Definitely split up the Joy-Cons when you play 'Super Mario Odyssey'
Hello, Nintendo friends. I'm here to preach the gospel of split Joy-Con controllers.
They are your lord, they are your savior, they are your One Truth. They are, without a doubt, the absolute best way to play Super Mario Odyssey.
Let me break it down for you: Control-wise, Odyssey plays a lot like any other third-person open world-y game. Twin thumbsticks manage movement and camera perspective while face buttons and triggers handle attacks and assorted jumps.
Those are the basics. But Switch controllers are a step beyond the basic. They also support motion controls. And Odyssey does a number of cool things with that.
You can throw Mario's primary weapon, Cappy the googly-eyed hat, in a straight line with the press of a button. However. If you shake your controller, Mario still throws the hat... but Cappy homes in on any nearby enemies.
I can't understate how helpful this ability is at virtually every stage of the game. Relying on button commands to toss Cappy with precision can be frustrating at the best of times. But if you shake your controller for a few seconds, Cappy does the rest.
That's not the only motion control. Cappy can also possess many of the creatures you come across, and each of them has one ability or another -- something that plain, old Mario can't do. In these cases, controller shakes often amp up the ability in question.
If a thing you possess extends its legs to reach high-up platforms, for example, shaking the controllers gives you slightly more reach. Sometimes, controller shakes are just your only way to attack with a possessed enemy.
There's just one problem with all of this: Shaking a Joy-Con while it's attached to a Switch in portable mode means you're shaking the entire Switch. Not ideal when you're trying to, you know, also see what's happening on the screen. Shaking a Switch Pro Controller or both Joy-Cons docked into a grip is slightly better, but it has the potential to mess you up when you're trying to fend off enemies while leaping from platform to platform.
Enter the joy and wonder of split Joy-Con gaming. Why shake your entire controller when you can just shake half of it? Keep your left thumb steady as you guide Mario through the worlds of Odyssey and shake your right hand rapidly whenever enemies start to crowd in.
Even if you're in portable mode, just bust out the screen's kickstand and detach your Joy-Cons. It's worth the trouble, trust me.
Split Joy-Con gaming is the One True Way. Taste the freedom. It tastes real good.
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
