Five years ago Ubisoft surprised everyone with Mario + Rabbids, a game that mixed these two franchises in a totally unexpected way. Far from being an adventure with jumps and action, it was presented as a turn-based strategy title. What at first seemed like an idea without much sense ended up being one of the star games in the launch year of Nintendo Switch.
Five years later, the company known for Assassin’s Creed has just published Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, a sequel –also for the Nintendo hybrid console– that stands out for taking that original proposal to a new level. To what extent is it worth it? Is it a game for all audiences? We have been playing it for a few days with the aim of answering these questions.
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Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope trailer
First things first: You don’t need to have played the first Mario + Rabbids to get into this sequel. Although the events continue where the previous installment left off, the starting point is completely new and – why are we kidding ourselves – the story is still a pretext to make sense of the game itself.
This time around, Nintendo’s plumber once again joins forces with Ubisoft’s crazy rabbits to defeat a Cursa, an evil cosmic entity terrorizing the galaxy. And here comes one of the first differences with respect to the first game, and that is that, instead of transferring the action to the famous Mushroom Kingdom, the title proposes us to travel throughout different planets, each one with its own setting.
The game is set on different planets that we can freely explore
Mario + Rabbids is a game where thinking and planning are more important than jumping around. In fact, it is a full-fledged tactical combat title, a kind of XCOM for all audiences, which does not give up being deep and challenging. As in the previous installment, it combines exploration and turn-based combat, these seconds being the core of the experience.
During the fights, the player’s goal is to know how to combine the skills and powers of the different characters to come out of each confrontation with enemies almost as adorable as the protagonists. The playable base continues to consist of knowing how to hide behind walls, calculating when it is better to activate a space power or combining the abilities of the characters well. The fundamentals are the same, but there are important differences.
The game introduces some changes in the combat system
It is commendable that Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Paris, the two development studios, have decided not to settle for making a sequel identical to the original. The changes in the combat system are numerous, starting with the greater mobility that the characters now have within the combat arenas. It is a grateful change that gives more dynamism and fluidity to the fighting.
Another outstanding novelty are the so-called “sparks”, the nice stars that give this sequel its name. Once equipped, they grant characters a series of special powers, such as dealing more damage or creating altered states, and greatly enrich combat strategies.
Another of the strengths of ‘Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope’ are its careful cinematics
The possibility of choosing between three levels of difficulty at all times is another of the keys to a game that adapts to the type of player, from those who do not have much experience in tactical combat titles to those who are more versed in this type of proposal and want a considerable challenge (without ever being excessively difficult).
Despite its light-hearted appearance, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is a very solid tactical strategy game with a generous amount of playtime. Like the first installment, it is a title that shows care, and that in this sequel introduces enough changes for those who already enjoyed the original. In addition, it is a fantastic gateway to a genre that may seem complex from the outside, but here it is suitable for all audiences.
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Albert Garcia
The vanguard
Albert Garcia
