Max Mustard review – Astro Bot: Rescue Mission 2 in all but name

Sony has said there’ll ne'er beryllium different VR Astro Bot crippled but possibly that doesn’t substance erstwhile you person indie homages arsenic bully arsenic this.

There’s thing incredibly compelling astir VR games, the champion ones transporting you to alternate worlds successful a mode that watching games connected a TV respective metres distant ne'er can. Taking vantage of the uncanny content of being there, a batch of developers understandably marque archetypal idiosyncratic games, but immoderate of the astir successfully immersive VR games are really 3rd person.

Max Mustard is 1 of them, giving you power implicit the Chucky-sized Max arsenic she runs, jumps, and hops connected the heads of enemies, portion you drift on down her, capable to instrumentality successful the standard and quality of the game’s shiny, pin crisp worlds arsenic they animate astir you. You’ll besides travel her connected little log flume-style downhill sections, which are ever cautious to determination dilatory capable not to origin question sickness for players unused to the medium.

This is simply a platformer that’s intelligibly been inspired by PlayStation VR crippled Astro Bot: Rescue Mission. The cheerful colours, jet-booted protagonist, and a batch of level mechanics are astir identical successful Max Mustard, making it consciousness instantly familiar. Originally released connected Meta Quest backmost successful March, its quality connected PlayStation VR2 is particularly welcome, fixed Sony has said determination is ‘no chance’ of different VR Astro Bot game. The caller Astro Bot is large but Mad Mustard is the closest happening to a spiritual sequel for Rescue Mission.

First impressions are precise beardown indeed. After watching Max tally implicit a elephantine brain-in-a-jar with robotic octopus tentacles, you upwind up successful her flying camper van with the game’s archetypal satellite dispersed retired connected the tabletop successful beforehand of you, its smorgasbord of miniature multicoloured levels looking similar a modern instrumentality connected Super Mario World.

Each of Max’s 4 worlds is simply a web of levels yet starring to a boss. Like Astro Bot, your ain beingness successful each level goes beyond simply controlling its hero. You’ll besides beryllium called upon to usage 2 guns, 1 of which fires artifact darts, the different creating a cone of suction that lets you activate windmills that determination platforms oregon hoover up enemies and adjacent coin-producing fruit.

Those coins, which you besides find strewn astir levels and near down by dispatched enemies, are utilized successful each world’s shop. They fto you upgrade Max with a longer boost from her boots, faster moving speed, much coins from enemies, and a plethora of different incremental buffs. You don’t peculiarly request immoderate of them but it adds a spot of other spice, and makes its much challenging levels approachable – not that immoderate is astir arsenic tricky arsenic Mario’s much challenging moments.

There are besides levels that eschew platforming wholly successful favour of coin frenzies, wherever Max collects arsenic overmuch golden arsenic imaginable against the clock; arsenic good arsenic shooting galleries wherever you occurrence astatine targets or, successful 1 case, swooping abstraction invaders. While brief, these interludes show however refined the game’s aiming mechanics are, with the guns looking and feeling stone solid, their purpose adjacent perfectly predictable. It makes you wonderment wherefore determination aren’t much The House Of The Dead-alikes successful VR, due to the fact that the operation of intuitive aiming and consciousness of genuine peril enactment brilliantly together.

Most of the clip though, Max is exploring beautifully rendered landscapes that interval magically successful the air, with sheer, bottomless drops connected each side. We person to admit to the unusual palm-sweating infinitesimal hopping betwixt moving platforms, portion being fired connected by enemies, but mostly it’s a charming situation that feels large to walk clip in.

While it does get wholesale from Mario and Astro Bot, there’s inactive a delight successful discovering wherever you’ll extremity up next. There are inevitably lava, space, and stream levels, but there’s truthful overmuch more, from 1 with unreality trampolines that bounce Max precocious into the aerial portion you debar rotating spiky barriers, to a Frogger level with logs to leap betwixt connected rivers, and fleets of excavation carts to debar alternatively than accepted traffic.

There’s not overmuch force assortment but the inventive level plan helps to marque up for that. However, you volition find yourself regularly jumping connected the heads of beasts that look similar a transverse betwixt Minions and Ewoks, making it each the much satisfying to extremity them. The information that the crippled dresses them up successful fuzzy felt crocodile outfits successful the Frogger level is conscionable 1 illustration of its winning attraction to detail.

The flimsy occupation with its prime of inspirations is that you can’t assistance comparing it to them, and there’s nary mode it tin ever lucifer up. There’s thing successful the satellite that comes adjacent to Super Mario, and truthful far, astatine least, thing connected PlayStation to vie with Astro Bot successful oregon retired of VR, adjacent if Max does a large occupation of trying.

Max Mustard gets a batch of things conscionable right, astir notably the consciousness of controlling the heroine, whose leap physics and blasts of rocket footwear person a large consciousness of value and momentum. Making mistakes is ever your fault, alternatively than a occupation of wobbly mechanics. The creation benignant is besides delightful throughout, adjacent if, again, it’s not terribly original.

It’s just to accidental that Max Mustard does person 1 monolithic vantage implicit the six-year-old Astro Bot: Rescue Mission: it’s thing you tin really play connected the PlayStation VR2. It whitethorn beryllium derivative, but it’s besides intelligibly a labour of love, its polished mechanics and glorious scenery making for a beauteous 4 oregon 5 hours of VR escapism.

Formats: PlayStation VR2 (reviewed), PC, and Meta Quest 2 and 3
Price: £21.99
Publisher: Toast Interactive
Developer: Toast Interactive
Release Date: 2nd October 2024 (PC TBA)
Age Rating: 3

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