When you think of the top games releasing in 2022 what do you think of? Just in the last three months of 2022, multiple AAA titles will be released. Arguably, 2022’s videogame release schedule is one of the strongest in years. Just from September to December, excluding rereleases, Gamers can pick up Splatoon 3, No More Heroes 3, Dragon Ball The Breakers, A Plague Tale: Requiem, Ghost Busters: Spirits Unleased, Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope, Gotham Knights, New Tales From the Borderlands, Bayonetta 3, CoD: Modern Warfare 2, Sonic Frontiers, God of War Ragnarok, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, The Callisto Protocol, High on Life, and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion.
Yes, we know that list is intense, but it’s meant to highlight the magnitude of this year’s release schedule. So with just those games to pick from, which titles stand out the most? Which of these titles do you expect to shine above the rest? Just with Nintendo exclusives alone, there are five big choices to be made. So now, we will try to help you narrow down your Winter Holiday/Black Friday ups.
When Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope was first announced, we were excited to get our hands on it. As fans of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, a sequel based on the fun Co-op experience was enticing. Now, that we have started playing through Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope, we feel rather disappointed; not because the game is bad, but a lack of a co-op makes the series feel different.
Story
In Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope, the Mario and Rabbids characters are getting to relax when Sparks start falling from the sky. Shortly after the sparks arrive, Darkmess covers the land. Curious about the substance and the creature that dropped, Mario and Rabbid Peach attempt to investigate putting players on a path to free lands of the Darkmess and taking down Cursa. While visiting, the crew discovers new sparks and allies to help them out on their journey. The first and most suspicious character introduced is Edge. At one point, we actually expected Cloud to show up because of Edge’s sword, moodiness, and abilities.
After partnering with Edge, the team size grows to three. Each of the early worlds focuses on one of the four seasons and gives players a clue about what they can expect in each level. Upon reaching the harvest planet, players learn of the Spark Hunters who are familiar with Edge. As the game goes on, players uncover Edge’s mysterious past and the origin of Cursa.
As a story, Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope can be enjoyable but is rather simplistic. Experienced gamers can see the ending coming a mile away and in a way feels like a story to introduce children to a galactic adventure while tying in the characters from the series. The overall story is one you can enjoy but doesn’t evoke any kind of emotional reaction.
Gameplay
Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope gameplay is somewhat similar to its predecessor but focuses more on free-roam battle combat strategy rather than grid-based combat. Outside of story battles, players can encounter enemies out in the wild; these battles will start either by being attacked by an enemy or dashing into the enemy. Players that dash into the enemy will get to attack and move before the enemies.
During a round, players are able to dash through enemies to deal free damage. During each round, each party character can use two abilities; this includes using sparks, normal attacks, special abilities, or items. This makes each turn’s strategic planning important. Each level’s map fits the theme of the world, with a select rotation of maps being available for combat. Before going into battle, players can choose their party’s loadout, party members, and even combat difficulty. If you prefer to focus on the narrative over combat, the relaxing difficulty makes the game a bit easier.
The combat in the game is rather straightforward, so we ask ourselves, “Why did they get rid of the multiplayer aspect?” The easiest answer is to reduce the amount of chaos. Additionally, throughout most of the game, the player’s party consists of three characters with a 4th occasionally helping in story battles. Even with that in mind, having the game still be multiplayer with up to three people still seems possible, with the host controlling the fourth character during those battles.
Even on easier difficulties, some boss fights can be harder than expected. The game does feature a skill tree for you to customize each character in a specific way, but you can also assign the game to do it for you.
Gameplay/Story Thoughts
Overall, Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope’s combat system is rather direct by telling the player what they can and can’t do. Yes, there are some secret combinations a player can execute by combining team members’ abilities, but they are not necessary to beat the game. Some levels require more thought based on the player needing to survive or reach an objective rather than eliminating the enemies.
As someone who enjoyed the previous title, the lack of co-op definitely made this title feel like a grind rather than something that you can easily pick up and play with friends. This game definitely feels like it was made to appeal to the 5 to 18 age range rather than older gamers. At the end of the day, this isn’t a deal breaker but feels like it limits its overall potential.
PS, we totally should have expected Chris Pratt to play Mario with his Star-Lord-like blasters.
Graphics
While playing through Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope, we didn’t notice many graphical issues, the only issue we noticed was shadowing issues. When you look at the game as a whole, each character model’s design looks as intended and responds appropriately. With jumping through the combat zone or sliding through pipes, it would be very each for something to go wrong. Luckily, this is not the case.
The visual effects in the game are beautifully animated, respond appropriately, and can be enjoyable to watch. Each attack is clearly indicated and the attack animation is beautifully polished with no motion blur showing. The cutscenes for special attacks can be a pleasure to watch with great animations.
The game’s level design both in combat and world is also beautiful to look at. In fact, we spent more time exploring and looking at the levels and the battle zone than focused on combat. Each world’s theme can be fun to explore and look at. Our only complaint is that some sparks look almost identical. Colorblind or visually impaired players will not tell the difference. Weapon Skins are also locked behind special tokens within the game.
Controls
Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope’s controls are rather simplistic. The important buttons are primarily focused on the bumpers with the rest playing a minimum role. At first, the layout feels rather unusual but becomes easier to use as the game goes on. Personally, we recommend using a pro controller rather than the Joycons unless you have the controller slot attachment. Thankfully, there are no motion controls.
Our only gripe with the controls is access to the save menu. In order to save, players must navigate to the settings tab and then select options. The game does feature autosave but saving manually is still important.
Audio/SFX
The game’s audio and sound effects are easily our biggest complaint. The game’s level audio gives players a good feel of the environment. Our complaint is that the Rabbids can talk while the Mario crew cannot. This in a way makes the Rabbids feel more important than the Mario cast despite them being equivalent. The game’s sound effects are fine, with some sounding like generic battle effects ripped from other games rather than a new creation.
Mario game’s sound effects still cause a nostalgic response but can get old once you’ve heard them multiple times in the same battle. In fact, for over half of our playthrough we decided to have external music playing rather than the same sounds playing over and over again. At the end of the day, the soundtrack is good, but not amazing.
Replay Value
When it comes to replay value, Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope falls in the typical open-world category. Players can choose to either perfect the game or play through it using different characters and sparks. For us, it was easily a one-playthrough experience and that’s fine. With a variety of quests to complete, players can find a variety of things to do to occupy their time and help level their characters. If you are a perfectionist, this game can give you your money’s worth; if you are playing it just for the story, then probably hold off.
Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope Verdict
At the end of the day, Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope can be an enjoyable experience for those that like single-player games. As someone who enjoys multiplayer narratives, it misses the mark. The story is easily predictable and that’s alright since most players will come for the experience and setting rather than the narrative. Combat and graphics are well polished and provide very little to no headache. Players who are looking either for a narrative experience or round-based combat can easily find it; those who are looking for both should happy with the game’s three base difficulties and other customizable settings.
If you are looking for an enjoyable narrative with a beautiful level design and a fun but predictable story, consider Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope.
