Scheduled for October 20, 2022 on Switch exclusively, Mario + The Rabbids: Sparks of Hope takes up the improbable recipe of its predecessor, that is to say a crossover between the license of Ubisoft, that of Nintendo, and fights quite fun and fast-paced tactics. In this game, Mario has become pragmatic, rather than jumping on his enemies, he uses guns and explosives, while taking cover.
Rayman returns (but not as expected)
Ubisoft has just remembered that one of its historic mascots, Rayman, exists. Unfortunately, he is not entitled to a new game at the moment, instead, he will be entitled to a place in the cast of Mario + Rabbids. It will however be necessary to be patient, since it will only arrive in the 3rd DLC of the game. It is always something to learn more about a distant DLC, well before the release of the game.
Exploration always on the agenda
It wasn’t the focus of this new video, but exploring each themed world is important in Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. Each area has its own set of goofy NPCs, quests, trials, and puzzles. Secret passages are to be discovered in order to access otherwise inaccessible sections, which allows you to face more enemies, and to get your hands on useful treasures in combat.
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope includes new allies, whether Rabbids or characters from the Mario universe. Even Bowser is in the game this time, he acts as a tank equipped with a heavy explosive weapon, which makes him a good choice in fights with multiple targets.
A quick tour of what’s new
Before the start of the fight against the boss, you can freely change the composition of your team, in order to choose the most appropriate characters for the situation, but that’s not all. The famous “sparks of hope” mentioned in the name of the game are not just there to look pretty, they also serve as combat assistants. Choose which sparks to assign to each of your characters to give them a passive effect, such as a damage bonus on certain attacks, and an active effect, for example stealth for 2 turns. This greatly expands the possible combinations and tactics. The progression of the characters is done both through their levels, the level of their sparks, and the improvement of their weapons.
The enemies are not left to do either, between the limited number of turns, the regular reinforcements, and the entrenched snipers, ready to shoot at anything that passes, it is necessary to show a minimum of strategy to pass. Chains of action and synergies are always important in Sparks of Hope, by managing your actions well, it is possible to achieve devastating combos. An example is the ability to lure enemies out of the area with a decoy, then put Mario in vigilance mode, in order to have him fire at moving targets. Bowser just has to use him as a trampoline to crush enemies, which throws them in the air and exposes them to fire.
Without announcing itself as revolutionary, this second title seems to enrich the recipe, and to offer a fun gateway to a genre usually reserved for a fairly hardened audience.
The superhero tactical RPG game developed by Firaxis and 2K had had its release date pushed back several times, to the point of only being scheduled for next year. So it’s a nice surprise to discover a new trailer, prequel shorts and a December release.
ubisoft
Find all the big announcements from the live Ubisoft Forward for the month of September 2022, with the information to remember on the Assassin’s Creed, Skull & Bones games and all the licenses discussed this evening, in this complete recap of the event.