Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope now has a two-hour demo on Switch

eurogamer.net:

Ubisoft is aiming to drum up some additional interest in last year's excellent Mario + Rabbids sequel Sparks of Hope with a new two-hour demo, available now on Switch.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope launched to significant critical acclaim at the end of last year, drawing praise for a solid evolution of its wonderfully engaging 2017 predecessor Kingdom Battle, building out that game's XCOM-like strategy action with expanded puzzles and more open-ended exploration.

Eurogamer's Christian Donlan liked Sparks of Hope enough to slap it with a Recommended badge in his review last year, calling it, «knockabout XCOM fun in a galaxy-hopping adventure».

Unfortunately, Sparks of Hope didn't quite capture the general public's imagination in the same way, and Ubisoft was forced to admit the game's sales had fallen below expectations when it announced disappointing financial results for its most recent quarter earlier this year.

Now, though, in an effort to re-ignite enthusiam for Sparks of Hope, Ubisoft has launched a demo on Switch's eShop that'll give players access to its first two hours, letting them explore Beacon Beach and take on some of its enemies.

Ubisoft's Spark of Hope demo launches alongside the game's first bit of paid DLC, The Tower of Doooom, which challenges players to battle their way to the top of a procedurally generated tower — upgrading their randomly picked team of four Heroes and Sparks along the way — at the behest of Madame Bwahstrella.

The Tower of Doooom is one of three bits of paid post-launch DLC announced for Sparks of Hope last year. It'll be followed by a second this summer, taking players to an «enchanting» new planet, and a third, Rayman-starring DLC at the end of this year.