Mario + Rabbids' Donkey Kong story expansion is coming in June
Four new zones, 10 hours of play, and more.
Ubisoft has announced that its long-awaited Donkey Kong story DLC for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle will launch on Switch this June, and there are new details on its presumably potassium-rich contents too.
Mario + Rabbids' Donkey Kong story expansion was unveiled in January, and its daffy announcement trailer offered a glorious glimpse at the unexpectedly excellent turn-based strategy game's future. Following several months of radio silence, Ubisoft has now, finally, revealed more on its imminent adventures through Donkey Kong Country.
First and foremost, the Donkey Kong expansion isn't a mere retreat of repurposed locations. It features an entirely new world to explore, and will see Donkey Kong, Rabbid Peach, and Rabbid Cranky, plotting a course through four new themed zones - Lagoon, Reef, Jungle, and one still currently under wraps - in their quest to thwart the lumbering Rabbid Donkey Kong.
Each area will feature the game's usual, wonderfully berserk blend of turn-based strategy and light puzzling - and the whole thing should apparently take around ten hours to complete.
Mario + Rabbids' Donkey Kong action will be broadly familiar to fans of the core game, albeit with its own distinct rhythms, introduced through the cast's new abilities and weapons.
Donkey Kong is especially unique, able to pick up and throw pretty much anything found on the map. This includes cover blocks, meaning that it's possible to physically reshape a battle arena in order to create new strategic opportunities on the fly. Additionally, Donkey Kong can grab enemies (chucking them at other foes, out of bounds, or even out of the ground to thwart spawns) as well as allies. Toss Rabbid Cranky, for instance, and he can perform mid-air shots.
Each player character also comes its usual mix of unique attacks and abilities. Donkey Kong, for instance, wields the Bwananarang - capable of hitting multiple enemies with a single throw - and can perform his iconic ground pound, which is handy for damaging foes at close range. DK's Hairy Eye ability, meanwhile, automatically targets opponents that stray within range during the enemy turn, while Magnet Groove sees the ape luring foes closer with a spritely flourish of his bongos, ready to unleash a ground pound.
Elsewhere, Cranky Kong's cane, known as a Boombow, is a close-range, wide-spread weapon, and his secondary Barrel Bolt attack can fire over cover to do area-of-effect-style damage to multiple opponents. Long Story puts enemies within range to sleep, and Stink Eye works just like DK's Hairy Eye ability, or Mario's Hero Sight. Rabbid Peach, meanwhile, will see her existing abilities enhanced via an entirely new range of (currently undisclosed) goodies.
Away from the characters, Ubisoft has also seen fit to spice up battle arenas with new points of interest. There are new ramps, which Donkey Kong (and a pal if he's carrying one) can bounce between in order to cover long distances, and, less helpfully, fountains which can shoot out in one of four directions, doing damage and knocking players out of position.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle's Donkey Kong campaign will be available to purchase separately when it releases on Switch in June, or as part of Ubisoft's £15.99 season pass.