Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope: Winter Palace statue puzzle guide

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hopea tactics game for Nintendo Switch, colloquially known to fans as XCOM: But make it Mariois far smarter than its 2017 predecessor. One of the first big stumps comes in Untouched peaksthe game’s second major region, while “The Winter Palace” Story mission that unlocks after you stop the blizzard from blizzarding.

Set in the very northernmost reaches of the area, The Winter Palace requires you to solve a few puzzles between battles. The core of the mission revolves around the activation of two statues, located in rooms to the west and east of a central chamber, respectively.

How to Activate the First Statue of the Winter Palace (West Side)

The first statue is at the end of a series of trick walks: go through the wrong door and you’ll end up right where you started. It’s an insane test of trial and error (and error and error and error). Here is the solution:

1. From the mezzanine, go through the door on the right.
2. You end up in a hallway. Along the left wall you will see a trio of cracked walls. Use Beep-Os Wave ability (the ZR button) to smash them. The door you are looking for is in the middle of the three.
3. You should end up in a hallway with a statue of a golden rabbit holding a candelabra. Immediately look left. You will see another cracked wall. Use the Wave ability again and then go through the door. You end up at the first statue. Activate it, then jump down the ledge and head back into the central chamber.

Image: Nintendo/Ubisoft via Polygon

How to Activate the Second Statue of the Winter Palace (East Side)

Activating the second Winter Palace statue is less bumpy than the first: you just have to navigate your way through an ice-covered hedge maze. The gimmick the game tells you up front is that you can stealthily try to avoid the four battles that populate the maze, but hit man this is not. You will likely end up in a fight. (Pro tip: if you do, don’t run away or you’ll be taken back to the beginning of the maze.) Honestly, you might as well fight any fight, even if it’s just for the perk star bits – a key material used to upgrade your Sparks.

Image: Nintendo/Ubisoft via Polygon

You have to grab the triangular block from the the northeast corner (See the screenshot above for an exact location) then bring it onto the pedestal the southeast corner. This will unlock the gate to the second Winter Palace statue, at which point you can make your way back into the central chamber.

How to solve the Winter Palace constellation puzzle

Once you’ve activated the two Winter Palace statues, you’re still not done. On the mezzanine in the central chamber you need to interact with a gold Base. That outer ring doesn’t move at all, so start with that middle ring. Rotate it to the left until the constellations are aligned, then switch to inner ring and turn right. The rings will glow gold once you’ve solved the puzzle. At this point, you can proceed Tentacles of Darkness at the end of the castle’s required boss battle hallway.