Nintendo has been somewhat quiet this year, their big system seller was Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but has been since quiet. Well, that comes to an end as Paper Mario: The Origami King is releasing later this week for the Nintendo Switch!
The Paper Mario franchise is beloved by Nintendo gamers and with the latest installment set to release this week, many of us wonder, will this live up to the expectations? Reviews for the hihgly anticpated game has begun to hit the internet, and it looks like the games a hit!
A lot of critics are loving the stylish open world, the revamped combat system, and the slew of likeable characters you’ll meet throughout the journey. However, everything that is liked by one critic is disliked by the other; some reviews don’t like the new combat system and the way the game doesn’t have any impactful choices. This game’s currently sitting at an 81 on Metacritic.
Down below are some of the most respectable gaming sites in the industry, check out the highlights for their reviews on Nintendo’s latest title — Paper Mario: The Origami King:
Comicbook.com 100
While The Origami King can feel formulaic at times, the entry does more to reimagine the franchise than not. It won’t impress fans who were hoping for a larger RPG focus, but its charming characters and story will keep fans hooked. Paper Mario has never felt more fun than with The Origami King, and its lighthearted feel is the perfect thing for gamers to sit with this summer.
Creased and folded with meticulous care, Paper Mario: The Origami King is a cut above the rest that sees the paper-crafted series back at its best since the rightly lauded Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. The moustachioed paper cut-out’s journey to liberate Peach’s Castle offers a personality-packed adventure that’s worth setting out on, and one that will be remembered for the laughter, thrills and standout moments that it delivers.
Paper Mario: The Origami King surpassed my expectations. It isn’t the RPG return to form many gamers were hoping for, but it is the best Paper Mario game since The Thousand-Year Door. The combat is unique, the writing is superb, and the world is brimming with charm.
GameSpot 80
With a newfound combat system that steals the show and offers a novel take on turn-based combat, its winking, nodding, and adventuring shine all the brighter. Its world and characters might not be the series’ best, but it’s still able to consistently throw left turns, good gags, and smart surprises at you. Each piece of The Origami King elegantly fits into its whole, taking its irreverent flair to new heights. The Paper Mario series has recently shown that being clever and being smart are two different things, but thankfully, it’s once again managed to be both.
Paper Mario: The Origami King tries to do something different with its combat system and, to be honest, we aren’t feeling it. That doesn’t mean the rest of the game isn’t thoroughly entertaining, however, and while the puzzle-based battles aren’t quite what a new Paper Mario game needed, they aren’t so awful that everything else shouldn’t be experienced as a result. It still isn’t the new Thousand-Year Door fans will have been hoping for, but it’s still one of the funniest games in the series and it’s got a truly likeable companion character, and while the combat is far from ideal the fact that we still thoroughly recommend the game regardless speaks volumes about every other aspect of it.
IGN 70
The Origami King is a truly likeable game despite the shallowness of its new spin on gameplay. Its characters are winsome, its visual design is gorgeous, its world is fun to explore, and its storytelling is outside the box and playful. At the same time, however, it could be so much more. Combat is largely unfulfilling, and your journey as a whole lacks meaningful choices. For a series with RPG roots, that’s a real shame.
Paper Mario: The Origami King is set to release exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on July 17th. Are you excited for the upcoming entry? Let us know in the comments below!
