Game: Land of Mushrooms
Genre: Action, Puzzle, Party, Arcade
System: Nintendo Switch (also available on Steam(Windows) and PlayStation)
Developer | Publisher: Source Byte
Age rating: US E | EU 3+
Price: US $2.69 | UK £2.19 | EU € 2,10
Release Date: November 15th 2024
A review code was used, and many thanks to Press Engine.
Combine a delightful array of mushrooms in Land of Mushrooms, from the elegant Parasol to the flavorful Chanterelle, as you skillfully drop them into the pot.
Common Genre of Game
At its core, Land of Mushrooms is a straightforward merging game. Players drop mushrooms into a pot and combine identical ones to watch them “evolve” into bigger, more unique fungi. The mechanics are simple, but that simplicity is part of what makes this game feel so familiar. Merging games have been done to death (or what seems like it, anyway). There’s a massive market for them, but it’s an oversaturated one, which makes it hard for those in the merging genre to make their mark.
Let’s Merge Fungi in the Land of Mushrooms
The game is relatively simple to play – you start off with a pot, with a hand hovering above it. To the right, it shows the mushrooms in the order that you’ll be dropping them into the pot. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to keep merging the mushrooms until one falls over the edge of the pot, which then ends the game, and you’re left with your score.
As games go, it doesn’t offer much besides this. It’s simple and easy to play, and the only challenging part for me was beating my high score and other users’ high scores to get on the leaderboard (the game allows ranking amongst other players on a daily and weekly basis).
I like that the game allows you to see which mushrooms will be dropped next, but I didn’t find it all that useful when the game only allows 3 or so seconds before the mushroom you are holding is dropped automatically.)
The graphics are also cute and whimsical which is a style I definitely tend to gravitate towards more so that was a big plus for me.
Mushrooms Can Explode
Every so often, instead of a mushroom dropping, a bomb will explode, clearing some mushrooms to make space for new ones. This is definitely a big help when the mushrooms are piling up.
Of course, a merging game wouldn’t be a merging game without the ability to create chains, and seeing the mushrooms merge into each other is quite satisfying.
DLC Downfall
Here lies my issue with Land of Mushrooms. The game itself is simple but very basic. However, you can unlock various game modes (such as co-op and tiny mushrooms) and different mushroom and background styles by paying for the DLC.
Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t DLC itself that I have an issue with. It’s when a game, such as Land of Mushrooms, has a relatively small price tag compared to other video games, but the DLC costs more than the game was purchased for.
Personally, I would have liked to have seen a slightly higher price tag, but at least the extra gameplay modes included. I can take or leave aesthetic packs, but gameplay modes, to me at least, can be imperative to how much I enjoy a game and how much replayability it has.
Conclusion
Land of Mushrooms is a simple game with a cute design, but at its core, it doesn’t break new ground and is let down by the added gameplay modes behind a paywall. You can find Land of Mushrooms on the Nintendo e-Shop here.
Final Verdict: I’m Not Sure
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