Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope Release Date, Trailer And Gameplay - What We Know So Far

Players have joined Mario on tons of adventures. From simple rescues of Princess Peach to cleaning up the tropical environments in "Super Mario Sunshine" to traversing the solar system in "Super Mario Galaxy," Nintendo's beloved plumber has proven himself a hero for all occasions. Even outside of titles that center around the character, there are plenty of titles games featuring Mario that carry the same zany energy that fans love.

While some of the most recognizable Mario-adjacent games are the ultra-popular "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" and the more recent "Mario Strikers: Battle League," there was a title that paired Nintendo's iconic mascot with another franchise to great success just a few years ago. "Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle" put Mario and his crew up against Ubisoft's wild Rabbids to deliver an unexpected hit. The game featured "XCOM"-style turn-based gameplay that fit surprisingly well in the silly and playful setting.

Following an eShop leak, Nintendo officially revealed "Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope." Since then, players have wondered if the new game would be able to live up to its predecessor. Here's everything players need to know about "Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope." 

Fans have known of the existence of "Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope" since last year, when Nintendo first showed off a cinematic reveal trailer for the title. In that trailer, Mario is shown aboard a space ship alongside Luigi, Peach, Rabbid Peach, Rabbid Rosalina and Rabbid Lumas. While the group initially seem to be having a blast interacting and exploring space, an alarm soon warns the heroes of an impending danger. A mysterious being is capturing and consuming Sparks, so the crew heads out to investigate. Before ending, the trailer shows Mario and friends arming themselves and landing on a new planet just in time to see some of the enemies they'll go up against.

During the June 28 Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase, players got to see another look at "Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope" — but this time the showcase was focused on gameplay. The newer trailer opens by showing off the environments players will explore before diving into a battle featuring Mario, Rabbid Luigi, and Rabbid Rosalina. 

"Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope" is set to release October 20, 2022, so players won't have to wait too long before they're able to dive right into the quirky mayhem. After seeing some of the gameplay that's in-store for them, players were quick to take to social media and share their thoughts on the title. 

Commenting on a tweet from Nintendo that displayed the latest trailer for "Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope" alongside a release date, one user said that the first game had exceeded their expectations, and that they couldn't wait to play the new one. Many other fans echoed similar statements, ranging from general excitement for the upcoming title to pleas for certain characters or content to be added. 

By and large, "Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope" looks like it might be able to stand alongside — or even surpass — the original. Cementing this idea, one fan commented, "I dunno how they managed to make the game look even better than the first one."

While the initial reveal of "Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope" was purely cinematic, the second trailer offered fans a good look at what gameplay will be like in the upcoming title. The sequel will still remain a turn-based adventure at its core, but "Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope" also looks to be adding new features and sprucing up some of the gameplay elements that fans already loved.

One of the biggest changes players will notice is that characters can now freely move to locations within range, as opposed to the grid-based movement seen in "Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle." In the gameplay trailer, fans can see Mario and his team run right up to enemies and dash into them before finishing them off with their weapons. Some additional traversal features were also shown off, namely the ability to toss allies to a better vantage point. Closing the gameplay trailer out, there was one more surprise for players: Bowser will joining Mario and the Rabbids as a playable character.

It looks like "Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope" is shaping up to be a worthy successor to "Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle," and players will be able to get in on the wacky fun themselves in no time.