Rabbids: Party of Legends Review

Initial release date: June 30, 2022

Series: Raving Rabbids

Publisher: Ubisoft

Genre: Action game

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Google Stadia

Developers: Ubisoft Chengdu, Ubisoft, Ubisoft Shanghai

"Review Copy Provided By Ubisoft"

The Rabbids have slowly been taking the world by storm one game at a time. Originally appearing in 2006’s Rayman: Raving Rabbids and originally part of the Rayman franchise; the Rabbids have gone on to have their own franchise wholly separate from Rayman and in many ways have gone on to even surpass that franchise in global popularity especially after the uniquely wild yet insanely fun Mario + Rabbids crossover title from 2017. The mischievous antics of the Rabbids is simply infectious and when I heard that there was a party game featuring them in a Mario Party style format, I had to check it out. Rabbids: Party of Legends is a 4-player party game that is looking to take the party game world by storm. Does it succeed? Let’s find out!

Looking into the development side of Rabbids: Party of Legends is actually pretty cool because when it comes to this game, I was actually surprised to find out that it was developed by one of the companies’ smaller studios that’s part of their Chengdu branch which is one of the reasons of the game has so many nods to China’s history. This branch of Ubisoft was able to take the one of the most popular intellectual properties of Ubisoft and mix it in with some of China’s mythology (Journey to the West) and sprinkle in some inspiration from the Mario Party series and create an insanely fun title.

The Rabbids are up to their usual no good when they are suddenly whisked away and are effectively invading various settings and plots of Chinese folk tales with them having to recover scrolls and books in order to get back home with their time traveling magic washing machine intact.

In case you’re wondering, yes, the Rabbids are having to compete in these games all because a literal god is holding their magic capable washing machine hostage.

I actually had to reread that last part several times over as I wrote it because I couldn’t believe that this is the literally plot for this game.

Unlike most party games with mascot characters, Rabbis: Party of Legends doesn’t utilize a board game format and is essentially just a massive collection of addictingly fun mini games. There is a total of fifty mini games which anyone familiar with the Mario Party franchise will immediately recognize where each of the games gets their inspiration from (or down right carbon copies) with each mini game being an absolute joy to play. There are a ton of unlockable characters to play as that you unlock as you play the game with a lot of variety for multiplayer as well as an entertaining single player mode.

I had an absolute blast playing this with my wife and we even let our toddler play with us and we all had a ton of fun. The mini games are easy to get into with simple controls for even the none gamer amongst you to be able to pick up and play. One of my favorite mini games is where you have to alternate between throwing chili peppers and throwing stones at either your partner in the match or your opponent.

The game looks really good although there are instances where the game has framerate dips and stutters (I’m playing on the PS5) where the game will go from a silky smooth 60fps to below or at 30fps when a match starts and then back again to 60fps once it finishes.

The main gripe I have with this game is at despite how much content is jam packed in this title and despite it being insanely fun to play with others and even by yourself; the game doesn’t have an online mode and that is something that is just baffling to me because this game lends itself so well to online multilplayer. I honestly wonder how long the games shelf life will be with no online mode as while this is definitely game you’ll want to put on at get togethers with friends and family, if you’re by yourself you’ll want to play online and the games AI just cant substitute playing with some buddies. Truthfully, that’s the only negative I have with this game is the lack of online.

Rabbids are always great and when they show up to the party, they make it the best one to be at and that’s essentially what Rabbids: Party of Legends is simply one of the absolute best party games out there that’s just shy of perfection due to its’ omission of online multiplayer. With an absurdly goofy plot, loveable and wacky Rabbids, addictingly fun mini games, pick up and play controls, and tons of unlockables make this Rabbids game a worthwhile addition to any gamers collection!