Design of battles and puzzles in Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle turned out to be a very interesting game for me in terms of the design of battles and puzzles, which were implemented in a very original way. The developers constantly strive to surprise the player throughout the entire playthrough, adding new mechanics and interestingly reusing old ones. Let's look at some points that I would like to discuss.
About levels
All levels are made small, since replaying battles is supported here in order to get the maximum coins. To receive this prize, you need to fulfill the conditions of the level and with minimal losses in the team of characters. This design encourages thoughtful tactical decisions and replayability to achieve the perfect score, adding replay value to the gameplay. Let's look at the types of levels and some interesting points in mission design.
Destroy all enemies: Levels of this type are often built along the front vector, where the confrontation unfolds linearly or with small turns to make the battles more interesting. Adding verticality and abysses allows you to make the gameplay more interesting. These dilutions help create larger levels and make them more fun by offering players different options for maneuver and cover. Other variety is introduced through enemy designs, which change in each world.
Destroy a certain number of enemies: The first level in this format has a linear structure, which helps to “protect” beginners and give them time to get used to the game in this mode without complex maneuvers. An additional monster that takes over aggression on those who are closer to it, including the player’s main opponents, allows you to quickly deal with enemies. A small number of targets also helps to end the battle easier and faster. In addition, the level layout does not involve a large number of enemies to eliminate.
However, in later stages, levels of this type are built in an elliptical structure, which increases freedom of movement. As a result, players may spend more time moving around and chasing each other, especially when cover becomes destroyed, which ultimately makes the gameplay more monotonous and drawn out. And some useful and interesting features for the player become completely useless.
Mini-bosses: Mini-boss locations have a unique two-story structure, which adds verticality and therefore more tactical possibilities. These levels are often looped and the front line is reduced to the middle of the map. These mini-bosses cannot climb to the second floor, forcing characters to be transferred to the upper floor, preventing the use of the lower one. This happens on the first level. This is later corrected by longer distances and artificial intelligence of enemies who will not come closer to the player located above. Therefore, this forces the player to go down to the bottom floor for a combat encounter.
Bosses: Boss levels vary significantly in layout and ideas. Each boss provides a unique encounter that is directly related to its abilities and behavior. However, a key element in the design of these levels is the presence of multiple combat phases, each of which requires a change in the player's strategy. All this keeps interest and tension throughout the fight.
Evacuation: These levels are a unique type of mission where the player's task is to reach the exit on the map while avoiding or minimizing contact with enemies in order to bring one of the characters to the end. Enemies constantly appear on the map to keep the player on edge, chasing and preventing them from reaching the exit point in a short time with all the characters alive. Often, opponents are positioned in such a way as to block optimal routes or force the player into escape situations. The first level, for example, is structured so that the player literally walks around the enemy to demonstrate what distance is best to keep from the enemy and how to fight against them. Subsequent levels have a more difficult to read structure to force the player to reflect on their actions.
Finish: The main task is to help the character reach the exit point, while trying to avoid collisions with opponents. The player needs to strategically plan each move, taking into account not only the position of the enemies, but also their attack zones and possible movement routes. It is important to wisely use the heroes' abilities, such as moving through pipes or jumping on allies, in order to quickly reach the goal. Sometimes the player must choose between a safe, but longer route, or a risky, but faster one, which adds tactical depth to the process. The first level, as in the previous paragraph, forces the player to be at a distance from the enemy.
As you gain new characters or abilities, the game dynamically adjusts the difficulty, improving regular enemies or adding new enemies with similar mechanics. This helps maintain a balance between the player's capabilities and the challenge that combat offers. This adds variety to the levels and forces the player to use new available characters or combine existing ones for a successful strategy.
In the effect training location, enemies are placed behind cover with a special effect to encourage the player to shoot at it and learn in practice what effect a given block has. This is a clever design technique that naturally introduces the player to the mechanics of interacting with the environment. For example, by shooting at a block with a spring effect, the player can see the enemy jump back a certain distance. Only on this mission will the enemy fall into the abyss and die to demonstrate what can be achieved with such a move. This approach allows the player to intuitively explore the features of the environment through the gaming experience.
