The indie game developer toolbox isn’t always huge. Oftentimes we see genres and patterns appear in these titles, not because they’re exceptionally fun but instead because they’re easier to make. “Roguelike”, “platformer”, and “procedurally generated content” are all terms that will frequently give me an involuntary eye roll. Does the world really need yet another indie side scrolling platformer? My answer might have been “no” until I played Mushroom 11.
Mushroom 11 wastes no time laying out the stakes. There are no princesses to be rescued here. You are a fungal amorphous blob and your sole job is to get to the end of the level! How you ask? By erasing yourself! So long as you’re not sailing through the air, clicking on your blobby body will erase cells and cause them to regenerate on the opposite side. This allows you to not only move forward, but also to craft your body into rough shapes which you’ll frequently need to do in order to progress in the game.
I’ve billed Mushroom 11 as a platformer but in truth most of it plays more like a puzzle game, your reflexes will be tested time to time but make no mistake, this game is much more Braid and Portal than Super Meat Boy or VVVVVV.
We’ve talked about the game before on the site, made a video to demonstrate it, and then discussed it again on our podcast, so I’ll try not to belabor the point: this game is fucking awesome. Mushroom 11 feels refreshingly handcrafted, every puzzle is very deliberately designed and either differs from or builds upon what came before it in just the right way.
Puzzles are largely physics based, and you’ll be surprised how much variety is able to be mined from the game’s premise. Things start out simple enough climbing ledges and crafting your body into different shapes per your situation. But eventually things get downright bonkers, riding drafts of air from exposed vents, or my personal favorite moment in the game: trying to keep yourself inside a runaway mine cart.
I found myself stuck several times in Mushroom 11, but never so badly that I was inspired to stop playing. The puzzles are well balanced enough, and the challenge is fluctuating so consistently that after almost every checkpoint I would carry on simply to see what the game could throw at me next.
Visually Mushroom 11 looks great and the soundtrack provided by Future Sounds of London fits the post-apocalyptic setting perfectly. While the game does look nice it also tends to look a bit too similar from level to level. There are some really obvious locations to point out, but there’s also a number of levels that I’m not sure I could tell apart based on screenshots.
Of course being meticulously designed does have its drawbacks, and most of Mushroom 11’s problems revolve around its length. I bet the average player will be able to finish it without breaking out of the fifth or sixth hours, which I wouldn’t describe as obscenely short, but did leave me in a place where I was definitely still ready and willing to play more. Having said that the game does make an effort to keep you playing past your initial completion with collectibles and a timer attached to each level. Those who are interested in speed-running will definitely find something to love here. This is going to be an awesome game to watch people zip through on YouTube.
Mushroom 11 is easily one of the best titles that I’ve played this year. It’s refreshingly original and so obviously well designed and cared for it’s impossible not to appreciate it. I know the aesthetic and even the concept might be a hard sell for some but I’m sure that those who pick this up won’t be regretting it.
