

Upon filling in the spots, Mario is awarded items such as coins. New to Color Splash is the paint hammer, which can fill in colorless spots found throughout the world. In these levels, Mario can collect items and coins, talk to non-player characters (NPC), complete puzzles and platforming challenges, and consult Huey, Mario's ally, for assistance. There are multiple Mini Paint Stars in some levels. Upon reaching a Mini Paint Star for the first time, the player unlocks access to new stages. Players traverse levels through a world map containing levels the goal of each level is to reach the Mini Paint Star. The player's objective is to retrieve the missing six Big Paint Stars stolen by Bowser, all of which occupy a different portion of the world. The player controls a two-dimensional version of Mario using the Wii U GamePad, and explores a paper-craft world designed to look like craft materials. Paper Mario: Color Splash has elements of both action-adventure and role-playing genres, reiterating previous gameplay in Paper Mario: Sticker Star. In the top left is his paint meter, showing how much paint he has left. Mario using his paint hammer on an uncolored flower. The game was followed with Paper Mario: The Origami King in 2020. The combat system and lack of character variety were also criticized. On release, however, the game received generally positive reception from critics, praising the game's graphics, soundtrack and improved dialogue. Upon the game's reveal, Color Splash was met with controversy for continuing the genre format introduced in Sticker Star. The game was released worldwide in October 2016. The artists heavily focused on making the in-game paper textures to appear as realistic as possible. The developing team implemented a card-based battle system to utilize the GamePad's touchscreen to sort, paint, and flick cards. The game was developed to take advantage of the Wii U hardware, such as the GamePad. The idea for a paint-themed game came from Atsushi Isano, the director for Intelligent Systems.

The story follows the protagonist Mario and Huey, on a quest to retrieve the six Big Paint Stars to save Prisma Island and rescue Princess Peach from Bowser. It is the fifth installment in the Paper Mario series, and is part of the larger Mario franchise. Paper Mario: Color Splash is a 2016 cross-genre video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Wii U console.