In the arena with the first boss in the game, the developers use enemy AI for the benefit of an interesting and more dynamic gameplay. This is the boss – a flower that periodically hides behind an explosive block. This provokes the player to attack, providing the opportunity to deal damage not only to the boss, but also through the explosion of the block, which causes additional damage. This reduces the risk of the player being defeated at the level and forces them to use more similar blocks with certain effects.
A little about working with alternative and main paths for the player to move. There is an interesting place in the game where an alternative path is deliberately created in front of the player, which immediately attracts attention. To encourage the player to explore, a coin is placed along the path, providing an additional incentive. However, this alternate route leads to a secret level and quickly returns the player to the main entrance without distracting them for long. At the same time, it specifically “throws” the player as close as possible to the main path so that he does not lose focus on the main path, but at the same time feels a reward for his curiosity. The main task of the developer was to demonstrate the presence of secret levels in the game, which was done in an interesting way. This design helps maintain a smooth pace of the game, encouraging exploration without breaking the pace and forcing the player to learn more about the objects being explored.
After each level, the camera is automatically positioned so that the player can see the main path for further passage. This helps the player easily navigate the space and immediately understand where he needs to move next.
New world – new puzzles
Each new world in the game introduces unique game mechanics, which become the basis for creating puzzles in this world. At the initial stages, the player is presented with new mechanics in a simplified form so that he can master it without unnecessary difficulties. For example, these could be moving blocks, as was the case in the desert. Moreover, this mechanic is reported before the opportunity to use it becomes available. They appear before the introduction to motivate the player to replay completed chapters.
These new mechanics gradually become more complex: they begin to combine them with elements that are already familiar to the player from previous worlds. Puzzles become more multi-layered, requiring the player to interact with several elements of the environment at once to solve the problem. The gradual introduction and complication of mechanics helps the player get comfortable, while maintaining the progression of puzzles. As a result, by the end of the world the player has fully mastered the new mechanics, which prepares him for new, combined tasks in subsequent worlds.
The game has an interesting puzzle that demonstrates the thoughtful design of the player moving deeper into the level and solving an imagined problem. The player starts moving in the direction of the arrow, and the floor suddenly rises in front of them, blocking the path. This causes him to start looking for a workaround. The correct path is indicated by coins that lead the player in the right direction.
As the player progresses, they first find a cache, which serves as a small reward for exploration, and then a button that opens access to the next stage. This approach follows the “problem first, then solution” principle, where the player is first shown an obstacle or difficulty and then given a tool to overcome it. Additional activity related to the selection of red coins in a limited time also develops here.
If the player accidentally ends up in a dead end, the game still rewards them: upon entering a dead end area, a line of coins appears, which turns a possible failure into a small bonus and encourages further exploration. This puzzle design makes the process more varied, and the process itself as intuitive as possible.
One of the most interesting puzzles is a clever puzzle with the mechanics of moving blocks from the second world. The first platform is designed in such a way that the player easily remembers exactly where to move the block. It is designed so that the player quickly remembers a sequence of actions that will need to be repeated often. Feedback from the player on his actions is also provided. He always sees visually how exactly the second platform has changed. It initially sets how long it will take to move to the first to solve the general puzzle.
After moving the first block, the player switches to the second platform, which is used to move another block, allowing access to a new location. This puzzle structure keeps the player at the same pace, providing a logical sequence of actions that is memorized fairly quickly due to the small number of actions that must be repeated before completing the puzzle. At the same time, the smoothness of the solution process is maintained.
In conclusion
The developers of Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle made very interesting locations in terms of mission design and puzzles. Each level and puzzle is designed to provide players with interesting and varied challenges. I especially liked the design of the puzzles, of which there are quite a large number in the game based on a small number of mechanics for creating them.
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