Ubisoft is finally bringing Rayman back as part of a new piece of DLC for Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope later this month. Called Rayman in the Phantom Show, this DLC releases on August 30.
For a long time, Rayman was Ubisoft’s premier mascot and starred in a series of platformers that people who grew up in the late 1990s and early 2000s remember fondly. Unfortunately, Ubisoft’s focus has primarily been on more mature series like Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Watch_Dogs as well as the Rabbids (which spun off from a Rayman game) over the last decade, so Rayman took a back seat to those series following the launch of Rayman Legends. That’s why Rayman in the Phantom Show is a big deal for fans of this dormant franchise; it’s the most prominent role Rayman has had in a console game in almost a decade.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is a turn-based strategy game that launched on Nintendo Switch to critical acclaim last year. This latest (and final) piece of post-launch DLC for the game follows Rayman, Rabbid Peach, and Rabbid Mario as they take on the Phantom — a boss from Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle — in an otherworldly TV studio called the Space Opera Network. David Gasman, who voiced the titular character in Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc, reprises his role here.
It’s not a full-on platformer, but the reveal trailer for the DLC does show how players can use Rayman’s detachable limbs and helicopter ability to explore the Space Opera network. At least it’s something that looks pretty entertaining for fans of classic Rayman, who Ubisoft hasn’t appealed to in quite a long time. Hopefully, it’s as good as Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle’s excellent Donkey Kong DLC.
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is available now exclusively for Nintendo Switch. Rayman in the Phantom Show comes out on August 30, and it can be purchased individually or as part of Spark of Hope’s season pass.
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