Ben Taylor

I am not one to normally review games, but the 30 year old basement dwellers have forced me to. As a younger 19 year old, I am not a relic who is fixated on Nintendo releasing a sequel to a 20 year old game (TTYD) and therefore have come into this experience with an open mindset that is not focussed on petty rpg elements but rather the game as a whole. For reference, the only other Paper Mario game I have played is Super Paper Mario. The story in this game is akin to that of Assassins Creed Odyssey. The dark undertone is only masked by the colourful palette and paper-esque world, but make no mistake, the story focusses on an evil cult, trying to take over the world, and you must fight alongside both koopas and toads (Spartans and Athenians) to stop them. The gameplay is also a big strong point. I do not care if the battle system does not resemble an ancient implementation from gamecube times, it's 2020, the year of the switch. The combat system is fun and refreshing, and anyone with a slight interest in solving puzzles will thoroughly enjoy it. There are also real time battles against paper mache enemies, as well as various platforming elements in the overworld, so everyone is satisfied (bar the die hard TTYD fans). This is no rpg but who finishes rpg's anyway, anyone looking for an experience on par with BOTW or Mario Odyssey will be satisfied if they can stomach the AAA price tag.