The Mobius Machine
- March 1, 2024
- Madruga Works
- 15h median play time
The Mobius Machine is a fine Metroidvania with an emphasis on sci-fi shooting, but its map issues and weak upgrades drag it down.
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games Store"The Mobius Machine" is a 2D adventure game with 3D visuals, set in a vast alien world filled with hostile creatures and machines. Explore the open world of Isolaria moon, discovering its breathtaking environments through land, underwater and skies. Combat various enemies, acquire new weapons, and evolve your character to defeat epic bosses and uncover the game's mysteries.
PC
Playstation 5
Steam Deck
Windows
Xbox Series X|S
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features beautiful graphics and a charming art style that enhances the overall experience.
- Exploration is rewarding, with a large interconnected world that encourages players to uncover secrets and upgrades.
- The controls are responsive and the combat, while simple, is engaging enough to keep players invested.
- The game suffers from tedious backtracking and a lack of fast travel options, making exploration feel like a chore.
- Many enemies are bullet sponges, leading to repetitive combat that can become frustrating over time.
- The level design is often criticized for being confusing and lacking distinct landmarks, which can leave players feeling lost.
- graphics42 mentions
- 74 % positive mentions
- 19 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their impressive quality and appealing art style, with many reviewers highlighting the beautiful visuals and fluid performance. However, some criticism arises from repetitive graphical assets that can make certain areas feel monotonous. Overall, the aesthetic is described as both captivating and eerie, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere despite some optimization issues.
“Possibly the most impressive part of the game, the graphics are really good for this type of game.”
“The graphics are stellar, the soundtrack is sweet.”
“The graphics are excellent and the aesthetic is really appealing.”
“One criticism I have is that some graphical assets are repeated way too many times, which makes some areas look boring.”
“The game was also made with a poorly optimized Unity game engine and there is only one graphic setting of low to ultra.”
“My RTX 3070 has fans pinned at 100%, while the graphics aren't anything special.”
- music29 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as pleasant and atmospheric, effectively setting the mood without being particularly memorable or exciting. While some players appreciate its haunting and ambient qualities that enhance the game's aesthetic, others find it generic and lacking in variety. Overall, the soundtrack complements the visuals well, contributing to the game's immersive experience, though it may not stand out on its own.
“I love the unique presentation with a cute character but also grotesque monsters and atmospheric music.”
“The music is haunting, enhancing the loneliness and mystery.”
“The final piece to this ornate puzzle is the soundtrack - the audio tracks created for each of the sectors align superbly to their visual counterparts and are genuinely enjoyable and never distracting or annoying, along with sound effects that are satisfyingly crunchy - especially when dispatching your foes or interacting with some of the more deadly environmental hazards.”
“The music is uninspired but atmospheric enough to enhance the... ya know... atmosphere.”
“It was fitting and fine, but I would've liked a lot more variety in the music for the different areas.”
“Jeesh, in my opinion, terribly generic music, hyper-generic intro cut scene, same platforms copy-pasted 300 times and recolored makes this feel like a generic asset flip game.”
- gameplay23 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally praised for its solid mechanics, polished movement, and beautiful animation, offering a fun experience within a well-designed interconnected world. While there is a decent variety of enemy encounters and some unique mechanics that enhance exploration, players noted some repetitiveness and a lack of fast travel options. Overall, it is considered a worthwhile addition to the metroidvania genre, especially for those who appreciate its aesthetic and gameplay style.
“There are several base kinds of enemies, like the ones that float towards you, the ones that crawl along the walls, shooting versions of these, ones that crash down from above, etc. Each region/biome has its own variation on these basic types that change the look and also add a little twist to the gameplay so things feel familiar without being too samey.”
“I think the developers did a fantastic job creating a compelling world and fun gameplay with limited resources (seems like a very small team), and I can only recommend giving it a shot if it sounds like the kind of thing you might enjoy.”
“Mechanics and movement feel very polished and responsive.”
“The lack of a fast travel mechanic.”
