Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope Review (Switch)

I don’t think many truly believed that the partnership between Nintendo and Ubisoft would result in something so successful as the Mario + Rabbids series. But here we are, five years after the launch of the original game, still talking highly about the franchise.

After working almost half a decade on the sequel to Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, Ubisoft Milan has finally unleashed what we believe to be the perfect Switch exclusive game. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is massive in terms of scope and complexity, but exploration is also one of the game’s main pillars.

Although many of the characters are making a comeback and the recipe remains the same, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope feels like a completely different game compared to the original. Ubisoft Milan managed to polish and refine the formula to the point that almost every aspect of the game has been evolved.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is a standalone adventure (for now), so it’s not required to have played the original game to understand what’s happening. Although the sequel retained many of the mechanics from Mario + Rabbids Battle Kingdom, they’ve been upgraded and made much more appealing that you definitely don’t need to be acquainted with their old versions.

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In fact, the only things required to like the game is to love Nintendo’s Mario universe and turn-based combat. And since the game offers three difficulty modes – relaxing, average, and high, you don’t even have to be good at strategy games to enjoy Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is set after the events of the original game. Mario, Princess Peach and their Rabbids friends are enjoying a well-deserved vacation in the Mushroom Kingdom when Cursa, a malevolent entity attacks the resort while hunting for Sparks, cute creatures formed by the fusion of Lumas and Rabbids.

After repelling the attack, Mario and his friends embark on a galactic adventure to save the Sparks. Throughout their journey, they will meet unlikely characters, terrifying enemies and ever-surprising allies. You’ll be able to explore five planets, which are full to the brim with side-quests and other fun activities to enjoy.

Although most side-quests and activities are available once you land on a new planet, some are locked and require you to advance a little bit through the main quest. On the bright side, you can always revisit planets if you want to level up your heroes a bit or clean up every side-quest in the game.

As I’ve previously said, every aspect of the game has been improved and refined, including visuals and combat mechanics, skill tree and abilities. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope combines real-time elements with a turn-based system. The most important change is free movement before you take any action (apart from Dash).

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You’ll be able to choose the best position of your heroes before taking an action that could end the turn, which makes it much easier to plan and execute more aggressive maneuvers like jumping behind enemy lines to wreak havoc. Although each hero has their own skill tree, they are hardly different. The only major things that make your heroes stand out are their weapons and abilities. Luigi’s main ability makes him the best sniper in your group, while Rabbid Mario is your main melee character.

Mario makes as a powerful gunslinger, whereas Rabbid Peach’s powerful ability can heal all heroes in a certain radius. That leaves room for strong team builds that are suitable for various situations. The level of complexity is truly amazing for a Mario game, but the best thing is that you can have fun without min maxing your heroes.

To make things even more complex, Ubisoft Milan have come up with the so-called Sparks. These cute creatures that you find throughout your adventures have unique powers that can augment your heroes’ abilities and weapons. You can slot Sparks into each hero to completely change or upgrade their weapons and abilities.

For example, Mario’s shots can inflict burn or frostbite. With no less than 30 Sparks available to unlock in the game, the possibilities are almost endless. Not to mention that Sparks can gain levels if you feed them a certain resource. There are dozens of viable combo and synergy formulas that you can use to eliminate enemies, so it’s not just the fighting that’s fun, but also the entire process of figuring out what combinations work best against certain enemies.

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The Good

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Conclusion