It's no secret that, here at Nintendo Life, we're suckers for Paper Mario, a series that's gone from brilliant to perfect to disappointing to pretty good. Much like the plethora of farming games that have been coming out as an attempt to reclaim Harvest Moon's dropped crown, the era of Sticker Star and Color Splash (the two most rubbish Paper Mario games) has seemingly inspired many indie developers to create a paper game of their own.
You may remember another Paper Mario game from a while back. A Short Hike, the cute bird game from Adam Robinson-Yu, was created as a side project when Robinson-Yu was working on an Untitled Paper RPG, but it looks like we won't be seeing any more of that game for a while, if ever. Luckily, there's a new developer here to take up the paper reins: Conradical Games, which is currently working on an extremely cute game called The Outbound Ghost.

Now, we know that "it might come to Switch some day" isn't much of a promise, but the developer says that the studio already has a Switch devkit, and the game is "running well". The game has a Steam page with a planned release date of Halloween 2021, so hopefully we won't have to wait too long to find out!
In the video at the top of this article, you can hear the lead developer talking about the development so far, which went from a simple pixel-art RPG to the paper-style game you see before you. Now, it's a narrative adventure game, with "light environmental puzzles", and lots of loveable ghost friends.
And, most importantly: you can pet the dog.
What do you think of this new paper pretender to the throne? Let us know in the comments!
[source reddit.com]
Comments 32
Looking pretty good. Honestly don’t even know if it needed the paper hook to appeal.
Color Splash gets so much hate and I really enjoyed that game a lot. I agree Sticker Star was lack luster but Color Splash fixed the whole "no reason to even fight" issue. To each their own I guess.
Ok this looks absolutely amazing, I love the graphics and it looks fun. I was sold on the petting dog part too, so day one buy for me.
@CromAstronomy It wasn't as bad, for sure! I just wish they'd stop trying to reinvent the combat with each game I don't love it in Origami King, either!
Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed Color Splash. It's always better for your overall joy in life to enjoy things than to endlessly complain about the ones you didn't, and I speak from experience as someone whose job it is to endlessly complain about things
This looks amazing!! Do want.
Awwwwww this looks sooo cute! Like Paper Mario The Origami King the artstyle alone is selling me on it😄. Although I also really liked the half Paper Mario/half pixel art style he had in-between!
Love at first sight!
@CromAstronomy For a lot of people, playing any Paper Mario that isn't part of the original two (or three) games is a reminder of what once was and what may never be again: having a great compelling story in a Mario game with sometimes even pretty dark twists and lots of memorable characters, complete with an excellent battle system to boot.
Sure, Color Splash, Origami King, and maybe even Sticker Star, may be good games in their own rights, but they simply took away far too much of what made the originals so good, and playing those newer entries will just remind these people of that constantly.
Yes I'm one of those people. I cannot for the life of me enjoy the newer Paper Mario games because those older ones were so amazing in things that the newer games just threw out the window completely and I just miss these things far too much when playing the newer games.
But at least I'm glad there's still other people who can enjoy them, even if I can't, there's still plenty of other games to enjoy, and those older Paper Mario entries will always be there too to enjoy!
There's another Paper Mario type game on Switch I picked up awhile back, Skellboy. I remember really digging the visuals, but being rather disappointed by the gameplay. I'm not sure what improvements they've made, but looks like it's been re-released with 'Refractured' as the subtitle.
@CromAstronomy I think CS and TOK are quite influential because so many of the recent Paper Mario-inspired games adopt the white character outlines.
It's almost funny that there's so many who badmouth them, even in this article. Yet in the indie gaming circle such a prominent feature of the latest games visual design is what's adopted into their art style.
Ooh I may get the game
Ignoring any frustrations I've had with the series' direction, Paper Mario is such an odd, often creative spinoff series that's often fairly un-Nintendo. Especially Super Paper Mario, which in a number of ways feels like an indie game before indie gaming was cool. So I'm not surprised to see actual indie games go all in that sort of direction. There's a lot you can do with just the aesthetic, let alone anything else that came with it.
But that being said, boy did Nintendo make sure to leave a giant opening for games like this, didn't they? Y'know like Megaman. It might've taken 8 years to get a new Megaman game, but we also got Shovel Knight and various other things so I think things turned out alright regardless.
Looks good! Still haven't played Bug Fables yet though. I decided to stop buying so many games until I finish what I already have - outside of absolute must-plays from favorite franchises (such as RE Village and Pokemon Snap).
I have yet to play bug Fables, I will get it when its on sale or somthin.
The ghosts are adorable! I really like the blend of 3d world and paper characters. Definitely on my radar now, thanks for the article!
