Space Mouse 2

A maximalist sequel that just takes things to Bonkersville. I don't know that I like it better than the original [i]Space Mouse[/i] (or specifically the 35th anniversary release by this same developer) but there are so many great ideas here that anyone should try it. The turn-based mode is an excellent, welcome addition.

Mindware just bangs out the funnest games! I love this one!

Fun and challenging~!

[i]Space Mouse 2[/i] is a devastatingly brilliant game that I was not expecting to get as hooked on as I have been in the past few days. I'm absolutely blow away. It feels probably the closest to the feeling I used to get of downloading random weird shareware games back in the 2000's that were usually some kind of spin on or clone of classic arcade titles and it manages to mash together a lot of classic mechanics in a way that feels completely fresh. When I started I felt like the game felt the most like a blend between [i]Pac-Man[/i] and an old Windows 3.1 game I used to play called [i]Kye[/i] but there's a lot more thrown into the mix. In its most basic form [i]Space Mouse 2[/i], sees you trying to move downward as far as possible, your character is able to dig through soft walls (sort of like [i]Dig-Dug[/i] or [i]Mr Driller[/i] and enemies sort of poop out a trail of dots that you can eat like [i]Pac-Man[/i]. That basic premise is fairly similar but there are lots of other mechanics and surprises you can discover along the way. For example, there's a power up that lets you place new wall pieces and at first I thought that seemed kind of lame, but then I realized if you place a wall over an enemy it kills that enemy, and then I realized that if you kill an enemy in that way, the enemy's body goes flying and kills any other enemies it hits along the way and that was when I realized "Oh, the wand is actually awesome". There are birds you can collect like in [i]Flicky[/i] and if you get enough you get some insane bonuses. The game is challenging but when it tosses you a bone, it goes shockingly big and that's a real blast. The various levels you go through are packed with detail and there's always something surprising and fun at every section of every level. One charming aspect of classic arcade/shareware that this game gets right that I haven't really seen in any other retro throwbacks is how there's stuff in the level just made out of the existing sprites rather than drawing a unique art asset for them. I love how the developers basically leave little messages for you along the way, it's almost like you'r in conversation with the game and it's constantly throwing these quirky fun details at you. It never feels repetitive and genuinely gives the game the feeling of an adventure where you genuinely want to see what's in the next section. Somethign that's also pretty surprising is the ability to switch the game from real time to being turn based and both modes are fun and both modes have their own challenges and benefits. In turn-based mode the world only moves when you do, kind of like how the music in [i]Dig-Dug[/i] only plays when you walk but in this case it applies to the actual game, things like enemies moving, the screen scrolling etc. You can take more time to strategize and you can theoretically get closer to enemies for more dots, but it becomes kind of a puzzle of "how should I move to get the absolute most out of this?". In real-time mode, it's naturally more reflex oriented and tougher to get through certain small spots, but you have benefits like being able to wait for an enemy to move away if there's an area you want to get to (since they arent' locked to your movement anymore). Typically when a game has two wildly different ways of playing, the balance feels off on at least one of them, but I was surprised how well it works here and how enjoyable both modes of movement are. Another aspect that makes this hugely enjoyable is the graphics and sound. They do a pitch-perfect job capturing that oldschool Namco aesthetic with the only thing giving away that this is a modern title being the drop shadow on everything. The character is surprisingly talkative for an arcade character and she says a lot. All the spoken lines are in Japanese but my Japanese is good enough that I get what she's saying and it's really fun stuff, like when you get a key she'll say "Where can I use this?" or you grab a power up and it's something like "I can't wait to use this!". There's a line for just about everything and the voicework is suprisingly really good for a genre that typically doesn't have any. The music is also excellent, the second level in particular reminds me of a lot of riffs from the [i]Pac-Man[/i], specifically [i]Pac-Mania[/i] and it turns out the composer actually did work on a ton of iconic Namco games so it's less an homage and more the actual authentic thing. Now, in addition to [i]Space Mouse 2[/i] they also include the original [i]Space Mouse[/i] from the PC-8801. I'm typically pretty open minded when it comes to trying out retro games but when you get to the 8 bit [i]computer[/i] era of BASIC games using ASCII for graphics it can be hard to find anything that's actually [i]enjoyable[/i] and not just a historical curiousity so I wasn't expecting much from the original [i]Space Mouse[/i]. Turns out I was wrong, you actually [i]Space Mouse 1[/i] is also a banger and surprisingly has the same realtime/turn-based switch. Realtime mode is so fast it's basically impossible to survive for more than a few seconds unless you're really lucky. There is a speed setting so maybe I'll try slow mode next time and see if it's playable but turn-based [i]Space Mouse[/i] 1 is actually a banger. In the OG [i]Space Mouse[/i] you're going [i]up[/i] and you can't dig through the walls without a power-up. Enemies and power-ups come [i]down[/i] from the sky, so it's each step is sort of this tactical puzzle of "which way do I go? what entry should I ascend?" to try and either avoid enemies or at least get the coin that lets you kill them. I was expecting to maybe play one round of the original [i]Space Mouse[/i] but it surprisingly hooked me for quite a bit with its simplicity. It's probably the first [i]actually fun[/i] action game I've found from the super oldschool BASIC days. It actually rocks! Also worth mentioning is that both of these games play very well on Steam Deck and that's how I've spent most of my time playing this. There is a bit of Keyboard entry needed for the high score screen but pressing Steam+X to get the keyboard works just fine. You can actually change the score entry method to "arcade" for a controller based option but for whatever reason that option doesn't save between sessions. It's an absolute shame this doesn't seem to be better known and that it only has 15 (I guess now 16) Steam reviews, because it's honest to goodness one of the freshest and most entertaining retro throwbacks I've played in a long time. It's the kind of game that actually makes me excited about gaming again. It's really that good.

Its legit good and fun. Nothing to complain about, its simple and good!

This game is an absolute masterpiece. It might be the most elegant arcade game I've played. I beat the first level (1000m) pretty easily. The next two levels are much harder. I haven't beaten the third one yet. Playing the game just to beat levels is very very fun in itself. But once you start going for high scores, the immense depth starts to come through... To rack up massive points you need to eat dots (and break walls) which increases your multiplier, to eat dots you need enemies, if there's too many enemies you risk death, if you spend too much time eating dots you run out of air and risk death, if you break your dot eating/wall breaking combo the combo resets, to mitigate this you can place blocks to direct the enemies. That's a lot to juggle in itself, but there are many more mechanics that add depth and charm to the game. I won't go into detail on those, except I will mention the very cute birds. Their mechanics are reminiscent of Sega's Flickies in "Flicky" and "Sonic 3D Blast". Despite the huge number of mechanics to juggle, it all fits seamlessly together. I never feel overwhelmed by the mechanics themselves, just what's happening on the screen (and I wouldn't have it any other way). One minor complaint: User sound settings don't save on reboot. Hopefully that's fixed soon. One thing I'd love to see in the future: Local Multiplayer with a versus mode and a co-op mode!

Sehr empfehlenswertes Spiel, insbesondere wenn man Arcadespiele mag. Das Spiel hat eine gute Grafik und schöne Musik.