Mushrooms Have Never Looked This Good
This princess of this mushroom kingdom puts you in distress.
Kickstarter has given new life to the indie video gaming scene, with fan funded sequels being a bit part of that pie and it is to thank for this recent follow up to Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars for the Wii and a forgotten DS platformer. Being a 3D action puzzle runner is an interesting change from the previous action platformer, as well as moving from the Wii to the PC. You play as Pax, a mushroom running away from the truly disgusting Truffle Princess by moving and jumping on cubes. Along the way there are items to collect that give you special powers like becoming invisible which you can use to confuse or destroy your enemies.
The visuals are surprisingly good
Video games have many parts that have to work for it to be successful, such as graphics, gameplay, narrative, level design, and so much more. The more money a project has the better it looks, but just because something looks good doesn’t mean it’s a good game which is why indie games tend to focus more on gameplay and narrative. Oddly enough, it seems to be the complete opposite for Truffle Trouble which has stunning visuals but with clunky gameplay.
Just wouldn’t be a game without toxic slime pits
Because of its humble Kickstarter beginnings, I was impressed at the graphic beauty that was the level design and cutscenes. I’ve seen far worse visuals to come out of million dollar or AAA games but sometimes backgrounds blend into the foreground to make platforming confusion and more difficult than it should be. With such a narrow area on which to move, knowing your exact location is an absolute must which you can usually tell by a darkened shadow underneath your character when you are jumping.
A little Visine will clear that right up
One shining point is its pacing and the fact that you can choose your own path on most levels. This is great for all gamers, since it pleases completionists like myself who just must have the highest score possible, or the causal gamer who just wants to get through the level without being kidnapped by the terrible Truffle Princess. Multiple avenues of success has always been a great addition to any level, and this definitely provides that variety so the replay value is pretty great. Not to mention, having that just awful looking princess coming after you is great motivation to move those cubes faster and get to your bed at the end of the level and wake up from this nightmare.
While I do wish the movement and lighting was a bit tighter, this is still a decent game with impressive visuals and easy replay value. Be warned, however, that the quest is rather challenging especially for completionists. Available now, for the price of $12, it’s an easy buy that you can keep coming back to, or just watch the cut scenes like a movie which is still cheaper than the theater.