4.5/5 ★ – ValleyWind84's review of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.

After owning my Nintendo Switch OLED for nearly 8 months and quickly building up a sizable backlog, I have of course found plenty of fun in the system, but frustratedly hadn’t found a Switch game to properly disappear into. Super Smash Bros., Xenoblade Chronicles, and Fire Emblem Warriors came close, but hadn’t quite done it for reason or another. Imagine my surprise that the first game to do that for me so far was Mario + Rabbids. Even the most optimistic video game fans couldn’t help but screw their face at that combination. Mario’s reliable, Ubisoft gets the job done, but a tactical RPG with the less charming Minions? However, it’s the most I’ve disappeared into a game since Fire Emblem Awakening and a recent playthrough of the original Kingdom Hearts. The passion for both franchises and a strong commitment to engaging gameplay leaks out of the screen at every second. The original music score delivers amazing renditions of Mario themes and battle tracks that imbue the game with its unique personality. The gameplay loop is straightforward but paced terrifically. When you break it down, Mario + Rabbids is just a linear collection of 80 or so battles. There are no branching paths like Fire Emblem, no grueling permadeath mechanic like XCOM, and no expansive side-quest-ridden open world like [insert Ubisoft title here]. Yet the approach grows more addictive rather than stale. Like the Mario turn-based RPGs, Mario + Rabbids adds Mario-like twists to the gameplay to keep it accessible for young audiences and genre newcomers. Whereas Fire Emblem or Square Enix tactics can become like stylized chess games, Kingdom Battle has that dimension but also allows your pawns to knock the feet out from under enemies and goomba-stomp their heads in on their way to their next position. Environmental hazards and certain weapons/attacks also bring with status effects that can upend your strategy in exciting ways. Most levels offer other plus-ups, too, like postmatch bonus health and easy mode to abate frustration. For me, I play maps messy so Mario or Luigi may be struggling and I may not have a healer on deck; health regen mushrooms feel sparse, too. I take the bonus health whenever I can for that reason so we’re not hobbling into an ambush. I never felt these battles were too challenging, although the latter half of the game offered a handful of game over screens, and while no map stands out among the rest, they don’t feel the same, thanks to regularly changing goals (clear the map, get to the other side, escort missions) and fresh mixes of enemies, lengths, and elevations. Between battles, the party navigates the world map. While it could threaten to feel like a hallway simulator, the developers try to break up any tedium by offering puzzles throughout the map to unlock and earn goodies, from new weapons to collectibles to points for the skill tree. It’s not necessarily a good or bad thing, but most of the puzzles are rather obvious and this part of the loop rarely offers a challenge. 99% of the time, my progress in these phases weren’t stopped by lack of skill but the fact that I hadn’t unlocked a later-game power yet, encouraging me to come back later. On the one hand, it should make 100%-ing the game a decently easy task if I want to later. On the other hand, it makes these sections feel half-thought at times, even though it breaks any potential tedium that may set in from the linearity. They do get more involved and complicated in the final world, but I could still button-mash my way through the hardest puzzle, even when getting extras on multiple trips through pipes. In the end, I see it as a nice enough diversion that encourages us to take in the world. While the storyline is not necessarily anything to write home about, it’s presented beautifully. The cutscenes still hold up five years into the console’s lifespan, with fantastic animation full of personality and creativity. The passion that comes through also makes me, someone who has no strong feelings about Super Mario, want to dive into all the games and worlds the red-capped plumber has had. While not quite perfect, I find myself losing track of time while trying to beat the next world, and I ultimately come out of each play session surprised and pleased that this wacky crossover combo is one of the best games on the Nintendo Switch.