Softlock

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Revision as of 05:09, 16 July 2023 by Grady (talk | contribs) (→‎Examples: Fixed hyperlink)

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

Luncheon 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

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 Presumed reason; has not been extensively tested.