Do you believe in ghosts? Have you been overwhelmed by negative emotions lately? Are you stuck in a cycle of your worst traits? What would you do if these were all connected in some way? How would you even begin to tackle something like this, especially if you can’t physically see the issue either? There are many ways to deal with something like this, but what if I told you a mouse could fix it? These questions may seem odd, but they’re all I could think about as I was playing Mousebusters from Japanese indie developer Odencat.
Mousebusters is an adventure game that combines point-and-click elements with puzzles and shoot ‘em ups. In it, you play as someone who wakes up as a mouse after moving into a new apartment. You team up with another mouse named Chief, who tells you the building is haunted. Now it’s up to both of you to deal with all the ghosts and help out all the tenants. You must uncover the dark secret causing all this as well, all while being stuck as a mouse. The result is a short and cute game with a few issues.
A Job for the Mousebusters
In Mousebusters, the building you move into has definitely seen better days, but it’s the only thing you can afford. After entering your new apartment, you see the building has a mouse already living in it. You decide to go to bed after seeing it, but when you wake up, things are different. For some reason, you’re now a mouse, and you’re quickly recruited for something major. It turns out that the other mouse you saw calls himself Chief and tells you that ghosts haunt the building. He also tells you that the ghosts are increasing the tenants’ negative emotions and that only mice can see them.
Now it’s up to you to take care of them. Chief stays back at headquarters and talks to you as you navigate the different apartments looking for the ghosts. This premise immediately hooked me. It’s such a fun idea, and the game’s writing matches the energy it needs. I find myself laughing from time to time and enjoy the banter between the mice. The writing does falter at times, especially when it comes to the other characters. There are five other tenants in the building you have to help, and not all of them stick the landing.
All the characters have realistic problems, but the game is so short that they all feel surface-level. Even at the end, when they try to flesh everyone out fully, it only works for one of them. It makes the first half of the game a bit of a slog story-wise when it’s trying to break down these characters. The story does pick up in the second half, and it even makes up for a lot of the weaker character moments. I had a smile on my face when the credits rolled and could easily recommend this short story, issues and all.
Busting Makes Me Feel Okay
Mousebusters is an adventure game with point-and-click, puzzle, and shoot ’em up elements. The gameplay loop has you enter an apartment, look for the ghost, figure out how to lure it out, and then fight it. At the very least, the apartments are unique. No two apartments have the same ghost or way to lure them out. Some apartments require you to complete memory games, cooking games, and even a rhythm game. I do appreciate the variety, but there’s still room for improvement.
The ghost fights have the same praise and criticisms. The shoot ‘em up elements come into play here. You aim your gun and shoot the weak spots of the ghosts and any incoming attacks. After three shots, you have to reload, and you can only get hit three times too. I love how each fight has a different gimmick, but it quickly falls back into my main criticism. No matter what difficulty you select, each fight is easy. After a while, the fights feel like padding for playtime, and it can get boring. I never disliked my time, but I wish there was some more variety to the gameplay.
A Cute and Satisfying World
Mousebusters has a pixel-art look with vibrant colors. It gives the game this cute look that is a delight for the eyes. My praise carries over to all the characters as well. They each stand out and show so much character just in their models. I can say the same for the ghosts as well, with each having a great but distinct design. While I had some issues playing it, I never got tired of looking at the game.
In all, Mousebusters is a short and cute game that I had couple of issues with, but one I’m glad I played. I really liked the story, even if it was slow in the first half. The variety in levels and battles is nice, but they all felt too easy. I like all the characters, even if some hit harder than others. The art is a major highlight, helping the slower parts of the game. Give this a chance if you’re in the mood for a short adventure game. The game’s last hour more than makes up for the issues I had.
Disclaimer: Odencat provided a Steam key of Mousebusters for review purposes.
