Developer: Reinkout Games
Publisher: Team17 Digital Ltd
Platform: PC, Xbox One, PS4, Switch
Tested on: PC
Mugsters – Review
Team17 is known for their quirky titles over the years, with Worms being the most known of their franchises. Nonetheless, Overcooked proved its worth on many occasions over the past year, and it was so popular that the second installment will hit the (digital) shelves in only a matter of days. All of that aside, we get to try our hands at one of Team17’s newest IPs, namely Mugsters, a low poly destruction game, where you make things go boom. Were we impressed by this new series? Well it didn’t have the explosive impact it showed in the trailers, but we had a reasonable amount of fun with this pocket sized title.
Story
The story in Mugsters all revolves around an alien race invading our world, and now you’re on your own to destroy their structures, hopefully freeing the people. At least this is what we got from the promotion surrounding the game, as you get absolutely no story value when booting up the game or when playing the first mission(s). While the game stands fairly decent on its own as a destructive puzzle title, it feels as if you lack context and a reason why you’re actually blowing up stuff.
Graphics
Mugsters is a low poly title that’s all about destruction, so it means that many items that spawn on the different maps can be destroyed one way or another. Fences can be run over with a car, structures and walls can explode with exploding barrels, you can knock over trees and of course, the vehicles you commandeer also have a life cycle you’ll have to respect. Overall the game has a fairly cute appearance that certainly suits the company behind the title, especially considering the vibrant color palette that is used. You won’t be having any issues running this title on your PC, as the requirements needed are quite low.
Sound
Sound wise the game isn’t all that spectacular, as you’ll mostly hear the sound effects of the vehicles, the machines that are running and the things you destroy. Other than that, the game doesn’t offer that much more in terms of a spectacular soundtrack.
Gameplay
Mugsters is an action title that revolves around destroying things in a puzzle-esque fashion all while saving civilians and collecting items, even though the last two items mentioned on the list aren’t really your top priority. You’ll constantly be roaming around in small enclosed levels, taking down things, commandeering vehicles, throwing explosive barrels, and so on. The concept is simple, the execution not so much. The controls feel a bit awkward when playing with the keyboard, but it’s easily solved when opting for a controller to help you achieve your goals.
To achieve your goal in each mission you’ll often have to use vehicles or exploding barrels to take down the target for the mission you’re in. If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, you can opt to look for trapped civilians and the crystals you can collect. While you can still make progress without collecting everything, it’s still fun to look for these extra objectives, as otherwise the missions feel a bit short and somewhat rushed. It’s fun that the game offers different vehicles, all handling a bit differently, which is certainly a fun and realistic factor for a game that’s incredibly unrealistic.
The main problem with the game is that the further you progress, not that many new mechanics get introduced. You can punch, grab and throw items, and commandeer different vehicles, and that’s basically just it. While this is all fairly fun, it gets a bit bland if you play the game for longer periods of time, which is just a shame. You’ll notice slight inclinations in the difficulty curve, but even then, the game doesn’t really persuade you to keep spending time on it.
It’s fun to see a proper multiplayer mode incorporated in the game, as it’s certainly a title that is worth playing with another player next to you. You’ll easily notice that the fun factor increases and that the game is properly designed for couch co-op play. Truth be told, this might be the main reason for longer playing sessions, as the game feels a lot less bland this way.
Conclusion
Mugsters is a title that totally fits in Team17’s repertoire of games, not only because of its art style, but also the concept and how it is handled. While the game feels a bit too pocket sized at times, because of the short missions and the somewhat repetitive gameplay, it’s still a fun title to mess around with in-between bigger titles, or if you’re waiting for Overcooked 2, which is probably one of the biggest Team17 titles for this year. If you love destroying things and love the plot of ridding the world of alien rulers, then this one will provide you with some fun.
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