The Mummy Demastered

A thunderous Metroidvania effort that sublimely marries the timeless design of yesteryear with some of the best decisions of modern game design, The Mummy Demastered is not only a great title but also one of the genuinely best surprises of the year.

78%Game Brain Score

music, gameplay

grinding, replayability

78% User Score Based on 509 reviews

Critic Score 74%Based on 12 reviews

Platforms

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About

In "The Mummy Demastered," players assume the role of an agent tasked with defeating the reawakened ancient princess, Ahmanet. Explore a variety of levels while battling monsters drawn from the classic film franchise. Utilize an arsenal of weapons and items to defeat enemies and bosses, with each successful run contributing to unlocking new abilities and items.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

78%

Audience ScoreBased on 509 reviews

music132 positive mentions

grinding44 negative mentions

The game features outstanding pixel art and animation, creating a visually appealing experience.
The soundtrack is excellent, enhancing the overall atmosphere of the game.
Gameplay is enjoyable with a variety of weapons and abilities that keep the experience fresh.

The death mechanic, where players lose all upgrades and must defeat their zombie self to regain them, can be frustrating and lead to potential soft locks.
Boss fights are often too easy and lack challenge, making them less engaging.
The map design is somewhat linear and lacks the depth and exploration found in other metroidvania titles.

