Like a food pairing that shouldn't work but does, Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle overcame our scepticism and rewarded us with a supremely competent turn-based strategy game.

When Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was formally announced by Ubisoft at E3 earlier this year, the natural first reaction for many – including us – was: what are Rabbids? While most people on this planet have heard of Nintendo's red-and-blue jumper-wearing mascot, Ubisoft's two-legged rabbits – a...

Great art design; Well-explained basics; Infectious charm; Quite dense and complex; Playful animations; Specially designed co-op levels

Music lacks variety; Campaign restricted to single-player; Sudden rise in difficulty

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is a game that sounds like it shouldn't be any good. On the contrary, Ubisoft has crafted a charming adventure for Mario and its Rabbids. The game streamlines the strategy combat experience while still offering surprising depth.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is one of the strangest premises for a crossover game that I've seen in recent memory. Take Super Mario Bros, the Raving Rabbids, and XCOM, mix em' all together, and you've got Kingdom Battle.

Easy to understand gameplay with surprising depth; Excellent skill and progression system; Smooth and satisfying combat mechanics; Shooting Rabbids never gets old

The Rabbid humor can be too much at times

It's always neat when franchises work so well together unexpectedly. Kingdom Hearts (Disney + Final Fantasy) immediately comes to mind, and now there's Mario + Rabbids. It should come as no surprise that the Rabbids are behind Mushroom Kingdom's new look and inhabitants thanks to a device that...

Fun turn based strategy game that skillfully combines two different franchises

Second hand owners won't have the weapon advantage of the original owner

I'm a huge fan of Mario Bros games, but I find this one to be a bit difficult to navigate, repetitive, and boring. Nice graphics and certainly there are some out there that will have fun playing this game. I'm just not one of them.

Speaking of humour, I was pleasantly shocked by some of the jokes that made into into the final game...there are a few toilet jokes, suggestive themes and even instances where it looks like Beep-O is swearing. This game has had a somewhat troubled past.

Gorgeous looking game; Deep gameplay mechanics; Lots of replay value; Plenty of challenge on offer

Humour may not be to everyone's tastes; Could be too difficult for young players

Ubisoft wheeled out some of the industry's biggest hitters to unveil Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle at this year's E3 Show – Nintendo's Mr Mario himself, Shigeru Miyamoto, along with the French publisher's genial CEO, Yves Guillemot. And why not?

Who knew that Mario and the Rabbids in a strategy RPG with guns would work so well This was a very good game and a pleasant surprise, especially since Ubisoft developed this game!

I'm not sure if I should be writing a review with the amount of time I've put into the game (Not long) but after the 3 hours I've put into it, I can already tell I'm going to enjoy it all the way through. Graphics are fantastic as well.