There's a common misconception that fans of old school games will eat up anything that uses pixel graphics and a chiptunes soundtrack. I'm here to dispel that belief. Using the 8-bit style is a good start, but retro-inspired platformers need to bring something new to the table. We're a discerning lot, and with so many 2D games to choose from, developers are required to be original.
That brings me to Mos Speedrun 2, the sequel to the hugely-popular mobile phone game. This Steam sequel picks up where the first game left off, giving players control over a small bee man named Mos. He runs and jumps through 30 challenging stages, all while picking up coins and trying to beat his old times.
Showing its mobile phone roots, Mos Speedrun 2 is a simple game where players do little more than run and jump. At its most complex, Mos is able to wall jump his way to out or reach locations. There's no slide, double jump or roll; it's back to the bare essentials when playing through this challenging platformer.
To make things even more concerning, Mos starts with only one life to live. The good news is that each stage is loaded with checkpoints, giving players a second chance when they die. But don't get too excited, because all you get is a second chance. Die a third time and it's back to the start of the stage, with all of the enemies and coins reset. The goal is to keep hitting the checkpoints until you eventually find the exit.
The game knows it's frustratingly difficult, so it goes that extra step and shows the ghosts of past attempts. It's also quick on the reload, so there's almost no time between dying and jumping back into the action. And with its hypnotic soundtrack thumping in the background, it's easy to get sucked into the fast-paced energy of Mos Speedrun 2.
Click For the Full Picture ArchiveThe problem is that this brand new sequel doesn't do much to differentiate itself from countless other neo-retro platformers. There's nothing about the gameplay that stands out and the level designs are standard fare. You'll race through a lot of familiar locations and avoid the typical variety of generic bad guys. It all has a cool pixel art style, but you've been here and seen it all before.
The same goes for the objectives. It's hard to get excited about collecting floating coins when every 2D platformer has been doing that since 1985. Adding the speed run element is a little more modern, but even that is a common feature in most action games. And with only thirty stages, there just isn't enough content for people to get serious about the speed run element.
Click For the Full Picture ArchiveTo its credit, the game does a good job of adding new obstacles from one level to the next. Unfortunately, this is marred by some questionable design decisions. The game uses a standard jump button, but the same thing can be accomplished by pushing up on the D-pad. Normally this isn't a problem, but there are especially tense moments where it's easy to accidentally push up on the D-pad and jump head first into an enemy.
Even if you take away the occasional control issues, Mos Speedrun 2 is still undermined by its generic levels and lack of originality. The graphics look good and the music is filled with energy, but there isn't much here that hasn't been done better in countless other games. In a year packed with amazing 2D platformers, Mos Speedrun 2 feels more like an also-ran.