music
206 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
34%
2%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its outstanding quality and fitting retro synth-wave style that enhances the overall atmosphere. Composed by monomer, the soundtrack is described as a standout feature, blending elements of chiptune and 80s horror synth, making it both engaging and memorable. While some players noted that the music occasionally feels repetitive, it remains a highlight that significantly contributes to the game's charm and enjoyment.
- “The soundtrack, composed by Monomer, is definitely the main selling point for me personally and also how I discovered the game. While the game itself is short, it's still a nice game to spend an afternoon or two on for the sake of it.”
- “The music is a little bit odd at first, being 80's kind of horror synth music if you funked it up a tad and made it kind of groovy.”
- “The soundtrack is excellent, and I would love to have it added on Steam or something.”
- “The music is a little bit odd at first, being 80's kind of horror synth music if you funked it up a tad and made it kinda groovy.”
- “Lastly, the soundtrack is fine, though I'm not sure why they went for an '80s synthwave vibe; it doesn't really fit sometimes.”
- “It has good graphics and music, but everything else feels so mediocre to poorly designed.”
gameplay
185 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
63%
12%
The gameplay of "The Mummy: Demastered" is a mixed bag, with many players expressing frustration over its punishing death mechanic, where players must defeat their previous character to reclaim lost gear. While the core mechanics and exploration are solid, the frequent respawning of enemies and the linear progression detract from the overall experience, leading to a perception of the game as frustrating rather than enjoyable. Despite its appealing visuals and soundtrack, the gameplay often feels clunky and uninspired, lacking the depth and innovation found in other metroidvania titles.
- “Out of many metroidvanias out there, this one definitely has some solid gameplay for not being well known.”
- “Gameplay, animation, sound design, and music are all at a high level.”
- “The gameplay is fun, exploration is solid with a lot of areas to go back to and find new goodies; I particularly like how basically all the weapons are optional, which encourages going off the beaten path for some truly rewarding secrets like the plasma beam.”
- “The corpse run mechanic where you fight your ghost to regain lost currency got turned into something so broken it can actually soft lock you.”
- “Every aspect of the gameplay was precisely crafted to be frustrating.”
- “The game itself is great, it's a nice and neat metroidvania that plays well -with lots of pros, and some little cons that don't gimp the play experience-, but the death mechanic is so punishing and is so poorly implemented that if you die after a certain percentage of playthrough, it becomes literally unrecoverable, thus making the game effectively... over.”
graphics
77 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
73%
23%
4%
The game's graphics are widely praised for their beautiful pixel art and smooth animations, capturing a nostalgic 16-bit aesthetic reminiscent of classic titles. Players appreciate the crisp visuals and engaging special effects, which enhance the overall atmosphere and gameplay experience. While the graphics are a standout feature, some reviews note a lack of variety in enemy and background designs, which can detract from the visual appeal over time.
- “The graphics are crisp and well animated, with some attractive special effects.”
- “The game's strongest points are its gorgeous pixel graphics and the music score.”
- “The graphics look amazing, and the music and the eerie tone of the design sets a nice mood for the actual game.”
- “Off the cuff, as nice as the visuals are, a lack of enemy and background variety gradually becomes evident, alongside the fact that much of the game's 'challenge' is the result of the developers cramming a given room full of as many non-threatening but annoying enemies as they could.”
- “It's not a bad game, by any means: the visuals are very good and the core gameplay mechanics are solid, but when compared to Super Metroid, it lacks the subtle visual touches, the creepy, atmospheric music, and the clever level design.”
- “The whole experience is reminiscent of a Sega Genesis/32X title in aesthetic and a Saturn game in sound.”
story
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
67%
13%
The game's story is largely criticized for being simplistic and forgettable, primarily revolving around a basic "chase and kill" plot with minimal character development and depth. While it ties loosely to the 2017 film "The Mummy," many players feel it lacks originality and fails to engage, often describing it as an afterthought to the gameplay. Despite these shortcomings, some players appreciate the thematic connections to gameplay mechanics, but overall, the narrative is seen as a weak point in an otherwise enjoyable experience.
- “I even enjoyed the story and the way it thematically tied in to the game's death mechanic.”
- “The game's characters are well-developed, and the game's story is engaging and compelling.”
- “Overall though this was a nice joy to play, WayForward did a fantastic job, the story is interesting and it feels like there's a lot to explore.”
- “The story is completely forgettable, but the combat is something of a joy with the beautiful sprite art and the banger that is this soundtrack.”
- “The whole plot is literally go here, fight something the mummy has summoned, now go here, fight something the mummy has summoned, etc. It felt like a drawn-out first act to something more involved.”
- “It's wholly unoriginal, the plot is weary, paper-thin exposition from a talking head bereft of all charisma, and the whole thing is over in about 3-4 hours.”
grinding
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game has received largely negative feedback, with players finding it tedious and time-consuming. Many reviewers expressed frustration over the necessity to farm health and ammunition, especially after dying to bosses, which detracts from the overall enjoyment and flow of gameplay. While some acknowledged improvements in later stages, the repetitive nature of grinding and the lack of efficient healing options were commonly cited as significant drawbacks.
- “With no way to fully refill health outside of new upgrade packs, grinding was the only way to keep my health bar topped up - and that tedium was completely gratuitous.”
- “Have fun grinding randomized health drops for half an hour so you actually have full health for your second shot at the boss battle that killed you.”
