The Mooseman

 Developer: Vladimir Beletsky, Mikhail Shvachko
Publisher: Sometimes You

Developed by Morteshka team, a team of developers from Russia, The Mooseman is an adventure that tells the mysterious story of tribes from a past time. Playing as a Mooseman, a mythological character that’s part human, part moose and can show you what the human eye can’t see, explore a mystical world, fight ancient gods and live the tale of its creation through the interesting legend of a people from ancient Russian territory told for centuries of history through rock paintings and old artifacts.

 What is Good?

• Graphics: The Mooseman presents beautiful hand-drawn graphics that impress from the moment you start the game. The good use of light elements, in which I highlight when shifting between material and mythical planes in some predetermined situations and the beams from the sunlight, is something beautiful to see. The overall visuals of the game are a joy for the eyes!
• Story: I wasn’t familiar with the tale of the Mooseman and the creation of the world by Yen (and, frankly, I doubt you are) so The Mooseman has been a history lesson for me. In short, during the game, you will explore the three layers of the universe, the lower world where the spirits of the dead reside, the middle world, inhabited by man, and the upper world, the lair of ancient gods, living tales of the people from ancient Russian territory. You’ll notice that the developer had an immense care to pass on this story, the story of his people, through this game.
• Sound: Talking about the music, The Mooseman presents some beautiful compositions that mix songs from nature, voices and a tribal feeling that creates the perfect atmosphere for the game.

Mixed Feelings

• Sound: Despite the beautiful work done with the in-game music, the sound effects don’t seem to have received the same attention. In fact, I can barely remember them during my gameplay. Maybe I was so immersed by the music I may have missed the sound effects

What is Bad?

• Gameplay: The Mooseman is something beautiful to see and listen to, but the gameplay is, by far, a big letdown: it is so simplistic to the point of being disappointing. Most of the time, all you do is walk (what can be done in auto-mode when you double tap the d-pad) and switch between planes. And that’s it. Later in the game, you get a new ability that works like a shield against enemies, but it doesn’t help. Even though there are some moments of variation in later stages, they don’t add much more excitement to the game.
• Puzzles: The game has a few puzzles that are very easy to solve. Puzzles like stepping on platforms or switching between planes in the right order fail to deliver some challenge to the already uninteresting gameplay.
• Camera: Sometimes the camera persists in staying behind elements in the front layer, hiding your position from your view. In these cases, the best to do is give a few steps back so the camera can relocate itself from behind the obstacles.
• Replay value: The duration of The Mooseman is very short: in less than a couple of hoursyou have finished it. Sadly, there’s no replay value for you (except to chase the missing achievements if you’re a hunter).

The Mooseman [Score: 65/100]: The Mooseman tells a very interesting story I’ve never heard about and, more than that, it lets you experience this tale. It has beautiful graphics and music, creating a remarkable atmosphere. Unfortunately, the game feels shallow due to its gameplay, that fails to make the experience more exciting. If walk simulators are a thing for you, just ignore this last paragraph: you may absolutely love The Mooseman.