Mario is on the verge of starring in his biggest game in years.
Forget about that smartphone game — "Super Mario Odyssey" is a massive, crazy-looking, open-world Mario game. And it's only available on Nintendo's Switch.
Though there are plenty of games coming to all three major game consoles this holiday, a few blockbusters are exclusive to each. Starting with "Super Mario Odyssey" in October, we've put together the three heavy-hitter "exclusive" games for Sony's PlayStation 4, Microsoft's Xbox One, and Nintendo's Switch console this holiday season.
SEE ALSO: The 20 biggest games coming in the 2nd half of 2017
1. "Super Mario Odyssey" on the Nintendo Switch
Just as "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" was a massive evolution of the long-running, celebrated "Legend of Zelda" franchise, "Super Mario Odyssey" appears poised to challenge and evolve the "Super Mario" formula.
"Super Mario Odyssey" is an open-world, nonlinear game starring Mario. That means you're not running from a beginning point to, say, a flagpole. We're talking big open worlds that are packed with details: secret areas to find, puzzles to solve, and — bizarrely — even some old-school 2D Mario thrown in for good measure. Seriously!
This is an area you enter, and play, in "Super Mario Odyssey":
Instead of reaching an endpoint, your goal in "Super Mario Odyssey" is to collect moons, of which there are many in each world. Based on the too-brief time I spent with it back in June, the closest comparison I have is to "Super Mario 64." It's too early to call it, and there are a dozen other incredible looking games that are coming out on multiple platforms, but "Super Mario Odyssey" looks like the game to get this holiday season.
Check out our hands-on with the game right here.
Release date: October 27
Check out "Super Mario Odyssey" in action right here:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/wGQHQc_3ycE
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Height: 450px
2. "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" on the Xbox One/Xbox One X
"PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" boasts a bizarre name and a brilliant concept: 100 people on a massive island, armed with their wits and a scattered arsenal, fighting to the death. Whoever survives at the end of the match wins — and there can only be one.
Each match of "Battlegrounds" starts the same way: You're in a derelict airplane with 100 other actual people; as you fly over a deserted island you're able to choose where you'll parachute down. Since you're unarmed, if you land near anyone it's up to you to choose whether to run (an attempt to arm yourself and/or escape) or to fight (with your fists!) to death. As the match progresses, the area of the island you're able to occupy shrinks — thus forcing you closer and closer to your opponents.
It sounds intense because it is intense. There is no single-player, no "campaign" mode. Just the terrifying island and 100 actual people.
OF NOTE: This game is an "exclusive" insofar as it's only coming to the Xbox One this holiday season. The game is already available, albeit unfinished, on the PC; it will also head to the PlayStation 4 further down the line, though it's not clear when.
Release date: "Later this year"
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