Softlock
A softlock is a situation that a video game can be put into, most commonly by means of a glitch, in which it becomes impossible to continue to play the game normally or access most areas without reloading the game or area. Softlocks in Super Mario Odyssey vary in severity, with some still allowing Mario to move about the area and others locking the game up completely.
The word "softlock" is also sometimes used to describe situations in which the player is temporarily unable to progress, such as a glitch where Mario can become temporarily stuck in midair during a Bowser boss fight. However, these scenarios are not true softlocks, as it is possible to simply wait in order to resolve the situation.
Types
There are three main types of softlocks in Super Mario Odyssey:
- Instance softlocks require the area to be reloaded, such as by dying or warping to a Checkpoint Flag
- File softlocks require the save file to be reloaded via the pause menu
- Game softlocks require the entire game to be restarted
Examples
The following is a list of some known softlock methods:
| Kingdoms | Type | Method | Video |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cap Kingdom | File | Getting stuck somewhere during the first visit with no checkpoints activated (used for Softlock%) | |
| Cap Kingdom | Game | Talking to the Bonneter guarding a moon just after pulling up onto the ledge above | Link |
| Cascade Kingdom | Game | Triggering the Odyssey cutscene by warping to the Top of the Big Stump checkpoint | Link |
| Sand Kingdom | Game | Activating Globe storage while in the Koopa Trace-Walking minigame. | Link |
| Sand Kingdom | File | Bubble clipping out of the Hariet arena and missing the ground below | Link |
| Wooded Kingdom | Capturing a Fire Bro just as it falls into water | Link | |
| Wooded Kingdom | Game | Killing the Invincibro in an area with a locked camera[note 1] | Link |
| Wooded Kingdom | Instance | Killing a Poison or Fire Piranha Plant with Cappy in two-player mode while Mario is capturing it | Link |
| Cloud Kingdom | Game | Entering the camera-locking zone just above the death area while collecting the last music note | Link |
| Metro Kingdom | Game | Unknown | Link |
| Snow Kingdom | Dying out of bounds after completing the Bound Bowl, causing the Multi Moon to disappear | Link | |
| Moon Kingdom | Game | False capturing Bowser (i.e. capturing him while dying) | |
| Mushroom Kingdom | Game | Unknown | Link |
| Various | Game | Capturing a Goomba stack while it is inside a Life-Up Heart (known as Goomba time freeze) | Link |
| Various | Game | Collecting a key from a Timer Challenge just before it disappears | Link |
| Various | Game | Collecting a fifth Moon Shard just as the HUD reappears from collecting another moon[note 1] | Link |
| Various | Game | Talking to the Koopa Freerunning racer while stunning it with an object | Link |
| Various | Game | Collecting the final Story Moon in an early kingdom | |
| Various | Instance | Becoming stuck in any inescapable area | |
| Various | File | Achieving an infinite fall |