Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

Based on its colorful world, beautiful animation, and source material you might expect Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle to be “My first turn-based tactics game.” But you're in for a surprise: even for XCOM vets some of its battles are challenging puzzles. Some of its tougher levels do devolve into a trial-and-error slog, but a good mix of enemies, objectives, and character abilities keep things interesting.

The unlikely collision of Mario and Rabbid franchises is delightfully charming, and features a deeply satisfying turn-based tactics system underneath its colorful skin.

This wonky crossover is the unlikely source of a superbly designed tactical combat challenge as well as a charmingly silly adventure.

Mario + Rabbids manages to walk a narrow road, offering up a legitimately challenging squad tactics experience without alienating the family friendly Mario audience. While it doesn't quite have the full layer of spit and polish of an in-house title, Ubisoft comes damn close to capturing that Nintendo magic.

Mario + Rabbids gives you the action and strategy of XCOM in a way that does justice both to Mario and to the Rabbid's kooky style. Ubi's big E3 surprise is an unmissable Switch game.

While Kingdom Battle's puzzles won't win any awards, the robust selection of challenging tactical battles entertains from beginning to end

"Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle" has lots of charmingly frivolous things to think about and it's easy to collapse into its world of tactical antics because its gameplay is so absorbing. In the most complimentary sense, it feels like something Nintendo might have done if its humor was a bit more rough.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle's guts are impressive, but its main event feels like a [good] expansion for a fleshed-out strategy RPG that has more to offer than a great combat system. By the time it opens up halfway in and you really start to delve into the skill tree, it begs to be played. But until then both exploration and some battles feel like going through the motions in a "kinda sorta" tutorial way.

Mario himself might not have been my favorite part of the game, but the reverence with which the game's creators hold Mario and friends was evident in every inch of this adventure. And it helped make the game come together so well.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a must have for Switch-owning fans of turn-based tactical games. More importantly, such is the style and depth on offer that it's also ideal for those that haven't played much of the genre, for whom 'X-COM' sounds like a silly acronym from a war movie. It introduces the concept in the best possible way, and then utilises its own ideas for what becomes a smart and - at times - deliciously challenging experience.It's perfectly acceptable to be surprised by Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, as many have been since its E3 reveal. The end result delivers on all of the potential that we could suddenly see back in June; even if you don't actually like the Rabbids, this game - and its familiar Mario cast and setting - is so good that Ubisoft's mascots are likeable. Well, almost.