Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle allowed players to play co-op with their friends and against one another in the special Versus Mode. These features have worked great in the past and have brought over a lot of fans from the Mario series, which are used to co-op capabilities. Most of us expect the game’s sequel, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, to offer similar features to Kingdom Battle. So, does Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope have co-op, or any multiplayer, like its predecessor?
Is Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope co-op?
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, unfortunately, does not feature any multiplayer mechanics, such as co-op or Kingdom Battle’s Versus Mode.
Back in September 2022, a month before the game’s official release, Screenrant interviewed Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope lead producer Xavier Manzanares and asked questions regarding multiplayer features. Manzanares said they “decided in the middle of production to focus on the solo experience.”
Manzanares added that “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.” So, the development team surrounding Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope had a choice between a clucky multiplayer system or an improved solo experience for single-player fans.
Since Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is a strategy game, and the consensus for most players is that the multiplayer surrounding Kingdom Battle felt minimal, the removal of all co-op and PvP aspects of the prequel doesn’t sound so bad. There are also three DLC currently in the works at Ubisoft, with one featuring the popular character yet to be added, Rayman, so players that would have liked a co-op mode have to consider the content they will get in return for this loss will be worth it.
