At Nintendo’s latest Direct, a new gameplay trailer for Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope was revealed. Coming hot off last weekend’s Ubisoft Forward Showcase, which also showed off the game, this gameplay trailer focused on its new side quest system and the new overworld. At the end of the new Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope trailer, it was revealed that Rayman would be coming to the game via a post-launch DLC, and he’s the perfect pick for the game.
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Rayman Is The Perfect DLC Character For Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
The first Mario + Rabbids game had a big post-launch DLC expansion that brought a plethora of Donkey Kong content to the game. As well as adding Donkey Kong himself as a playable character, the expansion added a whole set of new missions, a new Donkey Kong-themed overworld, and Donkey Kong-themed enemies. Though only a brief tease was given about Sparks of Hope’s Rayman DLC, which just showed showed off the top of the character’s head with a titlecard reading “Starring Rayman in a new DLC adventure with the Rabbids,” it seems likely that this post-launch expansion will follow a similar route.
Rayman is the ideal character for Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope’s post-launch DLC for a multitude of reasons. The most obvious of these is that he’s already intrinsically linked with the Rabbid brand, being the character associated with the Rabbid’s debut series, Rayman Raving Rabbids. With Rayman already being tied with the Rabbid name, it only makes logical sense that he’d show up in the Mario + Rabbids series sooner or later.
Aside from the immediate and obvious link to both series, Rayman’s general aesthetic also fits in well with Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope’s distinctive art style. Much like the majority of Mario titles over the years, Sparks of Hope has a bright, colorful, and cartoon-y aesthetic. This blends perfectly with Rayman’s cartoon-y and colorful character design. Rayman also tends to be quite a light-hearted and springy character, which also suits Mario + Rabbids’ general atmosphere and tone. Even on a gameplay level, Rayman is already perfectly suited to the gameplay style of Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, with most versions of the character being able to shoot orbs of magical energy out of his hands, which could tie in nicely with Sparks of Hope’s elemental damage system.
Despite having a few beloved 2D platformers get repeatedly ported, the Rayman franchise has been pretty dormant in the last few years. This Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope DLC is the perfect opportunity for the Rayman brand to be brought back into the spotlight, and this post-launch content could even potentially bring about a new Rayman game, which fans are desperately longing for.
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope will release on October 20, exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
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