During the third day of E3 live streams, the team at Nintendo confirmed that Super Mario Odyssey will feature local co-op.
When the feature was demoed during Nintendo’s Treehouse stream, game director Kenta Motokura said he was inspired to add this feature in the game because the Nintendo Switch natively features two controllers out of the box.
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In this two player mode, you’ll notice that Mario’s hat, Cappy, floats above his head when this mode is active. When co-op mode is being used, a prompt appears on screen explaining the different commands between Mario and Cappy.
Mario still maintains his traditional running and jumping moves, as well as controlling the camera, but he no longer controls Cappy — although they did tease that he could still control Cappy somehow, but it was not shown on the stream. Players controlling Cappy can fly around and perform attacks, as well as control the camera.
During the live demo, Nintendo showed off how instrumental Cappy can be in performing fast actions that Mario can’t do, for instance, grabbing scattered music notes that quickly disappear to solve a puzzle.
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Cappy is also invincible, so playing as him is perfect for players who want a stress-free play session without the fear of getting hurt. Nintendo added a few puzzles that are helped by the teamwork, such as situations where Mario needs to hold an item but needs Cappy to do something.
Super Mario Odyssey will be available on Oct. 27, 2017 on Nintendo Switch.