“The traversal mechanics are a little disappointing.”
“Environments and gameplay are very samey/repetitive, but it's a massive map to explore and I had a lot of fun doing that.”
- story16 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally perceived as minimal and lacking depth, with many reviewers noting that it feels perfunctory and fails to engage players meaningfully. While some appreciate the lighter narrative approach, others express disappointment over the absence of a compelling plot or character development, suggesting that additional story elements could enhance the overall experience. Overall, the consensus is that the game prioritizes gameplay and aesthetics over a substantial narrative.
“There is a nice little story, also lighter than your usual 'Metroid' or 'Castlevania'.”
“- intriguing story line.”
“They did a great job with the aesthetics and I'm interested in seeing how the story pans out.”
“There is the absolute minimum of story and narrative in this game.”
“The one thing I forgot to mention is that this game has no story.”
“- story is nonexistent.”
- grinding14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- -14 % neutral mentions
- 93 % negative mentions
Players consistently find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and repetitive, with many citing slow traversal, uninspired combat, and a lack of fast travel options as major drawbacks. The need to farm resources and backtrack through vast, empty areas detracts from the enjoyment of exploration, making the overall experience feel like a chore rather than an engaging adventure. Despite some fun elements, the grinding mechanics significantly hinder the game's appeal.
“Grinding in this game feels rewarding, as each effort brings you closer to powerful upgrades.”
“The grind is balanced perfectly, making each resource collected feel meaningful and impactful.”
“I appreciate how the game integrates grinding into the overall experience, enhancing exploration and character progression.”
“Unfortunately, this seems to require farming - in my playthrough, I killed almost every enemy I came across and found quite a few of the secret areas, but after scouring the map, I still had 134 credits to go before I could buy the last upgrade.”
“Fun game, definitely more on the platformer side than anything else, its biggest flaw is that it does not have enough fast travel points, since you can't fast travel between save stations. It forces you to go through basically all the levels to grab missed upgrades when you get a new ability, which makes it tedious and very repetitive.”
“All the fun of exploration is sucked dry by widely spaced save points, tedious endless combat, cheap contact hits with 0 i-frames, stingy power-ups, and general banality.”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 88 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a unique blend of cute characters and grotesque monsters, complemented by an atmospheric soundtrack that evokes nostalgia for classic games. While many players appreciate the music's ability to enhance the overall experience, some feel it lacks inspiration and that the abundance of atmospheric elements can detract from immersion. Overall, the atmosphere is well-received, though opinions vary on its execution.
“I love the unique presentation with a cute character but also grotesque monsters and atmospheric music.”
“Excellent game with a great atmosphere and music.”
“The atmosphere is perfect, and it has all the trappings you could ask for.”
- optimization7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it features great graphics and smooth performance on platforms like the Steam Deck, many users report poor optimization issues, particularly due to its reliance on the Unity engine and limited graphic settings.
“The optimization is impressive.”
“Great graphics and performance.”
“Smooth performance, gorgeous graphics, and great controller response.”
“Another issue I had is that this game is poorly optimized.”
“The game was also made with a poorly optimized Unity game engine and there is only one graphic setting of low to ultra.”
“The game is not optimized.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game strikes a commendable balance between humor and seriousness, with players finding the animated reactions of flying squids—particularly their hilarious movements after being attacked—especially entertaining. The fluidity of the creatures' animations enhances the comedic effect, contributing to an overall enjoyable experience.
“A good balance of humor and seriousness.”
“The expression that you get from these flying squids after blasting one from nearby, as it realizes you are there and floats its way over to you, is hilarious. The fluidity of movement in the creatures is one of the most thorough pieces of animation I've ever seen.”
- stability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Overall, the game demonstrates strong stability, with users reporting excellent performance, particularly on the Steam Deck.
“The performance is outstanding; it runs great on the Steam Deck.”
“I haven't experienced any crashes or bugs, which makes the gameplay smooth and enjoyable.”
“The game maintains a steady frame rate, providing a seamless experience throughout.”
