and context for what you actually need to do. But I also appreciated how they made the two levels I saw feel truly alive. Their presence makes Odyssey almost seem like a Zelda adventure that happens to star Mario.