'Mario + Rabbids' may look cute, but it's viciously difficult
Underneath the colorfully fun facade of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a deep, complex, and dauntingly difficult strategy game where every move becomes a crucial, life-or-death decision.
I was able to sit down and play a few hours of Mario + Rabbids at a Ubisoft event last week, trying my hand at a couple easy battles from the first world ... and then thrown mercilessly into the hellish, Boo-infested lands of the third world. It was there that it immediately became clear that I was not ready for the game's later, soul-crushing battles that hide behind Mario + Rabbids' unassuming veil of bright colors and cartoonish humor.
You can begin to see the game's complexity even in the first world. My squad -- consisting of Mario and two Rabbids (dressed as Luigi and Peach) -- were able to string together moves to get into advantageous locations and land extra points of damage. Stopping to think for a few seconds before putting the characters into action made a real difference. I can't imagine I would have lost in this early level even if I just charged forward, but it definitely helped me win faster and more effectively with a few extra planning seconds.
Once you start encountering pipes you can jump into for extra movement, unique boxes that respond differently to being blown up, and special moves (including Mario's shoot-anything-that-moves Hero Shot ability), things get hectic in a fun way.
Note: Any jumps in this gameplay video are from me cutting out long periods of myself deciding what to do or being otherwise distracted.
After winning a few battles (no big deal) and doing a bit of exploring around the colorful world to the tune of the infectiously bouncy compositions by Grant Kirkhope (of Banjo Kazooie, Goldeneye, and Donkey Kong 64 fame), I loaded up a save file that started near the end of world three.
That's when things got really complex.
Immediately, I needed to start filling out characters' talent trees and choosing which weapons they'd be toting into battle. Putting points (accrued over time in the game) into certain skills gives characters bonus abilities, such as higher damage, the ability to jump off of allies multiple times, or reducing the cooldown time on special abilities.
This allows for some pretty deep customization for each character -- they can be specialized to fit specific roles as needed. There are also over 200 unique weapons in the game to find and earn, each with unique stats and effects that improve as you progress.
This rubber ducky grenade, usable as Peach's secondary weapon, has a 50% chance of igniting enemies on fire and sending them running at other enemies who will also (hopefully) catch on fire.
I had to maximize the skills and damage output of the three characters I chose for my squad (Mario, Peach, and Rabbid Yoshi) if I wanted any chance at beating the eighth level of world three. And it was still incredibly difficult and required some consultation with a helpful developer.
The enemies stronger, the maps were bigger, more complex, and had game-changing environmental factors that made life very difficult. Namely: Boos. Boos that appeared on the map would latch onto friends and foes alike, teleporting them to random locations at the end of their turn, rendering carefully strategized movements useless at the snap of a finger. And then, to add insult to injury, they cackle at you.
In my second attempt at one level, I managed to use Peach's gun to set an enemy ablaze, send it running into a Boo, and removing that Boo from my path, which allowed me to advance toward my objective. It was 20% luck and 80% strategy, and it felt awesome to pull off.
With the difficulty ramping up, it only made winning battles that much more satisfying.
I quickly found out that the environment, too, was more challenging to navigate. Puzzles stood between my squad and progression, which required a bit of thinking to complete. The timed puzzles in particular proved challenging, taking a handful of attempts to complete to earn new weapons and goodies.
And that was just the third world. Presumably things will get even more complex and difficult as the game progresses -- a bit of a surprise considering the lighthearted and wholesome vibe that Mario + Rabbids gives off.
This complexity bleeds into the co-op mode, where two players control two characters a piece to take down enemy Rabbids, setting up combos and utilizing different characters' strengths to win. The co-op doesn't bleed into the story mode, unfortunately, but it's a fun way to blast Rabbids into oblivion nonetheless.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle and all of its colorful difficulty is heading to the Nintendo Switch on Aug. 29.
