3.5/5 ★ – Kalle_Deimos's review of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.

TLDR: Mario Rabbids is an unholy combination that has proved it's good enough to exist. It isn't a strategic marvel but it has it's own brand of strategy that's engaging in it's own right. Those last couple of challenges though are super fucked. Gameplay: Baby's First X-COM! That may sound redundant but it really is. Cover based tactical shooting. But obviously super simplified to be approachable and appealing. For example, cover gives you a 0% to hit and half cover gives 50%. No in between. The roster is pretty well defined and are different enough to encourage experimentation and variety. It isn't completely perfect since you always need Mario on your team and also at least one Rabbid, but it's nice. It's not too difficult but it also doesn't pull any punches, so I can imagine some kids are getting stuck on this. Hell, I got stuck on Bowser Jr. the first time I played. I wish there was a feature to re-do battles easily, and overall I wish there was a better UI because it is almost non-existent. You can only access certain features in certain places and times and it can get annoying. I dont know why I cant just hit one button to see how many remaining chests I have but whatever. Thankfully, Mario Rabbids offers its own brand of strategy rather than ripping off any established SRPG title. Story: I think the most impressive part about this game is how they somehow made the Rabbids not annoying and even more than that, actually pretty funny. The humor doesnt land all the time, and its rife with cheap toilet humor and puns but they end up being mostly endearing rather than groan-worthy. The story is your typical Nintendo affair and not worth explaining in this review but it works as a vehicle to get us moving. Graphics: Stylistically, it looks pretty good. But the animations are the real treat. Rabbids allow for pretty good slapstick humor and its always funny to dash into one and watch it do like 40 backflips and land on it's ass while it makes a funny screech. Or when youre taking aim at one behind full cover and it squishes its body up to the wall, making it almost flat. Plenty of satisfying and interesting animations to make gameplay feel worthwhile. There is some weird stuff though, like enemy splashscreens are in a noticeable lower quality than their model when they show up. Lots of graphical pop-in, and everything just looks a bit too "toy-ish". Sound: Sound design is kind of a flop. Lots of stock sound effects that are jarring and also over-used so they can get annoying real fast. The music was fine too. Extra: There's challenges and collectibles, and they are quite difficult to track and to complete them all. They were tough and I felt like a boss bitch for doing it all but I would not do it again. Favorite Thing: Rabbid Luigi is absolutely nuts. Not My Favorite Thing: Despite me singing it's praises, Mario + Rabbids has a clear lack of polish. Weird animations, pop-ins, glitches, crashing.