Super Mario Odyssey has a hell-gauntlet at the end of the game that stymies plenty of casual players, but speedrunners have been skipping it for a while using a simple glitch. You can, too.
The most difficult area in Super Mario Odyssey is the Darker Side, a hidden portion of the Moon that players can only access after collecting 500 power moons. It’s an extended gauntlet that boasts a long section where Mario can’t use Cappy’s special powers to jump or possess enemies. Darker Side is supposed to be the game’s last hurrah, but skipping it is pretty easy.
The trick used to skip Darker Side was discovered by Twitter user Clement1194 last November and allows anyone to skip Darker Side with a little patience and a good sense of timing. Right before ending Darker Side, Mario encounters a pool with two frog enemies that he can possess. With the proper timing, runners can jump onto the frog and land on its head in midair. Possessing the frog on the same frame that Mario stomps it prevents Mario’s new, froggy form from falling down. It’s an animation glitch similar to the talkatoo glitch that allows players to cancel a jump in New Donk Kingdom and rake up massive score in the game’s jump rope challenge.
From there, skipping Darker Side is simple as runners swim on air to cross a massive canyon and land on the other side. Players then climb up a tower to end the game. Darker Side Skip is a fun and glitchy example of finding your own path through games, even if that means leaving certain levels in the dust.