Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope review: one of Mario’s finest spinoffs

digitaltrends.com:

If the Mario franchise has taught us anything over the past three and a half decades, it’s that sometimes change can be for the best. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is another fine example of that. Rather than rehashing the successful tactics formula that made 2017’s Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle a surprise hit, Ubisoft switched the recipe up for its sequel by ditching traditional grid-based battles. Though that decision may have raised eyebrows for anyone who fell in love with the first game, I can’t imagine the series playing any other way now.

Don’t panic: The fundamentals of the two games are still the same. Sparks of Hope is a tactics game where Mario and his friends team up with their Rabbid doppelgangers to take down enemies in turn-based battles. However, the sequel brings a host of important changes that improve on the original’s ideas rather than throw them out the window. Less rigid combat, a greater emphasis on exploration, and a stronger approach to character building all make the sequel feel as fresh as the original did in 2017.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope shines thanks to its reworked tactics, which make way for some of the best turn economy I’ve seen in the genre to date. Though it doesn’t fix all of its predecessor’s issues, it’s a worthy follow-up that ranks among the Nintendo Switch’s very best exclusives.

Drawing inspiration from Super Mario Galaxy this time around, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is a more intergalactic journey. Mario and his pals (both human and Rabbid) team up to stop Cursa, an evil force that’s looking to sow chaos in the galaxy by consuming Sparks, creatures that are a hybrid of Rabbids and Galaxy’s Lumas. The vague, cartoon narrative doesn’t really matter much; it’s just a