During today’s Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase, Ubisoft revealed the release date for the Mario + Rabbids sequel. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope will launch on October 20, exclusively on Nintendo Switch.

Sparks of Hope takes the tactical strategy-adventure far beyond the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario and his allies, plus their oddly fused Rabbid counterparts, will once again join forces to stop an evil threat. A total of nine characters will be available, including newcomer Bowser. They’ll journey into space and other worlds to save the Rabbid-fused Sparks from the evil Cursa.

Sparks also enhance and upgrade heroes, adding new traits and abilties, such as new elemental attacks or energy shields.

The XCOM-inspired tactical strategy combat now allows each character to freely move within a limited space before launching their attack. They can also dash into enemies, following up with a powerful hit to bring them down.

The first game was a surprise hit, blending XCOM tactical combat with Mario characters and enemies (and the goofy Rabbids).

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope will release on October 20.


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Eric has been writing for over nine years with bylines at Dicebreaker, Pixelkin, Polygon, PC Gamer, Tabletop Gaming magazine, and more covering movies, TV shows, video games, tabletop games, and tech. He reviews and live streams D&D adventures every week on his YouTube channel. He also makes a mean tuna quesadilla.