Mario + Rabbids: Sparks Of Hope was revealed by Nintendo during their E3 2021 Direct presentation. Marking a collaborative effort by Nintendo and Ubisoft, it follows on from 2017's surprisingly successful crossover, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. Not many details are available right now, but safe to say we'll see Mario, Luigi,and more staple characters teaming up with those pesky Rabbids.
The second time around we'll likely have similar gameplay and mechanics. But knowing the dev team, they'll have some new surprises up their sleeves. For now though, here's everything we know about Mario + Rabbids: Sparks Of Hope.
Elsewhere, read up on everything we know about other upcoming games including the Resident Evil 4 remake and Gotham Knights. We've also got a look at the multiplayer in the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Latest news
Recently, we got the chance to go hands-on with a few hours of Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. Check out our preview to see what we thought!
Late last month, a new trailer for Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope released. It also confirmed that the game will launch on October 20, 2022, while also showing off some gameplay. You can check it out below:
Ubisoft's latest financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2021-22 has shown that Ubisoft plans to release Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Skull and Bones, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, and other games "by April 2023".
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks Of Hope didn't make an appearance during the February Nintendo Direct. With this in mind, it's likely that the game won't arrive until the second half of 2022. We say this since the recent direct was focussed on "Nintendo Switch games launching in the first half of 2022". We suspect we'll have to wait sometime for more info about the game.
Nintendo Direct Presentation Confirmed For Tomorrow. Nintendo will hold a new Direct presentation on February 9. Scheduled to kick off at 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 10PM GMT / 11pm CET, that's expected to last for "roughly 40 minutes," focus on Switch games launching "in the first half of 2022."
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks Of Hope was leaked prior to the official announcement. Details about the game such as screenshots, art, details, and more were all revealed. You can see our full news story on the leak here.
Release date
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks Of Hope will release on October 20, 2022. As expected, it'll only come out on Nintendo Switch.
Story and gameplay details
This entry sees you teaming up as Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Rabbid Peach, Rabbid Luigi, and four other characters on a galactic journey to defeat an entity, saving your Spark companions in the process.
Exploring a number of planets, you will get to complete various quests and uncover a number of secrets. The official artwork revealed new weapons which goes beyond the simple hand cannon from the first game, including more traditional guns and bows. Sparks will also grant you new abilities in battle.
Trailer
You can find the original E3 2021 reveal trailer below:
Gameplay
During Ubisoft Forward, a pre-alpha gameplay video was also released, which you can also find below.
Platforms
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks Of Hope will launch as a Nintendo Switch exclusive. Considering it's being developed by Ubisoft and published by Nintendo/Ubisoft, don't expect to see the game elsewhere.