The Mobius Machine comes from the fairly unknown studio Madruga Works, which develops and publishes games. The Mobius Machine is a Metroidvania-inspired 2D action-adventure game with 3D graphics and a healthy dose of twin-stick shooter gameplay.
You play the role of a small spaceman who received a distress signal from a deserted planet, but when he tried to land on the planet, his small spaceship crashed and he is now trapped there. You quickly realize that this planet is far from deserted, as you soon find yourself fighting your way through a mysterious world filled with cruel aliens and machines.
Gameplay is very traditional; you move left to right, right to left, up and down, jump from platform to platform, launch terminals, unlock doors, defeat tons of enemies, and access new areas. As you gain more abilities, you’ll enter more areas, and along the way, you’ll discover blueprints for new weapons that can be crafted at surrounding workbenches. However, these blueprints are relatively few and far between, so you’ll have plenty of time to get familiar with your new weapon.
The combat is good, the weapons feel great, and most importantly, the combat is intense. This isn’t because you’re overrun by a lot of enemies, but because the enemies are very persistent and very unpleasant as they can easily eat up half of your energy without blinking. On top of that, the game punishes you very harshly when you die.
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There are two different game modes you can play, depending on how much of a challenge you want. The first is Standard, when you die you keep all your items, your progress in the game and most of your scraps, which is the game’s currency. Scrap is used to develop new weapons and repair broken machines so you can progress through the game. If you like getting your ass kicked, just choose Retro and if you die you lose all momentum, etc.
Even in the standard version you’ll be slapped in the face as you can easily lose close to 20-30 minutes of gameplay if you’re unlucky. This is not an easy game and having to fight the same areas and defeat the same enemies over and over again is quite exhausting. If you’re lucky enough to reach the point where you die, you’ll be able to pick up all the lost pieces again. However, this is not possible in retro mode.
As mentioned before, the graphics in The Mobius Machine are 3D, even though all movement is 2D. It’s very detailed, quite beautiful, and runs smoothly. The water effect in particular looks surprisingly good. However, the graphics don’t evolve much along the way as everything looks more or less the same, so it looks a bit monotonous as time goes on. It’s not a big problem, but you might want a little more variety in the visual aspect. The soundtrack is also good, and the sound effects when enemies are defeated are nice and effective.
The Mobius Machine is an excellent 2D action-adventure game that doesn’t go too far wrong, but doesn’t risk too much either. The game world is vast and there are many challenges – the difficulty and punishing nature of the game may not be suitable for everyone.
The Mobius Machine is another good bid for a Metroidvania-inspired 2D action-adventure game that actually plays quite well – it does get monotonous over time, but especially if you have the patience It’s skills, and there’s actually quite a bit of gameplay hidden here. If you want to try it out before buying, there’s a free demo available on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5.
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