Sticker Star features a similar visual style to its predecessors. The player controls a paper cutout version of Mario in a 3D papercraft world, with landscapes ranging from snowy areas and forests to volcanoes represented as the Mushroom Kingdom.[3] The story focuses on Mario's efforts to retrieve the six Royal Stickers that have been scattered by Bowser after he attacked the annual Sticker Fest. Mario is accompanied by Kersti, a sticker fairy, who bestows upon Mario the power of stickers.[4]
A major facet of Sticker Star's gameplay is the use of collectible stickers, which are used to gain abilities to progress through the game.[5] The player collects stickers that are found and peeled off from various areas in the environment.[5] Additionally, the player can purchase stickers using coins or receive them from non-playable characters (NPC).[6] The player has limited inventory space, with larger stickers taking up more room.[7] Stickers are used both in combat and for interacting with the environment.[8] The player can enter a state called "Paperization", which will lay the screen down flat to reveal additional secrets not visible regularly.[9] Real-world objects can be found, known in-game as "Things", such as baseball bats and scissors, that can be turned into special types of stickers called "Thing Stickers",[10] which are often needed to solve puzzles in the overworld.[8] For example, a Fan Thing Sticker can be placed in strategic areas in the environment and, when activated, creates wind that moves or destroys obstacles.[11]
The turn-based battles in Sticker Star also reiterates combat in previous games, and are initiated when Mario comes into contact with enemies in the overworld.[12] The player's available attacks are determined by the stickers on hand from their inventory.[13] For example, possession of the Jump sticker can be used to attack an enemy by jumping on it.[14] Certain kinds of attacks are required depending on the enemy being fought; an enemy wearing a spiked helmet cannot be jumped on and must instead be attacked using a different kind of sticker, like a hammer.[9] Thing Stickers are used to inflict more damage on enemies, and certain types of Thing Stickers are required to make boss battles easier. Each sticker is removed from play after one use, making it necessary for the player to consistently collect new stickers.[15] The player increases their maximum health points (HP) and other stats through collection of HP-Up hearts, which give Mario five more health points and stronger attacks.[16]
