Mortal Meal

This has a spooky and surreal vibe for all your ps1 horror needs. However, varied level design and an intriguing story keep things going.

Loved this!! So few games out there that represent queer romance in an authentic way. Beautiful melancholy story of grief and love. I appreciate that they were not afraid to add moments of humor though out and managed to not have it distract from the serious themes. Love playing horror games that use saturated colors (desaturated and gray is so overused). The way they portrayed Death (or Grim Reaper?) with shifting faces felt original and eerie. Overall, would def recommend to anyone who enjoys horror and love mixed together.

I think this is my favorite game of 2023? Or close to it. I have spent about as much time thinking about what I played as I have playing it. That's one of the highest compliments I can think to give a game. Mortal Meal is a short, perfectly paced, perfectly balanced horror/romance/comedy wrapped around it's own idea of 3D platforming/adventure. It's tough to say too much about it without spoiling anything, but it's equal parts charming, dark, morbid, and silly. Part of that is the PS1 horror aesthetic, sure, which you see a lot in indie horror games, but I think much more of that comes from the very human way its simple story is told, and the effective and balanced use of comedy and dread all at the same time. I was also surprised to see how much -stuff- there is post game, little Easter eggs and the like I absolutely did not expect this game to have. It's not perfect. There's some end-game enemy path-finding I find particularly regrettable, but it's nothing that can't be overcome, and it's never at the cost of the game's experience. If you love a ghost story that knows exactly what it wants to say and says it in an unrestrained, wild way only a 3D indie platformer can, you absolutely need to give about 4 hours of your life to Mortal Meal.

Mortal Meal is incredibly straightforward with its art style, music, and general themes. It's a relatively short experience and a lot of what you see in the trailer and screenshots will be accurate representations of the themes and settings within the actual game. What you WON'T see in those screenshots however, is the length to which the developers went to breathe life into each scene and environment. From specific and playful musical tracks for different locations, to inventive little details like photos and posters, various elements go into making each location feel unique and individually planned. If you're a fan of the Psychonauts series of games, you'll find familiar territory here with environments and enemies being reflections of the player and other characters emotions and actions. There are a few frustrating sequences [spoiler] Like encountering the one-hit kill antagonist that can teleport at random times in the checkpoint-free ending gauntlet [/spoiler] but respawns are quick and you never lose more than a minute or two of progress. Like another review mentions, the cost-to-time ratio isn't particularly favorable with my play-through coming in at a little under two hours. But, there are incentives to replay the game in the form of cheat codes hidden around the world that unlock aesthetic or difficulty-modifying changes. All-in-all it's well done. There's that same level of competency and care displayed in Goblin Council's first game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/729300/Cleansuit/ But you can really tell that they've gotten much more familiar and comfortable with animating, texturing, and creating 3d objects. If you're a fan of low-poly art styles, bite-size psychological horror games, or surprisingly-heartfelt storytelling, then give this one a shot.

Unique horror game that tells its own story without borrowing too heavily from other classic games. Short indie experience with exploration, puzzles, & evading various enemies. Great '90s vibes and a good balance of serious topics with humor.

Goofy, surreal, and at times full of tension. This is a nice little experience. Solid story, very fun writing, really great soundtrack and visuals. Gameplay feels like it knows what it is and wants to be and onboards the player well. Unlockable cheats and fun little easter eggs as well as other little touches are a very welcome bonus. Solid recommend.

This game has been rather interestin'. You are essentially a ghost lookin' to figure out how ya died all while bein' pursued by this other ghostly entity. Very solid title as I have a soft spot for nostalgia like games with the PS1 aesthetic. Gameplay here: https://youtu.be/plKWZveo0iE

very short, but very sweet, and with more than enough incentive to replay! does an excellent job of blending comedy with heart

Such a brilliantly crafted game with a lot going for it. Mortal Meal is a game about loss and grief, and overcoming that grief. It's an engaging and touching story with some clever gameplay that gets the player to think about how to advance the plot just using the clues around them. They absolutely nailed the PS1 aesthetic too, the environments and character design is really great. Plus, the hidden CDs you can find throughout the game unlock cool cheats that offer good replayability.

Pros: * Great music that fits the atmosphere of the different sections well * Puzzles are largely accessible and fun * Good story. I laughed, I cried, I made soup * Not too lengthy or too short for the price * Big head guy Cons: * Can't feed my soup to big head guy * I'm hot garbage at the wire puzzle