I am unable to start to explain my elation when Max Mustard first popped onto my Meta Quest 3 screens. The colourful colours, quirky enemies, lovable animations, plunger gun, and jet boots all scream 90s platformer, and but it is debuting for the primary time in 2024, and in VR, no much less.
A VR platformer sounds a bit unusual till you consider the evolution of the platformer style. All the earliest examples from the style had been side-scrolling 2D video games like Pitfall and Tremendous Mario Bros. A number of many years later, 3D platformers like Tremendous Mario 64, Crash Bandicoot, and Sonic Journey would take the idea into 3D house and revolutionize it fully.
Since there is no 4D, taking the style into VR makes essentially the most sense when you consider it. Now, as a substitute of simply shifting your character, you your self can look around the globe, higher approximate 3D depth, and even work together with the digital world with your personal two fingers.
The finest Meta Quest video games, just like the Moss sequence, Ghost Large, and Fortunate’s Story, have already confirmed this method to achieve success, however it’s the unique PSVR’s AstroBot Rescue Mission is the gold commonplace in VR platformers.
Fortunately, Max Mustard is right here to try to wrestle the title away from Astro, delivering related precision mechanics, hidden secrets and techniques all through every degree, bounce boots, and even in-game controller upgrades to the now-classic title. Including a plunger gun to my controller was an excellent strategy to improve interplay with the world, significantly in locations powerful on your joystick-controller character to achieve.
I had my doubts getting into, however they had been assuaged virtually immediately with the sport’s Saturday morning cartoon-like intro. In any case, the indie developer has solely made one different recreation earlier than — the ever-popular however extremely gimmicky Richie’s Plank Expertise — but the passion for this new title can not help however be felt in each second spent in its vibrant world.
Platformers are all the time a collectathon, however Max Mustard rewards you with upgrades from an merchandise store in change for collectables.
As you’d anticipate from a platformer recreation, essentially the most primary objective in Max Mustard is to get to the top of every degree efficiently, all whereas accumulating as many objects as doable alongside the way in which. You may decide up totally different coloured cash, bounce on the heads of baddies, spin kick open crates to free trapped creatures, and acquire power-ups that offer you an edge in particular situations.
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What’s good is that accumulating cash is not only for one-ups or bragging rights. Cash help you buy upgrades from the merchandise store. One of many preliminary low cost upgrades features a digicam rotation choice, letting you simply rotate round every degree with no need to face up or bodily flip round in your seat.
The sport can also be completely playable in a seated place. I discovered this recreation to be most satisfying when taking part in seated, which is not one thing I might say about most VR video games.
The music is whimsical, and the environments remind me fairly a little bit of the unique Ratchet & Clank. Every world affords a superb little bit of selection, and you will navigate to every degree by way of an overworld map just like many Tremendous Mario video games.
Max Mustard challenges AstroBot Rescue Mission, delivering related precision mechanics, hidden secrets and techniques all through every degree, bounce boots, and even in-game controller upgrades.
The sound design is generally good, however I felt like there have been a number of occasions when extra sound results would have added further depth. I additionally needed to repeat a number of the gentle story sequences as a result of I used to be impatient and walked off a cliff, so I might love a “skip” button in these types of situations.
All in all, that is the VR platformer I have been ready for and is wholly well worth the $29.99 worth on Meta Quest. The sport can also be coming to PSVR 2 and Steam VR someday this Summer time.
