Turn-Based Tactics Mario & Rabbids Kindom Battle (w/ Donkey Kong DLC)

[Optimist]

So, this game exists. The Switch doesn't have a cornucopia of tactical games for it, but for the longest time, I didn't want to approach this one, simply because I thought that inclusion of Ubisoft's Rabbids™ would interfere with my enjoyment of the game too much. Still, recently it was on a pretty big sale, so I decided that for the cost of a bottle of wine I might as well take a look at how bad it is. Turns out I was right - the little shits were horribly annoying at the start (only slightly growing on me as the game progressed), but I think that it is a testament to the quality of the game that I actually had fun playing through it.

I'd be glad to share a bit more of my impressions if anyone's interested, but all in all, I'd recommend it. Due to its highly abstract style of movement and fairly deterministic combat system, it feels as though it draws more inspiration from board games than great classics, but it does so with enough savoir-faire to be pretty interesting to play. Not terribly difficult, though: you can stroll through most of the game without difficulties, the problems begin once you start battling through challenges and postgame superlevels. It still feels like more of a tactical game than Switch's hyped Three Houses.

As for graphics: if it wasn't for the forced inclusion of the Rabbids™, it would be a perfect love letter to the Mario franchise from a western developer. Audio's on point too. It's weird how one of the more soulless studios managed to create such a lively title despite brass's interference, only for it to be quickly forgotten.

It also has a Donkey Kong themed DLC, which is worth getting - it might offer somewhat less content than the original game but has more competent mechanics and interesting missions. It went on sale together with the base game, so I grabbed it - although if you're not sure about whether you'll like it, you might start from the base game. The DLC doesn't interact with the basic game's content in any way. In that way, it's more of an old-fashioned expansion pack.

I really hope we get Mario (-Rabbids): Kingdom Battle one day, and see bigger teams of Mario characters blasting Goombas and Koopas rather than some Leperidae (see? I can come up with shitty wordplays too).

 

[sser]

It's surprisingly good; also kinda dug the spin on the genre being the reaction of enemies getting shot and pingponged around the battlefield.

They put that game on sell like every other week so it's easy to pick up for cheap.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

Yeah it’s pretty good. My 11 year old nephew found it pretty difficult, but he loved it too. One thing we both found annoying was how gated to campaign progression the character unlocks are. Pretty severely limits your customization options for the first half of the game or so.

 

[Optimist]

They put that game on sell like every other week so it's easy to pick up for cheap.

That's pretty weird, actually. I skipped past a few generations of consoles, but from what I heard Nintendo has never been too big on sales. Only with the advent of Switch had they started to regularly do 50+% off offers. The fact that they're doing 75+% on an AA Mario title seems just... weird. Dunno whether the game didn't sell all that well, or does it have something to do with it being a Ubisoft game.

One thing we both found annoying was how gated to campaign progression the character unlocks are. Pretty severely limits your customization options for the first half of the game or so.

Right, you end up with lots of money and nothing to spend it on. The DK DLC is better in this regard in that it introduces new tiers of weaponry right about when you bought everything from the previous one.

But customization is pretty basic, sure. Feels like picking your arsenal is more about selecting three characters that are good for the job rather than taking decisions regarding the characters themselves.