Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope review

Sparks of Hopes augments the arsenals, overworlds, and core mechanics, building on its prodigious predecessor. If you appreciate customized character builds, this should be your next strategy campaign. 

Arriving a scant five months after the Switch’s launch, 2017’s Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle was a triumphant fusion of concepts. Battles were born from the turn-based tactics of games like XCOM. Each skirmish compelled combatants to seek cover, flank enemies, and make shrewd use of special abilities.

But instead of delivering yet another somber sci-fi experience, Kingdom Battle was built around the playful characters, cartoonish settings, and upbeat musical tracks that are characteristic of many first-party Nintendo titles. The result was a strategy game that offered cerebral challenge while simultaneously charming the senses. As such, Kingdom Battle was an indispensable purchase for new Switch owners.

With the recent release of Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, Ubisoft delivers a follow-up that elegantly builds on its predecessor’s foundations while deftly improving many of its mechanics. Undoubtedly, one of the biggest changes is how movement is handled. Kingdom Battle restrained units to an invisible grid. But when it’s your party’s turn in Spark of Hope, each character freely moves around each theater of war.

While there’s still no jump button, dashing through a procession of Goombas feels a bit more in line with Nintendo’s celebrated platformers. Now, context-based commands pop up as you near enemies, allies, and objects. The result are encounters that are a bit livelier. Not only can you execute new combos, but targeting enemies is quicker and more responsive.

Bump into a partner, you’ll team up, launching your character skyward. Here, you’ll gradually descend, allowing you to cover distances like Yoshi (puzzlingly, the beloved dinosaur is still absent from the series). Or you can dash into a Bobomb and fling it at another enemy, causing a destructive explosion. Of course, it’s not as sinuous as Super Mario Odyssey, but it’s far removed from the orthodox move-and-fire turn cycles of most strategy games. Intermittently, the overhead camera can get a bit glitchy, so you’ll appreciate being able to use Beep-0 like a drone to survey the entire battlefield.

After consuming their free moves, your team of up to three party members gets to spend two action points toward firing their main weapons, consuming items, harnessing signature special abilities, or using the game’s titular Sparks. Up to two Sparks can be equipped, each endowing a character with both an active and passive ability.

When leveled up, these are one of the most dominant tools in your arsenal. From delivering elemental damage, providing area-of-effect buffs, diminishing damage, or allowing characters to temporarily turn invisible, the game’s collection of 30 different Sparks provide amble character customization options. Although some are rewarded for merely progressing through the campaign, others are earned by completing the game’s numerous side quests and optional challenges.

When coupled with skill tree upgrades, Sparks of Hope offers some truly delightful character builds. While Luigi remains the game’s resident sniper, a mixture of Sparks and augmentation can turn him into an overall-clad Rambo. From sharpshooting multiple adversaries with additional overwatch charges to cloaking himself to secure a hazardous sniping position, the oft-overlooked sibling was often a match MVP.

Edge, the game’s brooding goth-punk Rabbid acquired the ability to cleave through a convoy of foes with her boomerang-like Flying Blade. Previously, I disliked the Rabbid’s maniac screaming and childish physical comedy. But Edge’s crowd-clearing abilities saved my team numerous times, helping me tolerate Ubisoft’s persistently obnoxious creatures. It’s amazing what a potent character can do; maybe the Minions can add a mighty new member.

At least some of Sparks of Hope’s enjoyment comes from testing the aptitude of your character builds. Here, Ubisoft keeps things varied, with objectives that offer a break from eliminating all enemies. Occasionally, the game will task you with making it to an exit zone. Determining just how much adversity to eliminate before making a final sprint can be tricky. Other times, you’ll need to toss Bobombs to destroy a reinforced door, as a steady respawn of reserves converged on your team.

Solutions for each situation can fluctuate based on difficulty setting or even the separate game modifiers that the developers provide. Tackle Sparks of Hope’s “relaxed” difficulty setting and you’re free to experiment with different approaches. Bump things up to “demanding” and combat becomes like a puzzle, where there are specific approaches you’ll need to take to survive.

One of the sequel’s more inspired changes is making maps more like a role-playing game. Rather than the largely linear trek offered by Kingdom Battle, each of the game’s five planets have plenty of branching paths, puzzles, and even random encounters, where a well-timed dash will provide an advantage. Pleasingly, Sparks of Hope’s locales aren’t inspired by the Mushroom Kingdom, with architecture and lighting recalling Ubi’s Rayman franchise as well as Immortals Fenyx Rising.

Of course, the emphasis on light brainteasers does have a few downsides. Subsequently replays will be slowed down by the item placement riddles and box moving dilemmas. And occasionally, playing in handheld mode in overly sunny places made it hard to see some of the details needed for puzzle solutions. On the topic of blemishes, the occasionally framerate sputter is present, although it’s hardly severe or prevalent enough to undercut the enjoyment. Frequent load times as also a minor annoyance, pausing progress for a few seconds when you bring up menus.

Others might still be displeased by the game’s persistently screaming rabbids and cinematics at odds with the game’s contemplative approach to combat. But if you’re able to withstand a few annoying bits, Sparks of Hope provides a few fulfilling story beats. No longer are the Rabbids mere interlopers on the Mushroom Kingdom. The game picks up a few years after Kingdom Battle, where Ubisioft’s creatures have integrated into society, making way for a new villain who spreads ‘darkmess’ across the galaxy.

It’s hardly nuanced and mercifully skippable, but the story comes close to providing a few poignant moments. The high points are undoubtedly the wardens of each planet, who provide guidance and an impetus for the twenty to thirty-hour trek that awaits players. But it’s the play that pushes players along, offering enriched tactical battles that progress at a refreshingly brisk pace. When coupled with an indulging amount of character customization, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is a must-play title for strategy fans of all skill levels.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope was played on
Switch with review code provided by the publisher.