«Mario + Rabbids» review: almost as tactical as «XCOM», but nowhere near as stressful
7.9.2017
Translation: Eva Francis
It’s beginner-friendly, requires tactical skills and provides lots of room to fool about. Although there’s every indication that Ubisoft’s crossover of crazy rabbits and Super Mario is doomed to failure, «Mario + Rabbids» is one of the best and most fun-filled of all new tactical games and is sure to make anyone who doesn’t own a Switch green with envy.
I wasn’t originally planning to write about «Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle». I didn’t get around to writing a review for its launch and thought it wasn’t worth making up for it later on. How wrong I was! Now that Ubisoft have sent me a sample, I can hardly go a day without it.
Tactical but easy to get into
As its name suggests, «Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle» is a crossover of Ubisoft’s crazy rabbits and Nintendo’s famous Italian plumber. How come these universes collide? It has something to do with a time washing machine, a speaking Roomba vacuum cleaner and an invention called «SupaMerge». It’s a fun plot – although rather irrelevant to the game itself.
Covers can be destroyed.Some opponents can’t be attacked from the front.The jumping mechanisms and transportation pipes offer you a lot of variety. As your opponents have a great range of abilities themselves, battles are very dynamic and never the same. You’ll need to plan your moves in advance and have good tactics to get through a level unharmed.
Getting more equipment and weapons
More weapons cause more damage. Some even come with special attacks.There’s a bit of role play in «Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle», too. New characters with different styles of playing are unlocked along the way and you can buy new weapons or put points into skill trees. This will give you healing power or abilities to double-hit enemies who are moving away from their cover.
«Super Mario» as gateway drug
Rabbids are good at cosplay.«Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle» could have worked just as well without Mario. Personally, I would have preferred Rayman and his gang. Wouldn’t the graphical style of the last Rayman game have been a perfect match? What’s sure is that Mario generates more attention and the crossover of the two worlds works rather well.
The game principle isn’t as complex as with «XCOM 2», but allows for more tactical freedom when it comes to choosing what to do and where to go. The options of attacking your opponents are almost endless.
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Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chAs a child, I wasn't allowed to have any consoles. It was only with the arrival of the family's 486 PC that the magical world of gaming opened up to me. Today, I'm overcompensating accordingly. Only a lack of time and money prevents me from trying out every game there is and decorating my shelf with rare retro consoles.
Gaming
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