I've seen a lot of takes comparing Bowser's Fury to Super Mario Odyssey, claiming that this new open-world approach to Mario is the future of the franchise, and I gotta say:
...why?
Bowser's Fury is fine! It's better than most 3D platformers, without a doubt. But comparing this to Super Mario Odyssey is like comparing a tasty little tapas plate to a Michelin Star 5-course meal.
In Bowser's Fury, you gradually open up the world by uncovering islands which have been hidden by Bowser's goop, which seems rooted in the same base concept as Ganon's Malice goop in Breath of the Wild. Collecting Cat Shines powers up Giga Bells and lighthouse towers which lead to giant-sized boss fights and the clearing away of the aforementioned goop. Each new group of islands is quite small, with Cat Coins and Cat Shines densely packed. Size-wise, they're smaller than your average Super Mario Galaxy level. This means the game is itty-bitty and you'll likely be finished in a couple of hours. (I 100%ed the game in just under 4)
Unfortunately, many of the Cat Shines recycle identical challenges across each of the islands you encounter. This was a major letdown for me, and reminded me of Yooka-Laylee more than anything else. You're gonna chase a goopy Luigi a lot. You're gonna bait Bowser into breaking big silver blocks. You're gonna collect a handful of blue coins within a time limit. The back half of the game was mostly filled with disappointment, as the game settled into rinsing and repeating Cat Shines. Don't get me wrong, when you first reach a new area, the challenges are diverse and enjoyable! But after the main Shines have been collected, the game pads the content with these repeated filler Shines. If you notice that you're missing 2 or 3 shines on each island, you can probably guess what they're gonna be without even going there.
When the trailers showed Super Saiyan Furry Mario fighting Fury Bowser, I was excited to give that a shot. It does end up being fun, but it still boils down to a classic "jump on them three-ish times" Mario boss battle. I'd say the final boss battle is moderately satisfying, though 100% completion doesn't offer anything new in terms of the boss fight mechanics or the ending cutscene. (The first ending occurs with half of the game's Cat Shines)
All in all, Bowser's Fury is a fun way to spend 2-4 hours, but I cannot for the LIFE of me fathom why so many people are touting this as the future of Mario. There is nothing that this game does exceptionally well. Everything falls somewhere in the vicinity of "pretty good". I doubt there are any challenges or set pieces besides the repeated boss fights that will stand out in players' memories in a few months' time. Maybe I can't see past the game's small scope and repetitive challenges, but Super Mario Odyssey does literally everything better than Bowser's Fury. If the next mainline Mario game takes after this instead of SMO, it will be a huge missed opportunity.
Bowser's Fury is fine. If you're buying 3D World anyway, play BF too! But don't drop $60 just for the new content.
...why?
Bowser's Fury is fine! It's better than most 3D platformers, without a doubt. But comparing this to Super Mario Odyssey is like comparing a tasty little tapas plate to a Michelin Star 5-course meal.
In Bowser's Fury, you gradually open up the world by uncovering islands which have been hidden by Bowser's goop, which seems rooted in the same base concept as Ganon's Malice goop in Breath of the Wild. Collecting Cat Shines powers up Giga Bells and lighthouse towers which lead to giant-sized boss fights and the clearing away of the aforementioned goop. Each new group of islands is quite small, with Cat Coins and Cat Shines densely packed. Size-wise, they're smaller than your average Super Mario Galaxy level. This means the game is itty-bitty and you'll likely be finished in a couple of hours. (I 100%ed the game in just under 4)
Unfortunately, many of the Cat Shines recycle identical challenges across each of the islands you encounter. This was a major letdown for me, and reminded me of Yooka-Laylee more than anything else. You're gonna chase a goopy Luigi a lot. You're gonna bait Bowser into breaking big silver blocks. You're gonna collect a handful of blue coins within a time limit. The back half of the game was mostly filled with disappointment, as the game settled into rinsing and repeating Cat Shines. Don't get me wrong, when you first reach a new area, the challenges are diverse and enjoyable! But after the main Shines have been collected, the game pads the content with these repeated filler Shines. If you notice that you're missing 2 or 3 shines on each island, you can probably guess what they're gonna be without even going there.
When the trailers showed Super Saiyan Furry Mario fighting Fury Bowser, I was excited to give that a shot. It does end up being fun, but it still boils down to a classic "jump on them three-ish times" Mario boss battle. I'd say the final boss battle is moderately satisfying, though 100% completion doesn't offer anything new in terms of the boss fight mechanics or the ending cutscene. (The first ending occurs with half of the game's Cat Shines)
All in all, Bowser's Fury is a fun way to spend 2-4 hours, but I cannot for the LIFE of me fathom why so many people are touting this as the future of Mario. There is nothing that this game does exceptionally well. Everything falls somewhere in the vicinity of "pretty good". I doubt there are any challenges or set pieces besides the repeated boss fights that will stand out in players' memories in a few months' time. Maybe I can't see past the game's small scope and repetitive challenges, but Super Mario Odyssey does literally everything better than Bowser's Fury. If the next mainline Mario game takes after this instead of SMO, it will be a huge missed opportunity.
Bowser's Fury is fine. If you're buying 3D World anyway, play BF too! But don't drop $60 just for the new content.