4. Paper Mario: The Origami King
(Available on Nintendo Switch)
If we want to talk about the most underrated and under-played games of this year, Paper Mario: The Origami King must be number one. Overshadowed by both Animal Crossing still dominating the Switch and The Last of Us: Part II and Ghost of Tsushima coming out around the same time, this game is the total package that everyone missed out on.
The game brings players back into the world of Paper Mario for an all-new adventure that sees Paper Mario fight alongside a new ally named Olivia in order to fight against her brother Olly, the dreaded Origami King, to stop him from folding and twisting the entire Paper Kingdom into his nightmarish origami vision. Aside from the game containing quite possibly the most gorgeous visuals seen in a Mario game with how it colorfully blends 2-D and 3-D animation to create an eye-dazzling and interactive environment, The Origami King features a unique blend of RPG and puzzle-solving game mechanics that add new challenges and elements of strategy.
Having to organize enemies in battle and decipher best weapons and strategy to use to deal the most damage against enemies makes combat incredibly rewarding and creates a different kind of Mario experience than fans are used to. It’s a major innovation over the pretty standard RPG gameplay of the game’s predecessor, The Thousand-Year Door, and it’s great how there’re great ways that interacting in the overworld come together with the combat. Showering open areas with confetti to create new paths to obtain new items was awesome and rescuing Toads to build a crowd to cheer players on in battle and even give cool advantages is one of the coolest displays of progress I’ve ever seen in a game and was super addicting.
What’s most surprising about The Origami King is the emotional story it delivers and the excellent writing that makes it one of the funniest games of the year. From the incredibly strange bosses Paper Mario and Olivia fight along their adventure that are basically gigantic paper supplies to the crazy areas you find yourself in, including a spa in the sky that makes all of Paper Bowser’s minions work for free and a desert adventure that takes you into a bizarre bazaar, it’s truly a Mario adventure unlike any other.
There are even smaller moments of players ending up on a deadly Shy Guy game show walking into a secret bar for minions that respect you, there are constantly these little moments that add a great energy to your adventure and create new kinds of interactions perfect for any fan. Even with all of this heartwarming hilarity, the real magic of The Origami King’s story is in its surprisingly emotional story that sticks with you and is incredibly memorable. Things like the story of companion Bobby the Bob-omb and the final sacrifice that’s made in the game’s final moments are genuinely heartbreaking moments that catch you off guard and creates an emotional connection to a Mario game that’s very uncommon and oddly effective.
In gameplay, story, and visuals, Paper Mario: The Origami King is one of the best Mario games in quite some time and genuinely different experience that’ll leave you both laughing and tearing up while enjoying every second of what this game has to offer. It’s truly a hidden gem on the Switch that not many have found yet and need to uncover ASAP.
