Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 21
  2. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. Mar 19, 2018
    90
    Mulaka does a beautiful job with his unique art style combined with a light soundtrack and its rich environments in color, landscaping and creatures. A history of the people, as well as a presentation and an easy understanding, as mechanics are not complex and the adventure does not get a bit cloying. If you like this style of game, it's time to upgrade your Nintendo library. Start with this adventure game and 3D platform.
  2. Mar 6, 2018
    90
    All these factors adding up to that feeling that those who created this game genuinely cared for every aspect of it making not only Mulaka, but also Switch more precious to play. I feel honored to now know Mulaka.
  3. Feb 27, 2018
    90
    From thrilling boss fights to elegant environments, coupled with a comprehensive control scheme and a well laid out progression system, Mulaka is a joy to play from start to finish. The unique art style, soundtrack, and the conscientious effort by the developer to stay as true to the source material of the Tarahumara means that the game is not only just immersive and fun to play, but also educational, as well. This is a must-own for those who love 3D action platformers, and even more so for those with a Nintendo Switch.
  4. 85
    While the game isn’t perfect, its ability to preserve a culture through an active medium while still being an enjoyable gaming experience is a trend I hope Lienzo and other are able to continue in the future.
  5. Apr 2, 2018
    80
    Despite its flaws in some aspects, Lienzo's passion shines through in every aspect of Mulaka. It's far from perfect, and not everybody will be able to look past those flaws, but those who can will find a diamond in the rough.
  6. Feb 26, 2018
    80
    For anyone looking to scratch that nagging Okami itch, even if it never quite reaches the same heights, you’re going to have a good time here. It may feel a tad familiar, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes, it’s just great to lose yourself in a goofy world for a bit.
  7. Mar 6, 2018
    76
    Fun and entertaining action adventure, where its biggest strength is the representation of the Tarahumara culture. The combat system may be too simple for the most demanding players, but the art design makes for it.
  8. Mar 2, 2018
    75
    This experience has a cool agenda beyond having a fun, silly time, and that makes it greater than the sum of its parts. Mulaka is a thoughtful, beautiful game that will transport you to a magical world. That it’s a world that I’ve never seen before makes the game even better.
  9. Feb 26, 2018
    75
    If you can get past the somewhat janky visuals and combat, you will find a decent action-adventure game that does an excellent job exposing new people to an intriguing culture and mythology.
  10. Apr 8, 2018
    70
    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.
  11. Mar 27, 2018
    70
    Giving life to Mexican legends, Mulaka tells the unique journey of the titled shaman in the form as an action-adventure game. Despite its simple structure and loose combat, it still manages to awe thanks to its pleasant art style and superb soundtrack.
  12. Mar 19, 2018
    70
    Mulaka is a striking and interesting adventure with a few small let-downs.
  13. Mar 19, 2018
    70
    Mulaka is a great, charming choice for the fans of action adventure genre, especially those who love the Zelda series. Filled with combat and challenging puzzles, Mulaka will unfold the myths that you may have never heard about before.
  14. Mar 16, 2018
    70
    Mulaka is a treat for the eyes that’s just fine as it is, but I can’t help but feel there were many opportunities where it could have, and should have, done more.
  15. Mar 5, 2018
    70
    It offers an appealingly unique setting that makes it something more than a typical adventure game.
  16. Mar 1, 2018
    68
    Unfortunately lacks the originality it so desperately needs to really stand out from the pack. Even though the art style is striking and bold, combined with an inventive cultural focus, the gameplay and overall design weigh it down to be little more than a passable action adventure title.
  17. May 7, 2018
    67
    It’s a shame, then, that such an interesting story and such fantastic designs are kind of wasted on a game that’s basically your standard action-adventure. Sure, you’re exploring a brightly-coloured desert with enemies based on creatures you’d find in northern Mexico, but at the end of the day, you’re just hacking and slashing and throwing spears and, er, magicking at them.
  18. Mar 2, 2018
    60
    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.
  19. Feb 28, 2018
    60
    It has a minimalist look, but is completely loaded with color and expressiveness that will make the player enjoy the story that they want to tell. On the other hand, there are small mismatches on the technical side of things and above all in the controls which makes enjoying it a little complicated.
  20. Feb 28, 2018
    57
    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.
  21. Games Master UK
    Mar 22, 2018
    55
    An homage that shows bright potential. [Apr 2018, p.82]
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 61 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 61
  2. Negative: 10 out of 61
  1. Mar 6, 2018
    9
    It is an excellent game that is worth playing. The cost-benefit ratio is good, the graphics are beautiful and it is very interesting to knowIt is an excellent game that is worth playing. The cost-benefit ratio is good, the graphics are beautiful and it is very interesting to know about a culture that was unknown to me. The levels are based on real locations, apparently. The puzzles are too easy and the combat is hack and slash in some moments and insignificant in others. Full Review »
  2. Mar 9, 2018
    9
    Great Game for the price!.
