I spent over an hour playing the insane and delightful 'Super Mario Odyssey,' Nintendo's huge next game

Here's hoping Nintendo is working double-time on making more of its new Nintendo Switch consoles available for this holiday. When "Super Mario Odyssey" arrives on October 27, and word starts getting around that it's the freshest, craziest, most ambitious new Mario game in years, people are going to want the Switch. It's going to be a thing once again.

Like "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" before it, "Super Mario Odyssey" will sell Nintendo Switch consoles. It's easy to understand why.

More than just adorable, which it obviously is, "Super Mario Odyssey" is a breath of fresh air for the Mario franchise.

It takes classic 3D Mario gameplay and puts a bunch of new spins on the old formula. The new game is a spiritual successor to classics like "Super Mario 64" and "Super Mario Sunshine," with huge, open worlds to explore - like New Donk City, in the "Metro Kingdom," seen above.

What makes "Odyssey" unique is that in enables you to play as nearly anything - including enemies - by throwing your hat at them. This is how Mario becomes, say, Bullet Bill:

Though it's a novel trick, "Super Mario Odyssey" is much more than a one-trick pony. I spent over an hour exploring three huge areas in the next major Mario game at a recent event, and I have a bounty of information to share.