Super Mario Odyssey 2 – All The Rumours & Our Expert Speculations

Can you remember the first time that you played Super Mario Odyssey? While the side-scrolling titles have always been amazing and undoubtedly the most iconic and influential games in terms of Nintendo history, it’s always been the 3D titles that have been my favourites. Super Mario 64 was the first platformer I ever completed, and the series has gone from strength to strength as we’ve passed through Sunshine, Galaxy, and finally Odyssey. When Odyssey dropped back in 2017, we were treated to so many new ideas and gameplay mechanics that shook up everything we knew about 3D Mario games, and we’ve been waiting patiently for Super Mario Odyssey 2 ever since.

For those of you who haven’t ever played Super Mario Odyssey before, I can best describe it as if you fused Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Galaxy together. It’s a huge game that has so many secrets for you to discover while playing, and while it doesn’t have the same amount of open-world exploration possibilities as TotK, it’s definitely the biggest and most intricate Mario game yet.

The sequel is going to have to pull out all of the stops and offer some seriously special features and mechanics if it’s going to improve on the success of Mazza and Cappy’s intergalactic journey. With that in mind, here are all the rumours we’ve found across the internet and the speculation that has stuck over the years since the first Odyssey game released, alongside my thoughts as a video game journalist as to what we can expect next in the series.

My Initial Speculations on Super Mario Odyssey 2

Obviously, after the global success of Super Mario Odyssey being the 5th best-selling Switch game with 28.5 million sales, there’s a lot of speculation as to what the sequel might be like. For years now, I’ve seen wild theories and carefully thought-out arguments as to what Odyssey 2 might be like, so much so that I could spend a whole day just reading through threads from excited Mario fans and come out the other side wearing blue dungarees and white gloves.

I think it’s safe to say at this stage in the proceedings that Nintendo is going to wait until the arrival of the Nintendo Switch 2 to bring out a new Mario Odyssey game. It makes sense from a marketing point of view – the Switch dropped with a Zelda title, so to have the Switch 2 releasing alongside a Mario title, as well as potentially the last Luigi’s Mansion game, would keep things very on brand. Mario & Zelda games sell consoles, and while I would love to also see Mario Kart 9 at launch, I’m certain Mario will play a big part in the marketing strategy for the new console.

What Will The Gameplay Be Like?

Getting onto the gameplay, I think one of the things we’ll see in the new game is a co-op multiplayer option along the lines of Luigi and Gooigi’s antics in Luigi’s Mansion 3, especially after the success of the Super Mario Bros. Movie and new generations seeing Mario adventuring with Luigi, Toad, and Peach. If not co-op Multiplayer, then the option to use other abilities from supporting characters like In God of War – maybe Luigi could pick up a few tricks from Atreus.

We’ve had so many cool features in the 3D Mario games so far, but multiplayer has mainly been reserved for the sidescrolling titles. We all thought that this would be the case with Link and Zelda in Tears of the Kingdom, for example, and she ended up disappearing into a different part of history and leaving Link to do everything. Maybe after Peach’s successful stint in Princess Peach Showtime, she might not need saving in this game either – that would be the dream, and perhaps Bowser can steal a different character to mix things up. Or better yet, let’s have Bowser as a playable character too!

Realistically, the gameplay itself is going to be the same style as the first title. One thing I think we will see from my travels around the internet, at least if Nintendo listens to the fans, is classic characters heading back to make an appearance. I seriously wouldn’t be surprised to see the Noki & Pianta from Super Mario Sunshine, and I’m confident Toad will play a big part in the game after becoming a fan favourite in the movie. I would love to see Yoshi too – he played a big part in Super Mario Galaxy 2, so there’s a chance he might make an appearance.

Taking over objects and characters will obviously make a comeback too – you can’t have something as revolutionary as that in a Mario title and take it away again. The fans would go wild!

What Can We Expect From The Levels?

One thing I loved about Super Mario Odyssey is how completely different all the level designs were. One minute you’re in a luscious green forest level with a T-Rex, the next you’re wearing a Mexican hat and jumping around colourful buildings in a desert setting. The beauty of travelling between different planets means that there don’t need to be any linking themes that connect them all together, with the Odyssey being the world hub as it were. But how many levels will there be in the new game?

Back in 2021, I recorded a tweet from @Matthasnocuts that showed some leaked information about the new game. It stated that the new game would have Luigi and that it would consist of 20 levels. The last game had 18 levels, so this is entirely plausible.

In terms of level design, I would really love Nintendo to go full open-world with this next game, travelling between different parts of planets like Link moving between the Sky and the Depths and also following in the footsteps of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, but I think this could be too far removed from the tried and tested formula. It was a shock with Zelda, but it works – the combat elements lend themselves to an open-world adventure, but there was still a lot of pushback from fans who love the old-style games. I wonder if messing with the Mario style too much too quickly is something Nintendo are reluctant to do.

Regardless of whether the game is open-world or not, I think Power Moons and the Odyssey will still be the main things driving exploration on each level. BotW and TotK kept key features like that between games, so one can assume Odyssey 2 will do the same.

The Main Super Mario Odyssey 2 Rumours

So what other rumours are floating around the internet? Well, there’s a strong rumour that Cappy hasn’t had enough of exploring and will return once more as Mario’s sidekick. If Luigi joins Mario as I suspect and as some sources are speculating, then I think he’ll have the same ability too. We might see some Mario & Luigi: Brothership-style action on the cards.

Another rumour that I’m intrigued with is that there are supposedly more puzzles to solve in the new game, problems akin to the Korok puzzles in Breath of the Wild. Hitting switches with caps, moving pieces by morphing into them and getting your sidekick to open up doors (just like Gooigi) – that’s something I could seriously get on board with.

How’s this for an idea as something I’m throwing into the ring too – customising the Odyssey and decorating it to your own style. Making the Odyssey your oyster would be incredible, and after the hype of Animal Crossing over the past few years and considering this was the first game where we got to customise Mario’s outfits, it’s a strong possibility!

My Thoughts On A Potential Release Date

I strongly believe that we’ll see the second Odyssey game dropping alongside or around the same time as the Nintendo Switch 2. I think we’ll see it released in Fall 2025 with a price tag of around £50/$50, possibly pushing back to a Holiday release so that it’s on everyone’s Christmas lists. Obviously, that’s just my thoughts, and we all know how games can get pushed back (I’m looking at you, Metroid Prime 4).

My ideal release schedule for the Switch 2 would be a new Odyssey game, a new Luigi’s Mansion game, and Mario Kart 9. I’m already going to buy the Switch 2 regardless of what it drops with now that we know it’s backwards compatible, but if those three games dropped alongside it, I would pay whatever price they asked and not even question it!