It’s been a while since Renegade Kid’s first announcement of Mutant Mudds, and it’s undergone a few facelifts, but now the final game is in our hands and we’re ready to tell you all about it!
The story in Mutant Mudds isn’t deep at all; it places you in the shoes of a nerdy blonde kid named Max, who is faced with saving the world from the evil Mutant Mudds. The lack of story depth isn’t a bad thing at all, as Mutant Mudds isn’t trying to deliver a powerful narrative that will drain your face of tears. It’s simplicity adds to the game’s retro feel and reminds you that the gameplay is what’s most important.
Just like the story, the gameplay in Mutant Mudds is fairly simple as well. You jump across platforms with the A and B buttons, and fire Max’s water gun with the X and Y buttons.
Each of the game’s twenty standard levels are accessed by a room full of doors, which functions as a hub as many platforming games have. The goal of each level is to get a Water Sprite, which is located at the end of each stage’s landscape. But between the beginning and the end of each level are an army of different evil Mudds and one-hundred Golden Diamonds for you to collect (which double as the game’s currency.)
Collecting all one-hundred Diamonds in each stage will give you a symbol above the level’s door showing that you’ve collected 100% of the jewels. Next to that symbol are the symbols for grabbing the Water Sprite and for completing the level’s secret world. The symbols are a nice way of showing how much of the game has been completed, and what you need to accomplish.
Like I briefly mentioned before, each level in Mutant Mudds has an entrance to a secret level tucked away inside. These levels are made to look like they came straight from Game Boy and Virtual Boy games. They even retain the same yellow-green and eye-bleeding red color palette from both consoles. Some of the secret level entrances can be found without much exploration, but others will require creative thinking and special items to reach.
The game has three extra item upgrades that Max can use. One is a water pistol power upgrade that allows Max to blast through orange barriers. The second is a jet pack that allows Max to hover twice as long as usual. The final upgrade is a jump-boost that propels Max up through the air. Each item is obtained at Grannie’s Attic, which functions as an item shop. The upgrades are spendy, so make sure to pick up every Golden Diamond that you see!
You’re probably wondering how long it will take you to complete Mutant Mudds, and how hard it is. Well, I have put five hours into the game and I’ve just completed all of the main levels and I am only about 10% through the secret levels. During those five hours I have died countless times. Mutant Mudds starts off as a cutesy platformer, but 
ends as brutal game that, in terms of difficulty, would be right at home with the classic Mega Man games.
The 3D effect is beautifully used, since every stage in Mutant Mudds has three “levels” to it. You’ll be launching Max into the background and foreground of each level, and the added depth makes the whole thing a really enjoyable experience. I wouldn’t even think of ever turning the 3D effect off for this game! There were some minor ghosting issues in the Virtual Boy levels, but I feel like this was intentional to make the experience even more authentic!
The sound design for Mutant Mudds is absolutely brilliant. The soundtrack is all classic chiptune music that could easily compete with the quality of VVVVVV’s music. Some of the tracks are repeated throughout the levels, but they’re so phenomenal that I didn’t even care at all. The only tracks that didn’t quite do it for me were in the last few levels, as they were more serious and ominous.
Conclusion:
Mutant Mudds is a beautifully crafted retro-platformer that not only captures the feeling of a classic NES game and presents it to a new age of gamers, but it shows that games do not have to rely on heavy production values to create an engaging experience. Mutant Mudds will make you laugh, cry, and want to throw your 3DS across your room in pure frustration. But it will do so while blasting the best soundtrack in an eShop game yet, and reminding you how enjoyable a simple game can be. Mutant Mudds is not only worth 8.99, it’s worth your respect. Do yourself a favor and buy Mutant Mudds and get lost in a different era of gaming.
Final Score: 9/10
Time played before review: 5:04
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