    Te cultural background and history that this game has is incredible and beautiful, i say it as a Mexican!. and
    Great Game for the price!.
    Te cultural background and history that this game has is incredible and beautiful, i say it as a Mexican!. and also the game itself is great, and although the graphics are not detailed as other games, they are fine.
    Easy moves and controls, and good boss battles.
    This have Zelda and okami influence!, so if you like those kind of adventure games, you surely will like this one.
    Full Review »
  3. Mar 3, 2018
    6
    Mulaka is an 8 hour long action adventure game set in northern mexico where you play as Mulaka, a shaman that sets out to gather abilititesMulaka is an 8 hour long action adventure game set in northern mexico where you play as Mulaka, a shaman that sets out to gather abilitites from demi gods and rid the land of these creatures terrorizing his people..
    This game is a bit all over the place, up and downs in terms of quality and delivery, but overall is a really enjoyable and hard to put down experience..
    Mulaka is a game all about map cleaning and gathering..
    There are 7 levels here all with the same goal
    Gather 3 gems to unlock a gate and move onto the next area…
    Though these 7 levels are not equal in their quality…
    My favorite levels and the majority of these levels are set in a small open world..
    and when I mean small, I mean like really really small yall
    not much exploring to do here at all which is a shame
    You have an ability know as Sukuruame vision that will point you in the direction of nearby collectables and locations of these gems but will also show oyu the health of enemies you run into along your way…
    Mulaka does a great job of spreading out its enemy encounters…
    There are enemies running all over the map, but engaging in combat is only required usually only when theres a reward at the end of the fight..
    Though if youd like you can grind enemies for their Korima as there is a light rpg element sprinkled in here as youre able to upgrade your health, magic, and spear..
    Your spear is used for flying enemies and hitting targets to unlock new paths and your magic is used for animal transformations that are used for unlocking certain paths…
    Youll run into many collectables throughout your journey that you cant reach until you unlock a certain demi gods transformation as the story progresses..
    Youll be able to turn into a bird to fly, a bear, a snake, and a jaguar..
    And youre able to call on these tranformations during battle…
    Or you can stick to just using your spear and filling up a meter for a finishing move…
    Comabt here is definitely challenging.. it never feels like button mashy busy work..
    youre constantly enagegd especially later on in the game as youre dealing with multiply enemy types..
    youll be switching between light and heavy attacks dodging and rolling and using different forms to take these enemies out..
    And to help you in combot there is a light crafting system here where you gather a material and it goes towards automatically crafting a potion for rage, health, a bomb or shield..
    and learning to master using these tools takes some time as your charcter has to do a dance that feels like it goes on for 5 hours to call in health or a shield… and these dances can be interrupted and annoyingly will use up the consumable even if you don’t get its full effect…
    The length it takes for your tools to hit you with some health or a shield is one of the most frustrating things about this game.. but it isn’t thee most frustrating thing.. that award goes to this games platforming
    As hinted earlier, not every level here is an open world styled map cleaner section..
    There are a few levels in here whos focus is promairly platforming and every one of them is awful..
    Mostly thanks to the games magic system..
    There are definitely some frustrating moments here as this games paltofmring feels floaty and unpolished on its own.. but the worst is one of the last levels of the game youll be climbing a watertfall as you switch between 2 different animal forms…
    This is made difficult by the fact that your magic is being drained while youre in form, so you have to try and angle your character right to pick up refills, but its mostly made frustrating because of how unresponsive changing into the jaguar is.. it rquires a prompt of pressing two action buttons.. one of the buttons on its own turns into bird form.. so as you can guess, mashing buttons trying to get this to work leads you to having less magic to get through a section.. which means a tonsof failing, hoping you land in water so you can respawn at the top and not have to make the climb again from the bottom…
    This of course could’ve been fixed with tranformations being tied to an action plus trigger command for example instead of two actions, but with patience its doable, and the section isn’t as long as it seems while youre doing it
    My biggest complaint though is just how inconsistent these levels are…
    the world ultimately feels so small and empty with only a puzzle or 2 to do in each, and they feel smaller and smaller.. Theres not much going on in this world at all..
    Until you finally open the gate to move on.. this is when you have to take down that levels boss…
    Each one feeling completely different from the last and are some of this games best moments…
    They break up the pacing of item collecting and enemy slaying and putting your combat and item timing to the test… The boss battles here are thankfully more fun than difficult and feel just as big and as important as the main levels themselves.
    Full Review »