A cerebral punch to the gut!
If you bought the
physical game like I did (and not the digital one), you will actually get both
games on one game card. Which is why for this review, I will be reviewing the
two games as one.
A masterclass in level design
La Mulana is a
Metroidvania. This may not sound like a big deal these days, however when the
game came out this genre was quite barren. That doesn’t mean this game is just
coasting on old glory; the game still has a rather unique approach to the
genre. What is unique about this game is their approach to the game world. While
La Mulana may be difficult when it comes to its gameplay, the area of the game
where it really likes the hit the player hard are its puzzles. La Mulana is a
game that is filled to the brim with cryptic hints, and puzzles that must be
solved in order to advance. Puzzles that can be really hard, and may even span
large portions of the game. A hint you may find early on, could very well only
become relevant much later in the game.
Puzzles are also not simply “bring
object A to place B” either and sometimes go really meta. It requires you to
not only have a solid grasp of what the player character can do, but what the
entire game can do. Yet, the game is not unfair. While there is certainly no
hand holding and you will find yourself lost more than once, everything the
player needs to do is properly communicated through the hints, no matter how
cryptic they may be.
It’s therefore that
the biggest strength of La Mulana, for both the original as well as the sequel,
is easily it’s level design. It’s a work of art in a way, in just how much the
developers thought out the entire game from the beginning until the end.
Everything is connected, and due to this you cannot help but feel like a true
adventurer when you finally solve this riddle that has eluded you for so long.
As far as sprite-work
goes, the game is excellent as well. While the first game shows some signs of
aging, the second games has some really excellent sprite-work going on. The
biggest strength here however is variety. There is so much variety in each and
every environment that just finding your way into a new area will make you look
forward to just how it’s designed. For me, the best moments for me was finding
an entirely new area and starting to explore it. That’s not to say that the
presentation is just presentation; even the visual design is important to its
level design, so the player is always required to observe the environment in
great detail. Something that may seem off may just be part of a puzzle you
cannot solve yet.
That is not to say the
game is perfect. When it comes to game play, the game falters a bit. The problem
is that the series wants to be like older harder games a bit too much. For
the game play, they seem to have taken cues from games such as Ghost and
Goblins, all the way up to the very rigid jumps. Therefore, while the game may
be hard from a game play perspective as well, this is primarily because the game
feels a stiff. You will often get hit by enemy fire or even jump right into
the embrace of enemies just because you cannot steer your character in mid-air.
La Mulana 2 does a lot to remedy this, but it’s still not the smoothest
experience there is.
Music wise this game
is a treat. If you have any love for old-school game music, this game will hit
all the right notes. That goes for both the first and second game; both have a
varied, but banging soundtrack.
Conclusion
I can highly recommend
this game to anyone who likes games like Zelda, but wants to have a bit more
meat on their puzzles. Metroidvania fans may find their share of joy as well. While La Mulana 1 definitely shows its age and needs some time getting used to, La Mulana 2 is an excellent sequel and having both games on one game card is more than I could wish for. I
for one am a big fan, and am glad that La Mulana 1 and 2 both found their way
unto the Switch, so I can play them wherever I want.
Final Score: 9.0
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