I don't understand how people can lament the death of "old" Paper Mario when there are many indie devs stepping up to deliver what you guys are longing for. It doesn't HAVE to be Nintendo.
Here's a short list of old-style Paper Mario-inspired games, both released and in the works (that I'm aware of:
Bug Fables
The Outbound Ghost
Scrap Story
Born of Bread
Don't sit and whine about Nintendo not giving you what you want, because you're not going to change a thing. It's a disservice to these indie devs, too--throw your money behind them if the Paper Mario of old is so important to you.
As much as I loved the originals, I just couldn’t get into Bug Fables. Sure, it’s great, but without that oddball whimsy of Nintendo characters out of place, it was for me at least just a “fine” game that couldn’t hold my attention for long. Glad it’s the crack some people need, but I can only get by on the pure stuff.
Oh hey, I remember this being posted in the Gamedev or Indiegames subreddit at the beginning of the year. Still looking like a must buy. =]
@Snatcher You will likely greatly enjoy it! It is my favorite game of all time, so play it when you have the chance!
This looks cool!
The weird thing about modern paper mario is how Nintendo refuses to ditch the turn based combat. Obviously they are trying to move away from the rpg elements, and that’s fine, but why do it halfway?
Origami King was definitely a step in the right direction, so I’m optimistic for the future.
paper graphics have always been so charming, and anything that brings back rpg-style gameplay is a plus. its nice people still see value in it, which nintendo oddly doesnt when they were the ones that started the whole craze
Weren't you just saying how much you didn't enjoy genre names such as "rogue-like" or "Metroidvania", yet you're using the term "Paper Mario-like"?! Also, does that actually describe the gameplay or just the visual style?!
If anyone here had even the slightest affection for the first two Paper Mario's, I recommend Bug Fables 10000%. The basic combat / RPG / exploration parts of the game are immediately recognizable, but they also have a lot of fun twists and improvements from PM's system. And, just like the first two PMs, the world is rich, filled with characters you'll fall for, and has stories of horror and sorrow just as well as ones of joy and growth. Can't recommend it highly enough!
Not to mention it has several "secret" modes to make for good replayability, such as one that randomizes badge locations or only lets you upgrade badge points instead of HP/MP, BUT also lowers all badge requirements to 1 MP in return.
This game looks really great (although I liked the HD-2D pixel art style better, but it still looks great) but comparing it to Paper Mario is doing it a disservice since it's not an RPG. If an actual Paper Mario game identical to this were announced people would have their torches and pitchforks at the ready since this game doesn't appear to have combat at all. This is an adventure game that just happens to use the paper aesthetic.
This looks absolutely gorgeous.
@KateGray thanks for the heads up on this one - looks great! Looking at all the comments it seems really obvious that there's a lot of really great looking indie (+ a few non-indie) games looking to fill gaps left by Nintendo's missing franchises. For instance as a massive fan of the original Star Fox games I'm looking forward to Ex-Zodiac and Whisker Squadron. Could be a good basis for an article (or series of articles) looking at alternatives to some of these beloved classics that Nintendo chooses to ignore or reinvent in ways that change what we loved about the series in the first place?
@EdScissorshands Hey, that's a really good idea. I'm adding it to the ideas board right now thank you!!
@KateGray You're most welcome! Keep up the phenomenal work (articles involving crabs especially)!
@Sylvaret Let's say, hypothetically, Coca-Cola stopped making Classic Coke. Your argument is like saying, "Stop whining about Coke when you could be drinking Pepsi, RC Cola, and Shasta Cola!" The brand matters, even when the flavor is "the same."
I love the art style for this game. I also really loved the original art style too! Looking forward to it
I have mad respect for studios that go to develop games faithful towards Paper Mario as a whole, especially the first two Paper Mario games.
I've enjoyed every Paper Mario game (except the first, which I've never played yet) for their own aspects. The Thousand-Year Door gave a super detailed and relatable story with a formula that I would consider to be perfect. Super Paper Mario was basically a pseudo-metroidvania with an emotional love story. Sticker Star introduced the brighter side of the franchise, and even though it was underwhelming, I have a bit of nostalgia for it. Color Splash took Sticker Star and greatly improved upon it. The Origami King had a memorable soundtrack, great visuals, and it's one of the very few modern-day Mario games to do the unthinkable... a character death.
With all that in mind, I would most definitely enjoy all of these indie games. I would much like to try The Outbound Ghost and Bug Fables, among other games.
I don't think I've enjoyed combat in a single Paper Mario game, and I've played them all (but the first one). It's just something I have to put up with.
But in terms of exploration, puzzles and most of all writing, Color Splash and Sticker Star are fantastic. And so is Super Paper Mario on the Wii. I'm not such a big fan of TTYD or Origami King. So there you are, there's an audience for everything.
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