Mulaka Reviews
Mulaka has some neat ideas and a sometimes gorgeous look to it, but little else to offer. The individual locations fail to stand out, and the game quickly becomes overly formulaic. The combat is too sloppy to impress, the platforming is plagued by a stiff moving character, and the puzzles are never captivating. It's a completely forgettable experience with a few really nice sights that are better experienced as screenshots.
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.
Ultimately, Mulaka succeeds in the story it wishes to tell, but it falls short in two of its primary gameplay tenets: action and adventure. Controls are fiddly, environments a little sparse, and combat inadequate. It excels in using the video game format to widen knowledge of a culture that admittedly many around the world will know very little about, but as a game to interact with, its deficiencies outshine its ideas and make it somewhat forgettable.
"Mulaka starts off promising but quickly plateaus for about five hours and then just kinda ends."
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
After playing Lienzo's highly underrated Hunter's Legacy, I was expecting a lot from Mulaka.
The team at Lienzo has built a beautiful and fascinating glimpse into an overlooked and forgotten culture that is immediately endearing. The game they built to support that, though, is disappointingly shallow and clumsily constructed. It's nice to see game development coming out of Mexico, and I look forward to what they are able to do next, but Mulaka doesn't have the chops to make the game worthwhile.
Bugs, messy combat and uninteresting platforming hinder the discovery of the Tarahumara mythology that Mulaka sets out to explore.
All in all, Mulaka takes a risk that doesn't pay off. The story and goal of the game are intriguing, but the gameplay and visuals just aren't there. It certainly does things right and will appeal to a few people, but the overall rough approach is noticeable in every aspect and holds it back.
Mulaka feels generic in its gameplay, but the intriguing themes of the Tarahumara folklore help the title to become more than just another action-platformer. The lackluster combat, level design, jarring animations, and basic plot line may not be worth the price of entry, yet Mulaka is a immensely engrossing adventure. Learning about a tribe of people that most have never heard of and playing a game about indigenous people is rare. Playing through Mulaka divulges a lot about the Tarahumara mythology and customs. Mulaka is best played to learn about the culture and origin stories of the Tarahumara people, who go down in legend as being some of the most athletic humans to ever grace the face of the planet.
It's a fine game, and a great way to honor the heritage of an indigenous community.
Tarahumara mythology is fascinating—just the break I needed away from the Skyrims and World of Warcrafts of the fantasy genre. I might never have learned about the Tarahumara and listened to an indigenous language for the first time. But, Mulaka stretches a bit too long for my taste.
Mulaka offers a truly intriguing insight into the culture and mythology of the Tarahumara people, but is let down by some frustrating gameplay issues. Exploring and puzzle solving is a simple but enjoyable affair, and there are elements of the combat system that show real promise, but some oversights surrounding the game's pacing and controls leave quite a lot to be desired. If you're interested enough in learning about the topic it wouldn't be unwise to give the game a go despite its flaws, but players looking purely for great gameplay might want to ponder over it a little longer.
While I appreciated the insight into the folklore of the Taramuhara people, Mulaka as a game is about as average as an action adventure title gets. It's got some great ideas lurking within, but the overall structure is incredibly dated and only really saved thanks to the subject matter. As a game, it's not really doing much that hasn't been done better before, but as a cultural insight, it has a lot to offer those interested.
A great story story and setting drawn back because of its playable restraints.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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.
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 traditional action adventure, ispired by Okami, that tries and tell the roots of the Tarahumara culture. The game developed by Lienzo is constrained by an all too linear gameplay, a bland level design and a boring combat system (except the boss fights). It's presented in an elegant package, it can be played peacefully, but it's not bound to leave a mark.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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.
Mulaka, it's got some quality gameplay to it yet I still had some issues with core aspects.