Mulaka Reviews
Mulaka has more heart than most but suffers for bugs, glitches and frustrating combat
Mulaka is unlike anything I've ever played before and oh so very familiar at the same time. It's a game that has obviously had a lot of thought put into making it feel authentic to the Tarahumara beliefs and ideals and you can see the incredible effort that has been made to bring the North Mexican folk tales, myths and legends to life.
It's a fine game, and a great way to honor the heritage of an indigenous community.
An interesting tale honoring the culture and myths of the Tarahumara tribe, Mulaka is a charming action adventure game that is worth the try.
Mulaka is a wonderful view into the Tarahumara with a very strong and unique style. From a substance perspective though I found the gameplay, story and visuals to be OK but not gripping. The game is certainly worth a play but there are stronger adventure games out there. Performance wise there are issues though there is a stable build in the works due at the end of March
Mulaka is a great Zelda type game that is certainly decent value for money. The gameplay is good fun with an excellent mixture of puzzle, exploration, and combat. You should be aware of the bugs, and the fights sometimes do go on a bit too long, but overall it’s a great game.
Mulaka, it's got some quality gameplay to it yet I still had some issues with core aspects.
Taking it all in Mulaka is an attempt to do something fascinating, to use a video game as a vehicle for helping to preserve cultural history, and then manages to turn it into a compelling gaming experience. Rather than ending up being held back by using this as its base the folks at Lienzo have blended it together in a balanced way to be sure it serves all interests effectively. The result is an exploration of culture through a very competently made game. I look forward to seeing how they proceed from here after this promising start.
"Mulaka starts off promising but quickly plateaus for about five hours and then just kinda ends."
Mulaka achieves everything it intends to. While the puzzles are a little tedious, the complexity of the battles and the variety of tactics needed to defeat some foes make it a highly enjoyable game. The animation is cute and reminiscent of the Nintendo 64. There are a few bugs in the game but don't impact the gameplay too much.
Mulaka is really worth the pickup, and it’s definitely something you’ll see yourself going back to.
Mulaka has ambitions. It has potential. Neither of them have been fully realised in this outing, but there's something there. If it released a generation ago, it'd have been a decent offering. As it stands, there are plenty of better-made indie games in the same vein of Mulaka. Give it a shot if you're genuinely interested in the cultural aspects and don't mind a bit of naff gameplay, but avoid it otherwise.
A fascinating look at one of the world's oldest cultures that's let down by some frustrating combat, Mulaka is still worthing playing if you have a nineties itch to scratch.
Mulaka’s strength as a game comes from the painstaking effort that has been made to sufficiently portray the culture of the Tarahumara people, and, as such, there is much joy to be found in exploring the sun-baked region and learning from those that inhabit it. Endure the opening tutorial area, and, once the game starts to open up, it’s easy to become lost in its world, even with the flaws that its combat system carries. That’s not problematic enough to derail the whole experience, especially for those that will see value in the chance to learn about another culture.
Bugs, messy combat and uninteresting platforming hinder the discovery of the Tarahumara mythology that Mulaka sets out to explore.
A unique setting and art style ensure Mulaka stands out, but its fairly standard game design keeps it from being exceptional. It is still enjoyable though, and can be a worthwhile experience for someone who enjoys something different than the standard western fair.
Overall, the game provides a very refreshing take on action/exploration genre. The variety it gives and the many places you can travel provides enough entertainment to keep you playing for hours. The story is definitely not it’s strongest aspect but it does make up for it in terms of gameplay. The puzzles were also entertaining for the most part but they can get repetitive along the way. The reason why I say this is because it’s as basic as collecting three stones to unlock a door and then defeat the monster from within that door. Although there are segments where the game gets creative with how you obtain these stones.
If you like adventure games that put an emphasis on combat and feature unique visuals, great tunes, and a one of a kind story, then Mulaka is made for you. It’s a surprisingly fresh take on a well-established genre.
Mulaka attempts to present a worldwide audience with the culture of a legendary Mexican tribe. For a game to be successful in this respect, it must be above all else a good and likable game, and Mulaka fails fails to accomplish this. There is nothing particularly appealing about Mulaka's visuals, and its combat tends to get repetitive very quickly. Mulaka can serve as an excellent example for developers who would like their games to reflect a particular culture. It is important for game developers to understand that they cannot use a cultural factor to persuade gamers to play their game, at least not until it is a good game in general.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Mulaka is an ambitious title coming straight from Mexico. Lienzo managed to bring the long living Sierra Tarahumara culture into the forefront and created a solid game around it. All of the elements come together in a complete package that is fun to play. The only downside to it all is that some of those elements aren't fully realized. Still, I stand by calling this game Okami-lite. The painterly textures on humans and enemies, an ancient myth of demigods and saving the world, the Zelda-esque gameplay. For those seeking the tidbits of the Tarahumaran culture, it's a slight education; at the very least, an awareness worth the venture.