2/5 ★ – notesurfer's review of Paper Mario: The Origami King.

Playtime: 5 hours Stopped after the first chapter. I am extremely disappointed that Nintendo still hasn't made a true Paper Mario 3, but I still found a lot to love in Sticker Star, so I went into this game with an open mind. Unfortunately Origami King leans very heavily into a kind of collection-oriented action/adventure that honestly doesn't even need the cumbersome puzzle-combat minigame. The boss battles are absolutely fantastic, but the overall exploration got tedious fairly quickly: collect confetti, fill holes, hit literally everything with your hammer just in case a useless toad is hiding there. Of course the writing is excellent and the origami aesthetic looks incredible, so there's a lot of "vibe" that Nintendo fans will love. I only wish there was just a bit more strategic depth to the combat and a lot less poking around for minimal rewards. The series has abandoned all but the most vestigial elements of the RPG that I first fell in love with.