Most games use a photo mode as a means to explore the unnoticed aspects within a world, or showcase graphical fidelity.
That’s not the case with Super Mario Odyssey’s snapshot mode. Exploring the world is what the main game is for – the snapshot mode is more about creativity with filters. A more traditional photo mode doesn’t suit Odyssey because it’s not a Horizon Zero Dawn or Assassin’s Creed Origins visual stunner. Nintendo doesn’t shy away from putting triple-A features in its own games, but its only stipulation, as Reggie Fils-Aimé loves reminding us, is that it should be fun.Odyssey’s snapshot mode isn’t about visual fidelity or depth of field; it’s about capturing funny moments and creative filters.
In a way that only a Nintendo game would, Super Mario Odyssey has fun with those filters. On first inspection most may look quite ugly, but that’s not the point. Having a filter that makes Odyssey look like a GameBoy Advance, NES, or SNES game is just a brilliant call back to Mario and Nintendo’s past. Some filters, like the coin or the fish-eye lens, are there to take funny snapshots with. Maybe you want to capture a specific moment of a hat throw when Mario pulls a funny face — drawing attention to it with a prominent filter is what sticks Odyssey’s snapshot mode to Reggie’s words.
The sort of filters Nintendo added to this snapshot mode are ones you’d never see in another game — and it continues to add more, with coin and neon being relatively new additions to the lineup. I mostly avoid filters in photo modes, but this title’s might just be the best thing about it. It’s exactly what you’d expect from a Nintendo-developed photo mode: fun-loving and carefree. Here are some snapshots I took within Super Mario Odyssey showcasing the array of filters within it.
More on photo modes
- 6 Games We Wish Had Photo Modes
- DriveClub’s Photo Mode Was One of the Very First, and It’s Still the Best
- Horizon Zero Dawn, in Pictures
- Using NVIDIA’s Ansel in Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition’s Demo
