Little Mouse with a Big (Monster) Problem.

Micetopia is a sidescroller adventure game from Ninja Rabbit Studios and Ratlaika Games that puts you in control of a brave little mouse, looking to save his village. The premise seemed “cute” and I was looking forward to playing through this game with my daughter, especially with a premise so reminiscent of the fairy tales she loves. At only $5, I expected a fairly simple Metroidvania title, but it ended up being a rather challenging journey to reunite our little mouse hero with this family. 

GRAPHICS 8/10

In the beginning, Micetopia seemed like it was going to be a regular 16-bit pixel platformer. The first character we meet, our character Rich, is pretty well animated. His sword attacks flow nicely, and the first environment and village hub is cute in its European village style. Where Micetopia shines is in the details of the dungeons you dive into. The cave you first explore is a welcome change of pace from the village. It’s dark, with the only sources of light being some lamps strewn about and the dull pink glow of crystals jutting from the floor and walls. Enemies are also well animated and, at times, can surprise you as they dive out of the darkness (darn bats), or blend in with the environment (darn crabs and frogs), and lead to your downfall.

Where the game suffers graphics-wise, is its lack of nuance. Once you’ve seen the first few rooms of the cave dungeon, the environment can become dull. The same goes for the 2nd dungeon area which takes Rich to the forest. The enemies are new here but the level of artwork gets boring rather quickly. It’s a shame that the second half of the game doesn’t follow suit with the first half and lacks a sense of whimsy that I think could have helped quite a bit.

SOUND QUALITY 7/10

Micetopia’s music offering, while good, doesn’t offer all that much. The village hub has a calming score, but the music within the dungeons can get pretty repetitive after the 30th room. This isn’t to say that the music isn’t well made. In fact, I found it to be entertaining during my first few listens. I think adding just a few more tracks to the game could have made the experience better overall and made it seem less mundane as we trek through room after room.

GAMEPLAY 7/10

Micetopia is a very simple Metroidvania game. As my kids get older, I plan on using this game as their first experience with this game type.

For the first part of the game, you can attack and jump (double jump being the first upgrade that you get). You can eventually get a bow and attack from range (though most rooms don’t allow you to really snipe at enemies from a distance), increase your sword’s attack power, and access a dodge roll. I found that once I got the dodge roll, I could blow through most fights as I backtracked through rooms and tried to get further into the dungeon (which is a must thanks to the frustrating checkpoint system).

Checkpoints are few and far between, with death sending you back to your village and a portal opening to the last checkpoint you cleared. However, your checkpoint could have been 10-15 rooms away from where you died or potentially further if you took a wrong turn. Death comes all too frequent until you get the dodge mechanic. Enemies’ hitboxes can seem impossible to hit (darn bats) and their attacks can be outright ferocious, draining your life all too quick. It’s a pain at times and I found myself exploiting the enemy/item respawn mechanic (walk out and back in) to make my way through. At least I was able to use it as a patience lesson for the kiddo.

CHARACTERS 7/10

Micetopia’s characters are pretty average. Your character, Rich, is the standard reluctant hero. His motivation is to simply rescue the village and kill monsters. The other mice you rescue offer a little bit of backstory but they don’t do much else aside from offering an upgrade or offering to heal you. The monsters are just that, monsters, and don’t have any real character to them aside from their designs.

STORY 6/10

Micetopia’s premise starts off intriguing but ends up falling flat. Rich hears a commotion back at his village and runs back to find that all of its inhabitants have been mouse-napped by monsters. Who carried out this attack and why is unknown and never answered. Even by the end of the game, I wasn’t sure if it was the goblins or the bunnies (yes, you fight bunnies) who were the ones that attacked the village. Dialogue is more or less “collect this” or “thank you for saving me”, with one bit about why the monsters glow green (which they don’t…) seemingly blown off as a collectible upgrade quest.

OVERALL 7/10

Overall, Miceoptia is a very simple Metroidvania inspired game and a great starting point for those just entering into the genre. The gameplay is simple but can be unforgiving at times, which may appeal to Dark/Demon Souls fans on the go. The overall aesthetic, while cute and beautiful when first experienced, can become tiresome due to a lack of variety in art styling and music tracks. However, for a $5 game, I got quite a bit more out of it than I expected.

You can pick up Micetopia yourself for $5 on Xbox One, Playstation 4, or Nintendo Switch.

**The reviewer purchased this game at full retail price.