Rabbids Go Home! (Wii) Review

Anyone who follows my reviews will know that I am a very sceptical man. In fact, so sceptical, that when I hear about developers taking their already established franchises in another direction, I need more than a press release and screenshots to be swayed. Thankfully, Ubisoft have proven themselves with Rabbids Go Home!, and attempt to bring the Rabbids out of their now type-cast role of mini-game hosts and into the platforming/adventure roles that their predecessor (what ever happened to Rayman, by the way?) was involved in before them.

Rabbids Go Home!, as the name suggests, follows the Rabbids and their journey to go back to where they came from. Unfortunately, most of the Rabbids have forgotten where they came from and as such have decided that they came from the Moon. In an effort to return to their home planet (or should we say, moon), the Rabbids attempt to build a pile of junk procured from different settings in order to create a stairway to the moon. Yes, it’s ridiculous, but it’s an adorably presented story that’s filled with some very cute and funny cutscenes involving the Rabbids and the individuals they terrorise on their journey. All in all, the game’s narrative and it’s presentation are executed brilliantly, and this really put me in a great mood and/or motivation to continue playing. It’s amazing how, since the Wii’s launch, the Rabbids and the situations they get themselves in are STILL funny to this day. Ubisoft weren’t off the mark when they dubbed Rabbids Go Home! as a comedy adventure—you’ll be smiling and chuckling throughout the whole game, especially at the well-drawn animated cutscenes played before each level.

Rabbids Go Home! is one of the first games that uses Ubisoft’s proprietary NyN engine, an engine designed to get the most out of every console it’s on. Currently it’s set to be powering Beyond Good and Evil 2 as well as the up and coming Red Steel 2, and Rabbids Go Home! does a perfect job of illustrating its power. The graphics in Rabbids Go Home! are extremely smooth and run at a very slick 60 fps. Settings and locales can be a little bit on the static side, but most of the inhabitants move enough to make the settings believable. The animations and facial expressions in the Rabbids themselves are top notch and nothing less than what you would expect after three games already. All in all, there are little to no problems with the game’s graphical presentation, though the artistic direction won’t win awards any time soon either—environments are crafted “to get by” rather than to create something amazing and epic. But then again, it’s not fair to bring a game like Rabbids Go Home! down because of this; it’s simply not the point of the game.

The crux of Rabbids Go Home!’s gameplay is, thankfully, no longer a compilation of mini-games. Instead, players take control of two unnamed Rabbids, one wearing grey striped pants and another wearing a thong (yes, a thong). Players control the Rabbid with the thong as he pushes a shopping trolley around the game world, while the other Rabbid sits in the trolley and grabs objects to keep in the trolley. The game itself consists of several “worlds” connected by a central city for the Rabbids to wreak havoc in. Within each world, the Rabbids set their sights on a larger piece of junk to add on to their tower, collecting smaller pieces along the way. At certain intervals players can empty their trolleys into a collector Rabbid (who sucks the junk up with his trombone, weird, we know) and acts as a checkpoint for gameplay. At certain intervals, players can also grab certain items to get new abilities, as well as some items that the Rabbids interact with for pure comic humour, which all add personality to the adorable creatures. Think of it as a little less ridiculous version of Katamari Damacy.

Most of the controlling is done with the Nunchuk’s analog stick, with the steering itself being rather indicative of what you’d expect from steering a shopping trolley—turns are rather hard to pull off fast and without hassle. While some would see this as a detriment to the gameplay, it instead adds weight to the controls and gives an extra sense of realism. In addition to the harder turning, it can at times be quite easy to build up some extra momentum, which makes it feel pretty awesome to get a smooth and fast path going, akin to the old school Sonic games. For the most part, the rest of the controls are rather simple, with a quick shake of the Wii Remote acting as a stun attack that allows the Rabbids to stun their moving targets, allowing for easier collection.

Rabbids Go Home IS an adventure game, and while I was expecting an open world adventure title similar to the older platformers like Banjo Kazooie or Donkey Kong 64, it’s worth highlighting to potential players that Rabbids Go Home! is a largely linear affair. While it is fairly linear, the game’s fast and smooth gameplay more than make up for this, which is good to see as a lot of games don’t. Finally, players are able to create and customise their very own Rabbid, who apparently lives within their Wii Remote. Visiting this Rabbid transports the player to a very neat little area designed to look like the innards of a Wii Remote, and they can move their remote to smash the Rabbid around with hilarious results (turning your Wii Remote upside down funnily enough causes the Rabbid to fall flat). In addition to this, the Rabbid can be customised with various items of clothing, tweaking their facial features and much more.

Rabbids Go Home! employs a rather unique and well rounded soundtrack that changes depending where the player finds themselves. There is never explicitly any background music in the game, with some pieces only being played where you would expect them to be, such as in an elevator or on a concourse in a shopping mall. There are some unexpected licensed tracks thrown in to the mix (including Rivers of Babylon), with a few frantic and unique orchestral pieces accompanying the Rabbids during their triumphant periods. It’s all very nicely done and the original pieces certainly scream hectic and pandemonium—something that the Rabbids are pretty much indicative of. Of course, it goes without saying that the voice acting the Rabbids perform in this game (read: incoherent noises) are still of the awesome quality they were since their debut back at the Wii launch.

There are varying levels of lastability in Rabbids Go Home!. The main adventure took around eight hours to complete, and even then, nothing was completed perfectly. So, while the adventure itself is fairly shortwinded, there is still a lot of challenge for those looking to complete every facet of the game. Be warned, however, that the game’s overall difficulty is rather low, and as such most seasoned players may blast through it at a very brisk pace. Still, it’s an adventure that you should owe it to yourself to experience at least once.

Rabbids Go Home! is a fairly enjoyable adventure title that surprised me in many ways. The first was that, despite not being a hugely open world adventure title, it was still entertaining. The second was that this was not a collection of boring already-been-done mini-games and instead a game that Ubisoft Montpellier have poured their heart and soul into. It’s refreshing to see Ubisoft treating one of their most adorable and loving creations with so much respect after a few, well, lacklustre outings. My only concern is this: will we ever see another Rabbids title after this one? I know after playing Rabbids Go Home!, I’m yelling Rabbids Come Back! (Yes, I just went there)

Rabbids Go Home! is a successful transplant of the humour and charm that the Rabbids themselves have had into a full-blown adventure game. Thankfully, theres no signs of Ubisoft phoning it in here, with a title that I can recommend without hesitation to younger audiences. Its understandable, however, that those with more experience with games in general may see it as being too easy, and as such lack any real challenge. Still, I recommend everyone plays it at least once for the comedy, because Ubisoft definitely has that down pat.

Graphics 7.5

Some very nice character models and animations along with artistic direction. However, the environments can be rather bland and empty at times, really removing the whole “worldly” feel of the game.

Gameplay 7.5

While the gameplay itself is rather linear, the manner in which the Rabbids control is top notch. Thankfully, the gameplay is enjoyable enough to make the player want to continue through, despite getting rather repetitive at the end.

Sound 8.0

Containing a rather unexpected mix of licensed tracks and original pieces, Rabbids Go Home!s soundtrack fits perfectly with the environments and the tone of the game.

Tilt 6.5

Theres little to do upon completing games eight hour storyline; however, players looking for more will find challenge in getting 100% completion.

Value 9.0

Quite possibly one of the most enjoyable adventure games Ive played on the Nintendo Wii for a long time.