2017’s Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle proved the naysayers wrong by offering a well-crafted tactics game that successfully ties together two very different franchises. Its sequel, Sparks of Hope, must now live up to fans’ excitement rather than allay their doubts. Ubisoft Milan accomplishes this feat by going back to the drawing board, revamping its template and creating a sleeker, more dynamic experience that maintains strategic depth. The core combat remains strong, but Ubisoft has fleshed out the rest of the offerings to create a more comprehensive package.
Sparks of Hope plays just like the last game; You will engage in tactical turn-based combat as a squad of Mario icons and their Rabbid doppelgangers. However, the grid-based motion is gone. Instead, you move your team of three around like you would in a standard third-person game. The game still limits you to a character’s movement range, but the positioning feels more natural and kinetic, expanding your offensive flexibility.
An optimal move with a single hero often looks like this: I dash towards an enemy and slide into them to deal damage. I then retreat to a nearby ally to perform a team jump that launches me into the air. I float to a higher vantage point, activate a Heroic Action like Peach’s damage-reducing shield, and move again. After finding new cover, I use my primary attack to blast another enemy before finally being forced to end my turn. I love how the looser framework allows me to squeeze more action out of a round and makes combat feel more exciting. Chain moves, like launching targets into range of, say, Mario’s auto counterattack, add to that satisfaction.
The abundance of colorful stages sometimes includes real-time elements that make good use of this freedom. A winter stage features timed gusts of wind that blow players off the course. I avoid that by just passing by at the right times instead of sticking to a rigid order. An enemy explodes when they’re killed, so I quickly flee their blast radius, again in real time. Sparks of Hope also mixes up its objectives often enough to keep the action from stagnating. I enjoy battling a giant rampaging wiggler aboard a moving train, or smashing through dams with bombs to restore a region’s water flow.
A decently varied enemy list and polished arenas ensure battles remain thoughtful affairs where your positioning and offensive order of operations matter. Sparks of Hope offers enough challenges that poor planning can lead to a punishing team wipe. This time, however, you have the help of Sparks: Hybrids of Rabbids and Lum as from Super Mario Galaxy. Equipping these creatures on heroes grants a wide range of powers and perks, like adding elemental properties to their attacks (like fire and ice). Other sparks disrupt enemy formations by repelling or attracting enemies. One of my favorites is making a character temporarily invisible. The most powerful Sparks unleash far-reaching attacks, such as B. a fiery meteor shower. Feeding Star Bits to Sparks will level them up, allowing you to improve the abilities of your favorites.
Since each hero can carry two Sparks, they feel more versatile as individuals, making for well-rounded teams. I love that I can let Rabbid Luigi deal alone with enemies that are weakened by Shock and Frost attacks. I appreciate how enemy vulnerabilities forced me to keep switching Sparks and prevented me from staying with the same gear or team out of complacency.
It’s also great that party-building allows for any combination of heroes, breaking Kingdom Battle’s limitation of only using Mario and at least one Rabbid. Because heroes have inherent specialties — Luigi is a long-range sniper, Rabbid Peach serves as a healer, and Rabbid Mario does physical damage at close range, for example — squad building feels more interesting because I can mix things up better. Heroes also have skill trees that largely enhance or enhance existing moves that you can respec at any time, granting additional flexibility in terms of the talents they bring to each fight.
Three newcomers join the fight: Bowser, Rabbid Rosalina, and Edge, a mysterious badass Rabbid. They feel like good additions for the most part. Edge is my favorite thanks to the high damage she deals by hurling her swirling blade to eviscerate lines of targets. Bowser and his Bow-Zooka missile launcher make him a tough tank capable of wiping out groups and covering terrain. Rabbid Rosalina’s careless personality is amusing, but I often struggle to find a place for her. She summons debilitating effects that slow or even stop enemies, but her machine gun-like puppet doesn’t feel like it’s satisfying any particular need.
Expanded exploration of the overworld brings more engagement away from the battlefield. Multiple themed planets, like a tropical beach or a mechanic’s junkyard, are packed with side quests, puzzles, and secrets. I like that I don’t have to complete quests to advance. You are free to pursue the considerable critical path and will largely remain reasonably balanced. But if you do, you’ll miss out on earning Planet Coins (local currency used to unlock special keys, weapon skins, and more), useful battle items like POW Blocks, and more Sparks. Tasks include helping a DJ find his missing records, solving a series of entertaining puzzles for an avid explorer, or hunting and catching fish in a timed mini-game. These missions aren’t the deepest, and I wish some had more variety; Expect to complete the same “Kill X amount of X enemy type” task on every world. But they’re fun and can be welcome breaks from the constant struggle.
What I enjoy most is upgrading my robotic companion, Beep-0, with new abilities that unlock inaccessible areas. Along the way, I acquired a sonic pulse to smash weak walls and move blocks, and a special light that reveals invisible paths and treasure. These abilities give Sparks of Hope’s worlds a slight Metroid feel, as I regularly visited objectives to unlock new zones. Solving environmental puzzles is also fun and offers adequate challenges without being boring.
A charming but uneventful tale of preventing a cosmic darkness from engulfing the galaxy rounds out this delightful package. Like the best sequels, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope builds on Kingdom Battle with smart improvements and fun additions to make it a better game in every way.
