Review: MooLander

Udderly zany Mootroidvania captures hearts, all four stomachs and imaginations

Rarely do we come across a game so fresh, creative and downright silly as Moo Lander, the new 2D puzzle Metroidvania published and developed by The Sixth Hammer. 

But attempts to innovate in gaming can go one of two ways. Luckily, Sixth Hammer knocks it out of the park with Moo Lander. The team has delivered a wonderfully creative, frenetically whimsical 2D platformer, packed full of innovative gameplay and intense challenge. 

Milk, Milk, and More Milk

The story of Moo Lander is that you are an alien from the Annunaki race sent to a confusingly weird, alien-looking Earth. You must acquire milk as it’s the main resource for your planet, which was devastated by a recent war. 

Just as zany as every other aspect of the game, the premise of the story is hilariously creative and gives a perfect framework for the action to take place. 

The plot is not likely to win any awards, but there are a few twists and turns. For such an odd game, the plot could be left by the wayside. But not Moo Lander!

Shine Bright, Alien Earth

The world of Moo Lander shines like exotically coloured precious stones, phosphorescing on a virgin forest floor. An alien rainbow of lovingly hand-drawn flora and fauna populate a vibrant and wacky iteration of Earth affected by human-influenced mutations. 

Teet-massaging Visuals

The hand-drawn art of Moo Lander is gorgeous. Gorgeously creative, gorgeously insane and gorgeously coherent, making everything fit together to form a truly fresh, immersive experience. 

Animations are great too, particularly when the protagonist leaves the vehicle to repair it. And when you see all the strange little creatures scurry away after you make contact with them.

This bright world is full of adventure and weird plants and animals. You’ll want to jump in like a happy cow to pasture and never, ever leave. 

Dynamic is an understatement

Much of Moo Lander is spent manipulating the environment in order to progress. This usually feels very fresh and creative in the ways you have to make plants reproduce and perform other actions to get ahead. 

It can take a while to figure out how to get past certain areas, but once you do, it’s very rewarding and makes you feel smart for working it out, 

The game keeps throwing new dynamics at you and you’ll chomp them up like delicious, alien-brand cow treats (that’s a thing, right?). 

Combat is challenging and varied. Some enemies are fast and frenetic, easily dodging your attacks as they zoom from left to right. Most enemies can have their attacks deflected back at them. This is one of many features that make this game feel dynamic and add to the fun-factor. 

Weapons are also varied, with circular saws, small projectiles and even a ‘milk sword’ for close-up melee attacks. All weapons are responsive and satisfying to use and must be chosen for the right enemy for success to be guaranteed. 

MOOOOooosic to our ears

The musical score is relaxing but also filled with fantasy and whimsy, much like the gameplay. It is a shame however that the boss music score doesn’t do much to up the action. 

The player-character is fully voice acted, which is an interesting choice for such a small indie game. The voice actor does a decent job at getting the lines out and is humorous at times. 

The ship itself is voiced by a robotic AI voice akin to TikTok videos. This fits the character, but also feels and sounds a bit lazy and irritating at times. 

However, this may also be a playful parody or satire on the times in which we live. And if that’s the case, kudos to the devs in that sense. 

Closing Thoughts

Moo Lander is the kind of game you can’t have any expectations for. It comes out of the blue like a cow called Snowflake (you’ll see!), bashing and butting you into a euphoric haze. 

The resulting experience of this game reminded me why I play games: Not for the story, not for pretty visuals (though this has both) but for one main reason: FUN! Moo Lander is the kind of game you can tell the dev team had endless fun making. And this consistently comes through in every drop of this pure, creamy, unfiltered jug of loveliness. 

Swig Moo Lander down with some Annunaki cookies and burp like an alien today!