Mute Crimson+
- August 13, 2015
- Iced Lizard Games
- 8h median play time
Get on Steam"Mute Crimson+ is a challenging automatic platformer set in a dystopian world. Players control a mute protagonist, avoiding obstacles and enemies while collecting power-ups. With its pixel art style and tough-but-fair difficulty curve, Mute Crimson+ offers a rewarding experience for fans of the genre."
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Reviews
- The game features tight controls and responsive gameplay, making it enjoyable for platforming enthusiasts.
- The art style and music are well-executed, creating a nostalgic retro atmosphere reminiscent of classic NES games.
- The level design is challenging yet fair, with a good difficulty curve that keeps players engaged throughout the game.
- The controls can feel stiff and unresponsive at times, leading to frustrating deaths that feel unfair.
- The dialogue and story are intentionally poorly translated, which may not appeal to all players and can detract from the overall experience.
- Some levels feature significant difficulty spikes and infrequent checkpoints, which can lead to tedious repetition and frustration.
- gameplay86 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its straightforward mechanics, focusing on movement, jumping, and attacking, with a consistent moveset throughout the game. While some players appreciate the introduction of new mechanics and the challenge they present, others criticize issues like floaty jumping, unresponsive controls, and tedious level design. Overall, the game offers a mix of enjoyable and frustrating elements, with a steep difficulty curve that requires skill and patience to navigate.
“Infinite lives, one hit point, and creatively placed collectibles coupled with a short-range but nonetheless epic melee sword attack makes for a gameplay experience you won't want to end.”
“The gameplay, music, and artwork were all amazing!”
“You end the game with all the moves you had at the beginning; there are no power-ups or bonuses, and no random gameplay elements - it's a game of pure skill and experience, both of which you'll need in abundance to meet the game's solid difficulty and complexity curve.”
“The gameplay is short and very simple though.”
“The jumping mechanic is a bit too floaty during the in-the-air movement, the buttons sometimes did not register, and jumping onto and off edges seemed like a rough transition at times; but overall I was able to beat the game and had fun doing so.”
“Starts feeling extremely tedious (waiting on laser cycles, trial and error gameplay).”
- music58 mentions
- 72 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many praising its catchy chiptune soundtrack that enhances the overall experience and fits the retro aesthetic. Reviewers noted that the tunes effectively set the mood for each stage, driving players to keep pushing through challenging levels. While some found the music enjoyable, others mentioned that it could become repetitive during prolonged gameplay sessions.
“The powerful chiptune soundtrack is icing on the cake.”
“The music is very solid and catchy, with some great (and varied!) melodies and basslines going on.”
“The music is fantastic, gameplay is spot-on, and graphics are endearing.”
“To me this is one of them if you enjoy repeating levels that you never wish to return so you can hoard for those glittering koins, napping to the mute crimson soundtrack, giggling at typos, a simple cast and pulling your hair out from time to time.”
“The level design and music are decent, but that is where the pros for this game end.”
“Music is old times but also very pump.”
- graphics54 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are praised for their attractive and polished retro aesthetic, primarily utilizing a limited color palette of black, white, and red, which enhances clarity in gameplay. While many reviewers appreciate the minimalist art style and thematic variety, some note that the high contrast can be hard on the eyes, and there are mixed feelings about the overall execution compared to classic NES and DOS visuals. Despite some gameplay issues, the graphics contribute positively to the game's engaging atmosphere and design.
“The graphics are very pleasing and the retro aesthetic is well executed.”
“The black and red visuals permeate the entire game, yet the worlds are still thematically varied.”
“Awesome music and stylized visuals make the jumping and slashing (and dying a lot) very much enjoyable.”
“The graphical style is neat and original, reminiscent of some DOS games, but it kind of falls short in that avenue.”
“High contrast graphics are hard on the eyes after a while.”
“Ugly art style.”
- humor48 mentions
- 96 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by intentionally poor grammar and over-the-top dialogue, which many players find hilarious and reminiscent of classic 8-bit games with bad translations. While some appreciate the absurdity and comedic timing of the cutscenes, others feel that the humor can become repetitive or borderline offensive. Overall, the game successfully blends challenging gameplay with a quirky sense of humor that appeals to fans of absurdist comedy.
“The dialogue is hilarious but short enough to keep a good pace in the game.”
“Overall it's a great game with absolutely hilarious writing.”
“The game has a great sense of humor as it likes to poke fun at grammatically incorrect cutscenes that you would often see back in the era of 8-bit.”
“Unfunny 'poorly translated' dialogue cutscenes.”
“Unfunny 'poorly translated' dialogue cutscenes.”
- story22 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game's story is intentionally silly and riddled with broken English, paying homage to the infamous localization of the Sega Genesis title Zero Wing, which adds a humorous charm to the experience. While the narrative is minimal and often nonsensical, it is designed to be entertaining in its absurdity, with memorable dialogue and character personalities that contribute to the overall enjoyment. However, some players feel that the weak story detracts from the gameplay, suggesting that it may not be a significant focus for those seeking a deeper narrative.
“Plus the story and dialogue (with nicely drawn cutscene stills) is so purposely bad and riddled with grammar errors, it is nothing short of hilarious and amazing!”
“It's part of the charm, I think; the dialogue and story are that good kind of intentionally bad, the kind that makes you laugh.”
“The soundtrack, to this day, is the best chiptune I've ever heard in any of those indie pixel games, and the story is minimal but works around with funny translation as some sort of tongue-in-cheek joke about the nature of what inspiration this game draws from.”
“Yup, the story is told in an intentionally silly English script that barely makes sense.”
“I would have preferred if they hadn't done that, or at least just made it optional, but I guess the story in this game doesn't really matter very much.”
“The bosses have personality, the story doesn't take itself seriously, and everything that comes out of Mute's mouth is pure Engrish.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability through various features like boss rush, arcade mode, and time attack, catering to different player preferences. Even after completing the main and additional modes, players find the game enjoyable enough to revisit, thanks to its engaging extras.
“Finally, the game has lots of nice features, such as a boss rush, an arcade mode, and a time attack, which adds a lot of replayability to it, depending on what kind of player you are.”
“Overall, I've completed the plus and classic modes of this game and, even though I've done almost all of it, the game is fun and is replayable.”
“In addition to the main game mode, the extras add greater replayability to the game.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to the need to replay earlier worlds after failing in later ones, which can lead to frustration and a sense of monotony. The reliance on trial and error, along with waiting for specific cycles, further contributes to the overall tedious experience.
“It's tedious because if you game over on the third world, that means you have to re-do worlds 1-2 just to get back to where you were.”
“It starts feeling extremely tedious, especially with waiting on laser cycles and trial-and-error gameplay.”
“It starts feeling extremely tedious, especially with waiting on laser cycles and trial-and-error gameplay.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by a heart-wrenching narrative that follows a bold ninja on a relentless quest for justice. Players experience frustration and tension through gameplay mechanics that challenge their instincts, adding to the emotional weight of the story.
“Guide a bold and powerful ninja, forever undeterred on the path to justice, in a heart-wrenching story.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game is highly optimized, running smoothly at 1440p and 144 fps without any stuttering or frame rate caps. Players report tight controls and a seamless experience, enhancing overall gameplay.
“Runs smoothly (no 30 fps cap here), the controls are tight and there's no dead space; you're constantly tackling some obstacle.”
- character development2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the character development is lacking, with the main character's design being described as uninteresting and uninspired.
“The main character design is really boring.”
