Some titles have demos that allow us to have an opening window for a story that the producers are trying to tell in a short time. This is precisely what happened with me and Mutropolis. My first contact with this title was at Gamescom last year (2020).
Mutropolis is a point & click story with sci-fi outlines, presented by the Spanish studio Pirita Studio and with the finger of Application Systems Heidelberg as a publisher.
It is a premise already seen, but what distinguishes Mutropolis from the other titles?
Well, all its environment and characters have a very peculiar touch since they are all drawn by hand. It has more than 50 different backgrounds, between different locations. Attached to this, all the characters have voice acting. Well… not all, since some communicate in a different way. Some still communicate in a very old way… by emojis. Yes, yes, the emojis that we all use on our mobile phones. But how so? It is important to note that the whole story is set in a very distant future in the year 5000, where the population is already quite well based on the surface of Mars.
The player will play the role of Henry Dijon, and many of the players have undoubtedly seen his personality represented in this character. Anyone who doesn’t call himself Geek should throw the first trowel!
Henry is part of a team of archaeologists looking for the lost city of Mutropolis. Many believe that it is a legend and that no one will ever find it. The adventure quickly presents an outline of investigation and intrigue.
This is where the player comes into action. At the base of operations where the entire group is in the search of the lost city. After the completion of the first pair of investigations, it is possible to open a mysterious door that gives access to a giant mural where it can be read “Mutropolis”. Everyone is in shock! Did they find the lost land?
It is then, that at that very moment, Henri’s teacher is kidnapped.
There are then two unanswered questions. Where is Totel? And where is the entrance to the city? This is the premise of the whole adventure that unfolds a little slowly. Although the story is quite interesting and has kept me motivated to finish it, the puzzles and research side of it are sometimes quite boring, breaking all the flow that the resolution of the previous puzzle has had in the player.
It is quite common for the player to feel lost in this game genre, but in this case, it is noticeable that this feeling has been exposed to a higher level. It would be interesting to have some kind of “help” button, just to give some little hints for where to go or where to look.
As mentioned, all characters have voice acting which makes everything more interesting, since it is possible to create some kind of relationship with the characters themselves and better understand their intentions. Not everything is as it seems and maybe some team members are not quite what they seem. In other words, they may not have the best of intentions.
It is hilarious to perceive the connection between this group and their speeches. Now and then I was laughing at certain jokes. It’s what makes having the same joke level as an empty bottle of water … It’s not for everyone, but for those who like this is gold.
The story is continued and told through chapters. However, it is possible to go back to a previous chapter if you have previously saved it. To proceed to the next chapter it is, as expected, necessary to solve the main puzzle which is divided into smaller puzzles. In general, there are no secondary puzzles, just small notes where it is possible to get achievements. Even these can be somewhat unexpected, so it is important to explore each nook and click on all the places where it is possible to do so.
Mutropolis has an interesting story and captivating characters who, through funny lines, manage to connect the story points. The problem is in fact in breaking all the moments of fun through puzzles and small notes that can often escape the player. It is suitable for players who are more passionate about this type of research, who can tolerate a great deal of frustration, missing points, and moments lost between walking back and forth between different locations.
[This review is based on a retail build of the game for Steam, provided by Application Systems Heidelberg.]
