The Numbers! What Do They Mean!?
HIGH A great balance between cozy and challenging, plus frogs with hats.
LOW A few visual glitches and some awkward tools.
WTF I’m afraid we’ll need to use… math.
One of the best things about videogame simulation is how vast the genre is. Some will let players build vast cities, others will have them flying planes. Mudborne, however, had me breeding frogs.
It’s not just a management sim, though. I’d also argue that it’s a puzzler on top of that. What starts out as a cozy adventure to rebuild a population of frogs in a pond becomes a story about unraveling a conspiracy that threatened all of frogkind — but to do that, however, I had to breed frogs in this 2D, pixelated adventure.
Creating new batches of frogs served the purpose of rehabilitating the population, but also served as a way to provide me with the keys to open up the world as my new, small friends could be used in a variety of ways. Some could press buttons, some would open doors too small for me, and some could power machines. A few could even be used to affect the weather, temperature, or hydration levels in a small area.
Many, however, were used to open “genetic locks” — a lock that required a specific kind of frog. These existed on many objects and were used as gates to progress. As I made my way through the campaign, these locks became more complicated, requiring frogs that had a specific ancestry.
This meant that I had to be strategic about the various traits I bred frogs with, and one of the ways to accomplish this is to use mushrooms to create “magic mud”, which would then be used to alter one or more of the seven traits of a frog. At first, this was simple, but I soon needed to create hybrid mushrooms that could modify multiple traits at once, creating a genuine challenge that I really enjoyed. The last genetic lock, in particular, was a wonderful head scratcher that I figured out after over an hour of messing around with new hybrids.
As I carried on, the new frogs I made would soon start appearing in the pond without my help. This was a nice touch, and also helped keep me in stock with little buddies who could assist me with various tasks.
For those who might not have frog breeding in their veins, a quest guide and other tutorial books often offer just enough advice to get past a sticking point. All this genetic manipulation might seem overwhelming, but I never got too terribly lost or confused as to what steps I needed to take next.
Another great feature is that there’s an alternate, dreaming world that I would sometimes need to go into. This place was an otherworldly version of the waking land, but there were inconsistencies. Sometimes, a bridge was available here where it had collapsed there, or rain would fall up, instead of down. While beautiful and breathtaking, I wasn’t there for the scenery. A door could be shuttered in the waking world, but open here. These new areas often helped me find a tool or a clue needed to progress.
Mudborne also has a wonderful aesthetic look reminiscent of 16-bit efforts on the Super Nintendo, which helped to create a charming and vibrant atmosphere. The music was also stellar, and one of my favorite things about it was that it was altered slightly in the dreaming world to have a more haunting and echoing feel.
While Mudborne nails much of what it goes for, there were some rough edges. A couple of the tools it provided felt underutilized and, in one case, didn’t really work. For example, the Heater was only used for a single quest objective (and an optional one at that) but otherwise was not utilized. The Stagnator, which creates stagnant pools, didn’t even seem to work, but thankfully I found such pools in one section of the world, so I was never left hopping mad about it.
There was also a weird durability system that didn’t feel necessary. Certain tools, like nets and hammers, could only be used a number of times before they broke. This was in stark contrast to magic mud, which could be used over and over again. I don’t see much value in making these tools break, requiring players to craft new ones. There were also some weird visual glitches that I found from time to time, such as coloration and pixel placements getting messed up. These broke my immersion, and were a bit of a sore spot.
Despite those small issues, Mudborne was charming, and offered a level of challenge that kept me on my toes. The beautiful world, fantastic gameplay, and lovely soundtrack were all compelling and kept me moving forward as I kept exploring, discovering, and creating every kind of frog breed.
Sometimes, a frog is all one needs to have a truly exceptional adventure.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Disclosures: This game is developed by ellraiser and TNgineers and published by Future Friends Games. It is currently available on PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher, and reviewed on PC. Approximately 49 hours was devoted to the game, and it was completed. There is no multiplayer mode.
Parents: This game has no ESRB rating. However, the game does not include any violence, sexual imagery, or anything else that would be considered harmful to younger players or merit parental guidance. The word “ass” appears in the credits.
Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind options.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game offers subtitles. Text cannot be resized. This game is not fully accessible. Some text boxes could be difficult to read at times, and resizing would have helped make this text more readable. Some objects in game had text that could also be difficult to read at times.
Remappable Controls: Yes, this game’s controls are partially remappable. PC controls can be remapped, but controller inputs cannot.
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