If you were a big fan of grabbing a friend for some zany action in Mario + Rabbid Kingdom Battles' co-op or versus modes and were hoping to relive that experience with the upcoming Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, you may be in for a bit of a disappointment. Multiple people working on the higher end of the turn-based strategy title's production have said recently that the game will not feature any sort of multiplayer aspects.
One of the sources of this information is Lead Producer Xavier Manzanares, who has told Screenrant that the team had already decided to eschew the multiplayer aspect during the middle of the production run, electing instead to put all its efforts into building a good single-player experience. "Because, actually as we brought many things from the original concept, we started to see how many elements it brought to the table, and to balance that, this revamped system, we wanted to focus our attention on the solo aspect," he explained in the interview.
Another team member confirming the loss of multiplayer is Associate Producer Quentin Correggi, who had a similar message for Nintendo Everything, but he expanded on the reason for the cut, saying the sequel project is "much more ambitious" than its predecessor. Having weighed the options, the team decided that since the solo aspects of the tactical game make up its core, they would be the ones to get the attention. "[I]t’s important to ‘choose your battle’ in a way, which is good because we are also building a tactical game about battles," Correggi quipped.
The expansion in scope from the first game is evident, as the upcoming title will expand the playable character base with Bowser, Rabbid Rosalina, and original character Edge. Additionally, we've already received confirmation that additional characters, including the rabbids' nemesis Rayman, will become available some time after launch.
The original entry in the Mario + Rabbids series included co-op play from the outset, while versus mode was tacked on later via a free update, allowing for two players to take each other on in three-on-three matches using their choice of characters. Despite PvP becoming a tacked-on option last time around, Correggi is sticking to the story that Sparks of Hope will be a "100% solo experience." The Nintendo Switch exclusive is scheduled for initial release on October 20.
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