The Mooseman
Publisher: Vladimir Beletsk
Developers: Vladimir Beletsky, Mikhail Shvachko
The Mooseman is a 2D platformer where you take the role of a shaman in a search to restore the balance in the world. You are Yen’s chosen one and in this journey, you will travel through three different stages of this fictional world. The Mooseman clocks out right about two hours, and even though those two hours at times feel like a drag, The Mooseman delivers a beautiful folklore story with beautiful art and beautiful music that is worth checking out.
I have always wonder what it would be like to play a game that worked as a comic book or a short story, the Mooseman answered my question. The way that this game plays is very simple, you use your cursor or Dpad to move and you use the “A” button to switch views from the natural world and the spiritual realm. My biggest complaint with the game is how this game feels like a walking simulator on cruise control rather than an actual platform game. Heck, the game does give you an option to put the gameplay on cruise control and all you have to do is switch between the realms. If you double tap the right D-pad button the game will move your character automatically and you won’t have to worry about anything, and I mean you don’t really have to worry about anything since the puzzles and enemies in this game are mind numbly easy. The gameplay of this game doesn’t offer any variety, it’s a very simple game. I can’t lie and say I was not bored at times with the game, but for a game that is only two hours long, I can’t really complain.
Where The Mooseman shines is in the way that they deliver their story. The art style for this game is simply beautiful, the way that animals move, the way the carvings on the cave glow as you pass through them, and even the colors that they choose for the three different stages of this fictional world, everything about the way the artist deliver the art in this game is beautiful. I don’t recommend the Mooseman to everyone, just like any other game this is not for everyone, but if you like beautiful sceneries and well-written stories, the Mooseman is a must play for you. The way The Mooseman delivers its story is where the game also shines. After every area that you clear a voice narrates the story of the god Yen, and how you are his chosen one to restore balance to the world. The narrator uses her tribal dialect and it immerses the player in this story as you read the subtitles. If you happen to miss what the narrator is telling you The Mooseman has an option in which you can read the entire story through the pause menu. After I finish this game, I started a new game just so that I could read the portions of the story that I missed.
The Mooseman is divided into two parts in my opinion. One part is mind-numbing, simple and quite frankly not that fun. The other part of the game is rich in lore and is hauntingly beautiful, and because of how beautiful this game looks and how well the story it’s written The Mooseman is worth checking out.
I give the Mooseman a 6 out of 10.