In Citizen Sleeper 2, as you and your crew race around the Starward Belt to escape Laine, he tries to invade the player’s mind. Most of these visits cannot be fended off with dice rolls like other beats of the game, making them particularly haunting. During these intrusions, Laine exclaims with the confidence of an untouchable man that he will find you, that he will take over your body, and that all you’ll be able to do is watch. Outside of the fact that Laine can have such influence over the player across space, his venture epitomizes one of your Sleeper’s biggest social challenges: that they are an object first, and an individual deserving of rights second. Despite what might feel like obsession given that he chases you for days on end, Laine views the player as a means to an end. While something similar can be said of how the megacorps treat Sleepers, and even the humans these corporations contract out, they at least keep you in your body’s driver seat. Laine is terrifying because he shows that even for an existence as leashed as a Sleeper’s, there is always more to lose—and that there is often someone looking to take it.
While my playthrough of Citizen Sleeper 2 only brushed against that potential doom, there was no need to look further than Super Mario Odyssey to understand what it actually looks like when you’re turned into a tool. While the vibrancy and upbeat soundtrack of Mario’s most recent mainline 3D adventure doesn’t scream “scary,” adopting the perspective of the infamous plumber’s enemies tells a different story. Mario’s new pal Cappy in Odyssey allows him to completely possess many enemies (and allies!) in the game, which in practice means turning dozens of living creatures into disposable flesh and metal suits. Between possessing Bullet Bills only to relinquish them right before crashing into a wall, to taking over Cheep Cheeps for a dangerous underwater swim, Mario’s relationship with many creatures in this game is strictly oppressive when its not combative.
In theory, this is all in service of saving Princess Peach from marrying Bowser, making Mario the “good guy” story-wise. But it’s hard not to feel wrong after possessing a flying Goomba to make a jump and then squashing it afterwards for some coins, or even just because it’s a Goomba, after all, and that’s what Mario does to Goombas. This doesn’t aim to paint Mario as some invincible force, but rather highlight that this single ability creates a power imbalance that’s terrifying in scope. If one subscribes to the idea that ends don’t justify the means, then this whole process should be put under investigation. Look past the bright colors and Nintendo-whimsy of it all, and in practice you’ll see Odyssey turns players into a kind of Laine: a person who feels it is in their right to rob living things of their bodies and agency. While I don’t often sympathize with Goombas or the rest of Bowser’s minions, I imagine having to keep your head on a swivel for the literal drop of a hat is nerve-wracking.
While Citizen Sleeper 2 excels at picking the idea of possession and its implications apart, Super Mario Odyssey speeds past discussion and dives right into mimicking the horror. Intentionally or not (it’s likely not in Odyssey’s case), they both become valuable studies of how games translate the horror of having someone’s body and mind snatched away from them. And personally, while Sleeper 2 unnerves me due to Laine and the power at his hands, I might actually be more scared to be caught by Mario’s magic hat inside the Mushroom Kingdom. For all his otherworldly money and influence, Laine still has to jump through several hoops to take over your Sleeper’s body. In a point that may actually be best shown by this time-capsule of a Smosh sketch, which doesn’t mimic how Mario’s possession works perfectly but gets the gist, the ease with which Mario and Cappy can enslave a life is frightening.
Wallace Truesdale is a writer who loves games and much of what they come into contact with. He’s written for Unwinnable, Stop Caring, PopMatters, and more. When he’s not ruining himself with sweets, you can find him blogging at Exalclaw, or hanging out on Bluesky and Twitch.
