Metacritic (86)
OpenCritic (85)
Eurogamer (recommended):
Polygon (recommended):
GamingTrend (100/100):
GamesHub (5/5):
IGN (9/10):
GamesRadar+ (4.5/5):
Metro GameCentral (9/10):
Press Start Australia (9/10):
Nintendo World Report (9/10):
Screen Rant (4.5/5):
Shacknews (9/10):
Twinfinite (4.5/5):
Vooks (4.5/5):
Stevivor (8.5/10):
Wccftech (8.5/10):
VGC (4/5):
God is a Geek (8/10):
Nintendo Life (8/10):
TrustedReviews (3.5/5):
T3 (3/5):
Guardian (3/5):
OpenCritic (85)
Eurogamer (recommended):
Well, this turns out to be brilliant fun, tactical and knockabout, exactly as you'd expect if you combined Mario and XCOM. The roster of characters is colourful and quirky, encouraging experimentation, and alongside equipping items and sparks, each character has a handful of skill trees to plug points into as they level. (Characters also auto-level off the battlefield.) Throw in bosses, inventive victory conditions, deep cuts from Mario universe and clever battlefield design and you've got something pretty special.
Polygon (recommended):
Who could have predicted that such an odd amalgamation could elicit such joy? With Sparks of Hope, Ubisofts Milan and Paris have turned one of gaming’s strangest elevator pitches into one of Mario’s greatest spinoffs.
GamingTrend (100/100):
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope launches with a spark of life. There are improvements and expansion of the gameplay and performance of the first game. Three new heroes to the game including an original (non-Mushroom Kingdom related) Rabbid character named Edge. There are brand new unique weapons and special abilities for each character. Oh, and Sparks galore. This game is pumped full of “new tactical possibilities” for every kind of gamer.
GamesHub (5/5):
Sparks of Hope has a real sense of twinkling charm – one that could pull a smile from even the most hardened heart. There’s a vivacious, beating heart at the centre of this adventure, and it makes every new world, and every new fight a veritable joy to complete.
IGN (9/10):
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope takes the excellent tactical combat ideas of Kingdom Battle and runs absolutely wild with them. Its goofy characters still have the ability to bounce off of each other, but they’re now free of the rigid grid and wonderfully customizable thanks to the mix-and-match Sparks that give them new and reliably interesting powers. Between fights you get to catch your breath in the large and brilliantly colorful open worlds, solving its light puzzles and being puzzled yourself by its oddball story. It’s extremely gratifying to play an ambitious sequel that fixes all of the main issues I had with the original, and then some.
GamesRadar+ (4.5/5):
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope captures everything that made the original so special, all while delivering a more complex and complete experience. It offers a new level of strategic depth, with world-building that makes it more of a Super Mario game than you might expect.
Metro GameCentral (9/10):
One of the best strategy games to ever appear on a console, with some genuine gameplay innovation and authentic Nintendo magic.
Press Start Australia (9/10):
While Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is a markedly different game than Kingdom Battle, it's a more than worthy sequel that successfully steps into its own space within the realm of turn-based strategy. It's undoubtedly one of the best games on the Switch, and one of the best showings from Ubisoft in recent years.
Nintendo World Report (9/10):
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope takes the fantastic canvas that was Kingdom Battle and paints a masterpiece on it. The combat is as fun as it is strategic, and each world is a delight to roam through. The added freedom in terms of movement during battles and the light RPG elements pair exquisitely with the slapstick Rabbid humor and the whimsical music composed by industry titans Kirkhope, Shimomura, and Coker. The story serves its purpose well enough, even if the ending is a bit lackluster, but the gameplay is unassailable. If you liked its predecessor, you'll love Sparks of Hope. It sets a new bar for Mario-themed spinoffs, and I'm full of hope that the series doesn't end here.
Screen Rant (4.5/5):
Sparks of Hope has completely surpassed Kingdom Battle and has taken an idea that was once seen as an oddball crossover and turned it into a Nintendo franchise with a genuinely exciting future.
Shacknews (9/10):
Between removing the movement grid, adding more strategic options, new characters, new abilities, and expanding and revising the roster in an enjoyable story, Sparks of Hope feels like another exceptionally good collaboration between Ubisoft and Nintendo.
Twinfinite (4.5/5):
Overall, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is able to captivate with its worlds and pull you down rabbit hole after rabbit hole of side quests, treasures, and battles. You’ll find yourself wandering off course to help a Rabbid in need or rescue a Spark who will then help you on your journey.
Vooks (4.5/5):
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is Kingdom Battle but all grown up. The battle system has evolved to something more dynamic, and the game's overworld, characters, and presentation have been taken to the next level. You don't have to be a big strategy nerd to enjoy Sparks of Hope, as there are difficulty and accessibility options to let you enjoy just the funny story. Sparks of Hope has a lot of heart, is funny and fun to play, but that shouldn't be a surprise anymore.
Stevivor (8.5/10):
Sparks of Hope is here, there’s still no Switch Pro, but it feels like a next-gen take on the original game, expanding on what worked to great effect.
Wccftech (8.5/10):
Tactical RPG fans and those that love the chaotic nature of Rabbids owe it to themselves to check out both Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope and its prequel Kingdom Battle for a gaming experience you won't find on any other platform.
VGC (4/5):
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is a fun-filled exploration that shows what can happen when Nintendo decides to share its toys. While it's not the biggest leap a sequel has ever made, an incredible soundtrack, great visuals and witty writing make it one of Switch's best games of the year.
God is a Geek (8/10):
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is a brilliant sequel full of fun moreish combat and deep customisation that’s only let down by the speed of the battles and a heavy front-loading of ideas.
Nintendo Life (8/10):
Sparks of Hope’s battles suffer from an imbalance between the vast array of options available and the difficulty – a stark contrast to Kingdom Battle’s challenging, curated fights. This doesn't mean it isn't an enjoyable strategy game in its own right; the battles are less an evolution of what came before and more a shift toward freedom and creativity that can sometimes trivialise Cursa’s attempts to take over the galaxy. However, Sparks of Hope does shine in most aspects outside of these Darkmess bouts. Delightful little puzzles, quests, and memorable locales abound, which yet make this Rabbid-themed adventure a must play for Mario and strategy game enthusiasts alike.
TrustedReviews (3.5/5):
Mario and Rabbids Sparks of Hope provides the same enjoyable turn-based combat as its predecessor, with some minor tweaks to make it more accessible to a wider audience. A greater focus on the Rabbids opposed to the Mushroom Kingdom feels like a backwards step though, with the slapstick crossover comedy failing to sparkle this time around.
T3 (3/5):
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hopes doesn't quite live up to the high expectations set by its predecessor but its turn-based combat advances in a modern and fitting way, with a terrific orchestral soundtrack and fun new addition in Sparks that fans of the first game will still enjoy. It's good but it could have been great.
Guardian (3/5):
There is a genuinely brilliant strategy game lurking under all this flimsy Nintendo wrapping. For younger audiences, these complaints probably won’t matter, but for the fully-grown Nintendo faithful, Sparks of Hope’s paper-thin narrative, juvenile jokes and disappointing hub worlds are hard to ignore, despite the fantastic fights.
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