Disclaimer: For our review, we were provided a premium version of the game, allowing for bonus cheese earned, and infinite lives.
MouseBot is one of those games that catches you unassumingly. By appearance, you expect a simple racing game with a cutesy visual aesthetic, right? Well, that’s where you’d be wrong. MouseBot is equal parts a modern tribute to the likes of Crash Bandicoot as much as it is an exploration of where developer Vector Unit can take their racing game expertise to the next level.
MouseBot tells the simple yet adorable story of a robot mouse braving death traps within the confines of mazes crafted by mischievous cats. With each new world comes additional traps and hazards brought on by new ferocious felines with the goal to gobble you up. Not a deep narrative, but it more than makes up for it with a charmingly goofy personality.
What starts as simply dodging mousetraps gives way to elaborate death mazes that will stomp, explode, grate, and slice your custom MouseBot to pieces. Every hazard is dodged and hopped over with a single tap on one of four arrows on-screen. The controls work marvelously and are incredibly responsive. Within a few levels, you’ll be taking tight turns and slipping in right beneath crushers to steal that extra piece of cheese.
Cheese also has genuine value, thanks to being your primary means of unlocking new hats and skins. Your MouseBot has a surprising amount of options to equip, and save for around four or so premium items, everything is free to earn. Earn 100 pieces of cheese, and you’ll get a random item.[sc name=”quote” text=”MouseBot is everything a mobile game should be.”]
You also earn special points for each level completed, which can be used either for unlocks, or for mid-level checkpoint respawns. I didn’t really need the checkpoints, but they were handy for getting a quick refresh rather than restarting a challenging level. It’ll be up to you how to spend them. It should also be noted that the normal game has a life system. During my time playing, I rarely encountered death, but younger players may have a harder time during the latter stages of the game.
Praise must also be given to MouseBot‘s stellar polish and performance. Just earlier this month, Breakneck was churning to hold up, while MouseBot offered hardly a frame skip. Clever management of asset loading with the twists and turns and measured draw distance allows for dozens of animated assets both on courses and in the background, offering a truly top-notch experience.
MouseBot is everything a mobile game should be. It’s tight, easy to play in short instances and for longer play sessions, simple yet deep, intuitive to control, and runs beautifully as its cute Tom & Jerry antics play out. MouseBot is a perfect opening act for 2018, and is a must-have for platforming and racing fans alike.
[review pros=”Top of the class performance.” cons=”Life system may be a turn-off to free to play users.” score=9.5]
[appbox appstore id1188032811?mt=8]
[appbox googleplay id=com.vectorunit.mercury.googleplay&hl=en]
