Rabbids: Party of Legends Review
One of the most well-received launch titles for the Nintendo Wii was Rayman Raving Rabbids, a party game spin-off of Ubisoft’s Rayman platforming series that had more in common with Mario Party than any other Rayman game. The titular Rabbids have proven popular enough to star in their own franchise, with Ubisoft since releasing various sequels to Raving Rabbids and crossing the manic bunny creatures into other series, such as the games of Mario + Rabbids strategy. The latest title starring the Rabbids is another party game, Rabbids: Party of Legends. Rabbids: Party of Legends is a mini-game compilation that sees the Rabbids getting up to their usual antics. The game’s main mode is Adventure Mode, in which players participate in one mini-game after another to earn books, which books replace Mario Party’s Stars. Books are primarily obtained by doing well in mini-games, though those in last place are given some opportunities to steal books from their opponents, and there are certain points where the players can spin the wheel to get bonus books as well. A mini-game compilation lives and dies by the quality of its mini-games, and luckily, the Rabbids: Party of Legends mini-games are pretty fun. The mini-games themselves should be familiar to anyone who’s played a game like this, and while they’re not terribly original, they work well and are more competitive than what Mario Party has to offer. This is mainly because the mini-games in Rabbids: Party of Legends take longer than the mini-games in its competitors. For example, Rabbids: Party of Legends and Mario Party both have mini-games where the goal is to knock players off a platform. In Mario Party, getting knocked off means the mini-game is effectively over for that player, but Rabbids: Party of Legends gives everyone a lot of hit points.
This means that Rabbids: Party of Legends keeps players engaged in mini-games for longer, and with less time spent walking around a game board, sitting through loading screens , or watching cut-scenes. This makes Rabbids: Party of Legends more consistently entertaining than some of the recent Mario Party games, making it an easy recommendation for Mario Party fans looking for a similar experience. Another big advantage of Rabbids: Party of Legends over Mario Party is that it doesn’t bother with cheap mechanics to give players an unfair advantage. Whenever someone is given the opportunity to get free books or steal from others, it is always the person in last place. And even then, they won’t be able to get back to first place if they don’t master the mini-games. The person who is best at the mini-games wins Rabbids: Party of Legends, which is a nice change of pace from Mario Party and its unpredictability. Aside from Adventure Mode, players can also create a playlist of their favorite mini-games and tackle them that way. However, this presents one of Rabbids: Party of Legends’ three biggest flaws: the progression system. Every time Rabbids: Party of Legends players complete a mini-game, they are rewarded with XP. Players level up enough XP, with each level granting them an unlock. Sometimes these unlock new Rabbids to play as, which is good, but unfortunately, the mini-games themselves are also locked behind this progression system.
It would have made more sense for Rabbids: Party of Legends players to unlock mini-games after they played them in Adventure Mode. Putting mini-games behind the progression system is an unnecessary restriction that makes it difficult for players to play only the mini-games they want to play. In effect, it forces players to repeatedly play mini-games they may not be interested in in order to earn enough XP to unlock the ones they want to keep replaying. The game would have been better if it had focused on letting players unlock Rabbids through the progression system and allowed them to earn mini-games in other ways. The second major issue with Rabbids: Party of Legends is the lack of online multiplayer, which is a strange limitation in this day and age. Rabbids: Party of Legends is still a solid choice for anyone looking to play a local multiplayer party game, but those who rely on an online connection will have to look elsewhere. The third and final major problem with Rabbids: Party of Legends is the lack of content. While the mini-games available are all fun to play with friends, they aren’t enough to justify the $40 price tag. It works well as a game for occasional get-togethers, but it doesn’t offer much more than that. Achievements and trophies don’t provide much of a reason to keep playing, as achievement hunters will likely unlock everything within hours. Rabbids: Party of Legends has fun mini-games and is really a great party game experience that surpasses the recent Mario Party games in some ways. However, there are some significant drawbacks that prevent the game from reaching its full potential, such as the unnecessary progression system, the lack of online multiplayer, and the general lack of content compared to other party games on the market. It’s still fun while it lasts, but don’t expect it to last that long. Rabbids: Party of Legends is available now for PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One. Today Technology reviewed the Xbox One version of the game.