Super Mario Odyssey kicks off Nintendo Treehouse Live, right off the heels of the brand new trailer for the title.
Kaozumi-san mentions we the theme of going on a journey for the game, but also providing the players a lot of surprises as well. The dinosaurs shown in the trailer are one example of that. The goal is to balance that surprise with the familiar, so the experience of play is designed to reflect that.
The overall story of the game is to travel the world, throw your hat and use the hat to take over different enemies to use their abilities. Throwing your hat at different enemies gives you different abilities.
The Odyssey is actually the ship you fly to each different worlds. You need to collect moons, that act as fuel for your ship and help you travel to each of the world's.
The use of your hat is all due to a new character, cappy the white Top Hat. Cappy helps you throw your hat as a weapon, both at a single enemy and in a circular motion. He also is the force that helps you "capture" enemies, allowing Mario to possess objects, people and creatures in the world. Not every enemy is capturable, and some enemies wear hats to prevent possession until you knock those hats off of them. Standard platforming still exists of course, with tons of small courses scattered throughout the levels to accomplish and collect moons.
Other changes to the Mario formula are also present. Coins, for example, are now used as a currency in the game, and each kingdom you go to has a separate currency to collect and buy, from souvenirs to other items. They can be used to decorate the Odyssey itself, to wear new costumes and blend in with locals in each kingdom.
One final addition was a throwback to old-school NES Mario. Similar to Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, some 2-D spaces have you participate in more traditional platforming elements that invoke the original Super Mario Bros.
The level shown on Treehouse live, New Donk City, is hinted to be based on the original Donkey Kong game. We also see other references to it, including the mayor Pauline, but Nintendo is keeping their mouth shut on further hints as to the true nature of the city at this time. Another world, Sand World, was also shown, both of which are playable at the E3 show floor.
Super Mario Odyssey will be released for the Nintendo Switch on October 27th.
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