Maze Mice

About

Maze Mice is a single player arcade role playing game. It was developed by TrampolineTales and was released on July 11, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

Maze Mice combines retro maze navigation with intense bullet-hell survival and relaxed, take-your-time gameplay. Players can unlock multiple adorable characters and a variety of upgrades to enhance their experience. The game features a captivating soundtrack and design by the creator of Luck be a Landlord.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

90%

Audience ScoreBased on 249 reviews

gameplay25 positive mentions

story2 negative mentions

Maze Mice offers a unique blend of gameplay mechanics from Pac-Man, Vampire Survivors, and Superhot, creating a fun and engaging experience.
The 'time only moves when you move' mechanic adds a strategic layer to the gameplay, allowing players to plan their moves carefully.
The game features charming pixel art and a catchy soundtrack, enhancing the overall enjoyment and atmosphere.

The game suffers from a lack of enemy and character variety, with most characters feeling identical aside from their starting items.
Progression can feel aimless, as players unlock new abilities and items without clear goals or significant changes in gameplay.
The user interface is cumbersome, with poorly highlighted buttons and a layout that increases mouse travel distance, making navigation frustrating.

gameplay
81 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
65%
4%
Maze Mice offers a unique gameplay experience by blending mechanics from Superhot, Pac-Man, and Vampire Survivors, particularly with its standout feature where time only moves when the player does, allowing for strategic planning. While the core gameplay loop is engaging and fun, some players feel it lacks depth and variety, leading to potential repetitiveness over time. Overall, it presents a fresh twist on familiar concepts, making it appealing for fans of roguelite and puzzle gameplay, though it could benefit from more diverse maps and enemy types.
- “Mixing together elements from Superhot, Vampire Survivors, and Pac-Man, Maze Mice provides a very unique gameplay loop that separates it from most other games in the genre.”
- “What makes Maze Mice immediately stand out is its signature mechanic: time only moves when you move.”
- “Each run is a compact puzzle of movement and optimization, and the combination of thoughtful mechanics with delightful retro aesthetics makes the game far more engaging than its small scope might initially suggest.”
- “There's not much progression or a gameplay loop to keep you engaged.”
- “Each stage has a different layout but the gameplay is pretty much the same across all of them, and they all have the same enemies and mechanics.”
- “After a few runs, you start to notice that the gameplay doesn’t evolve much, and it gets repetitive quickly.”
music
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
42%
7%
The music in the game has received widespread praise for its upbeat, catchy, and nostalgic chiptune-inspired tracks, contributing to a fun and engaging atmosphere. While many players enjoy the vibrant and colorful soundscapes, some note that the soundtrack can become repetitive over longer play sessions. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature, enhancing the game's charm and enjoyment.
- “Spry mouse animations, colorful tiles, and upbeat chiptune-inspired music give the experience a warm retro flavor that feels nostalgic without being old-fashioned.”
- “The music is peppy and fitting, the art is cute.”
- “Great art style, fun power-ups, and a bumping j-fusion soundtrack.”
- “Though the soundtrack also suffers from being repetitive, this is mostly the result of how beating a level takes 10 minutes, which is way longer than the simple music loops allow for.”
- “The music is a bit of a bop but gets repetitive.”
- “It's hard to do that with this game because the OST is too busy being pure fire.”
replayability
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
39%
23%
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed, with some players finding it enjoyable for a few runs due to its simple mechanics and unlockable items, while others criticize its lack of permanent upgrades and variety, leading to repetitive gameplay after a short time. Many feel that it falls short compared to other roguelikes, which offer richer mechanics and greater replay value. Ultimately, the experience may depend on individual preferences for gameplay style and depth.
- “Good replayability because of all these unlockable items and maps.”
- “Simple game that has a lot of replayability, and it's great value for the price.”
- “Last unlockable maze adds replayability because of shifting tiles.”
- “I wish I could give this a fully positive review, but because of a couple of issues I have with the game, I have to say your money is probably better spent elsewhere. It's a pretty fun Pac-Man-like roguelike that's enjoyable for the first couple of runs, but after those initial runs on different maps, the replayability tanks quickly. The lack of permanent upgrades, such as built-in rerolls, banning of items, or even the ability to skip a level up and void your XP if you don't want what was offered, combined with very limited upgrade slots, makes it feel like a casino when trying to get a specific build. This lack of control over builds means that if you play this game for more than three hours, you're likely going to be experiencing runs that are almost the same every time. This issue is worsened by the fact that many weapons are very similar and automatically do their thing, leading to runs that quickly devolve into just picking up XP, getting upgrades, and winning as long as you don't get unlucky.”
- “In my opinion, you should go spend your 10 dollars on the tens of other roguelikes that will be more replayable.”
- “Unfortunately, it's also confusing, doesn't ramp up properly, has limited replay value, and hits less hard than all of its inspirations.”
graphics
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
28%
27%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming retro aesthetic that enhances the engaging gameplay, with a mix of cute art styles and thoughtful mechanics. While some players appreciate the unique visual style and its fusion of various influences, others find certain elements, like clashing art styles on selection screens, less appealing. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the game's enjoyment, making it a standout experience despite some mixed opinions.
- “The overall aesthetic is really cool, and the visual style definitely stands out.”
- “Great art style, fun power-ups, and a bumping j-fusion soundtrack.”
- “Blending retro style gameplay, a roguelike type twist, and a cute art style, make for a fantastic game.”
- “I'm not fond of the clashing art styles, mainly on the main selection screens.”
- “A fusion of Pac-Man, survivor, turn-based arcade with its own 'naive' art style.”
- “It's maybe not my favorite visual aesthetic, but it works.”
story
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The story in Maze Mice is minimal, as the game focuses on arcade-style repetition rather than deep world-building or evolving narrative elements, leading some players to question if there is any story at all.
- “Because Maze Mice leans into arcade repetition, it doesn’t offer deep world-building or evolving story elements.”
- “What story?”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is initially engaging, particularly with its amusing premise of a mouse setting traps for cats and the joy of unlocking quirky characters. However, players note that the comedic elements can become repetitive over time, diminishing the overall impact of the humor. While moments of triumph, like defeating multiple cats in one hit, are entertaining, they lose their novelty after a few occurrences.
- “Building deadly traps for cats as a mouse is a hilarious game idea!”
- “I love unlocking new funny little guys and watching them run around.”
- “It's fun for a while, but it gets hilariously repetitive, even for a survival-type game.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization is praised for its engaging blend of movement mechanics and retro aesthetics, offering a compact puzzle experience that balances challenge and strategy. Players can approach it as either a casual stimmer or a meticulously optimized strategy game, making it versatile for different playstyles.
- “Each run is a compact puzzle of movement and optimization, and the combination of thoughtful mechanics with delightful retro aesthetics makes the game far more engaging than its small scope might initially suggest.”
- “Surprisingly well balanced for higher difficulties as well, can be played as a stimmer or a perfectly optimized strategy game or anywhere in-between.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players note that while the game can become grindy, especially towards the end for those seeking all achievements, this is seen as a minor flaw in an otherwise well-received title. Some even suggest that extensive grinding may require a significant time investment.
- “A bit grindy in the end if you want all the achievements, but if that's the worst I can say about a game, then the game did a lot right, and this game did a lot right.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the lack of intrusive monetization in the game, allowing for a more enjoyable experience without the typical distractions often found in similar titles.
- “Just put on your own music while you play, and this is a perfect mindless time-waster without the annoying monetization these games usually have.”