- “The save stations don't restore your health, so the only way to get your health back is to farm enemies for a couple of minutes, which isn't really fun and makes death overly punishing in a tedious way.”
replayability
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
45%
41%
Overall, the game's replayability is largely criticized, with many reviewers noting a lack of new-game plus options, unlockables, and difficulty settings, resulting in minimal incentive to replay. While a few players mention some level of replayability through different weapons and upgrades, the consensus leans towards the game being short and linear, offering little to no replay value. Consequently, it is often recommended only at a discounted price.
- “Replayability: the game offers some replayability, with the ability to replay levels and try different weapons and upgrades.”
- “The game's procedurally generated levels and difficulty modes also add to the game's replayability.”
- “This game is far from perfect, and it is fairly short, but it does offer replayability and non-stop action fun.”
- “There's no new-game plus or replayable content, so replayability is a zero.”
- “Overall, it's not a bad game, just an average metroidvania game with no replay value.”
- “The mummy demastered is an enjoyable metroidvania, but due to the short length and zero replay value, I only recommend picking it up if you can get it super cheap.”
atmosphere
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
35%
18%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its excellent 2D pixel art and haunting soundtrack, effectively capturing an eerie, Halloween-like vibe reminiscent of classic titles like Castlevania and Super Metroid. While some players feel the lack of innovation and engaging story detracts from the overall experience, the atmospheric elements, including sound design and visual aesthetics, are highlighted as strong points that enhance gameplay. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a significant draw, even if the game itself may not stand out in other aspects.
- “The game's graphics are excellent, with beautiful 2D pixel art that captures the eerie atmosphere of the game.”
- “The game's sound design is also effective, with a haunting soundtrack and sound effects that add to the game's atmosphere.”
- “It's atmospheric and creepy at times, which I think is fitting for the setting.”
- “You go from one area to the next unceremoniously, and it kind of spoils all the effort the developers put into building the world and atmosphere.”
- “And, being tied to the disastrous movie, without a good story to engage the player, it has to live and die by its atmosphere and gameplay which is conflicted.”
- “Not only is it the reason that I’m aware of this game, but as the game slowly showed itself to be unremarkable, the background music maintained some semblance of atmosphere.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag; while some players find the death mechanic clever and amusing, others criticize the overall comedic choices as lacking. The game's design, particularly the frustrating save point mechanics, is seen as unintentionally funny, highlighting a blend of absurdity and frustration that elicits both laughter and irritation.
- “The death mechanic is hilarious and clever, and you can see all the negative reviews raging about it.”
- “The most hilarious show of artificial difficulty is when they don't refill health and ammo at save points, but still fill those rooms with breakables that can randomly give you health and ammo.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with some players experiencing stuttering and frame rate drops even on capable hardware. While it generally runs well at 60 FPS, issues like choppiness and inconsistent performance persist across different devices, suggesting that optimization could be improved.
- “The game ran well and maintained 60 FPS for the most part. I fixed the VSync, but I couldn't get the frame rate to stay consistently at 60. It felt like there was some emulated slowdown, as the performance was similar across different hardware, from a 3060 down to a 1050. I had to enable VSync via the NVIDIA control panel to manage the chugging at certain points.”
- “There are some stuttering issues on my Steam Deck; otherwise, it's a fantastic game.”
- “Not terrible; it ran well and at 60 FPS for the most part. I fixed the VSync but could not get the frame rate to stay a solid 60. Maybe it actually emulated slowdown? No matter what device I used, it was present, and on hardware way more than capable. I locked both my FPS and monitor refresh rate to 60, but it just chugged at certain points. Despite using a 3060 down to a 1050, it had the same performance and I had to enable VSync via the NVIDIA control panel.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game is surprisingly positive, as it defies the typical expectation of movie-based games being mere cash grabs. Instead, it offers a quality experience that exceeds expectations, making it a standout title for the year.
- “Almost always, when a game comes out based on a movie, it is typically built as a quick cash grab, a way for studios to make more money on the name than just the film.”
- “I was expecting a subpar movie cash grab and was pleasantly surprised.”
- “Overall though, I think because this game impressed me when it had no reason to actually be impressive at all (because most movie-based games are normal cash grabs), I literally think this is worthy of being on my top 10 for games this year.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
The game is noted for its high level of polish, with users reporting no bugs or glitches and smooth controls, although some feel the controls could be simplified.
- “The game is very polished - no bugs, no glitches, and smooth controls.”
- “I experienced no crashes or major issues during my playthrough, which made for a seamless experience.”
- “The stability of the game is impressive; it runs smoothly even during intense action sequences.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable at times.”
- “I experienced multiple glitches that disrupted my gameplay experience.”
- “The stability issues are frustrating; I often find myself getting kicked out of matches.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Reviews suggest that character development may be lacking, with some users feeling that the high difficulty level is a compensatory measure for underwhelming character design and boss encounters.
- “I suspect the developers set the difficulty at such a high bar to make up for the lack of character development, such as character design and boss levels (spiders, dinosaurs, etc).”
- “The character development feels shallow and uninspired, making it hard to connect with anyone in the game.”
- “I was disappointed by the lack of meaningful choices in character development; it felt like my decisions didn't matter at all.”