Game: Marsupilami 2 – Salsa Palombia
Genre: Platformer, Action, Arcade.
System: Nintendo Switch 2 (also on Steam (Windows), Xbox and PlayStation)
Developer|Publisher: Ocellus Studio | Microids
Age Rating: EU 3 | US Everyone
Price: US $29.99 | UK 24.99 | EU € 29,99
Release Date: September 3rd, 2026
Review code provided with many thanks to Microids.
Marsupilami 2 – Salsa Palombia – A Colourful Surprise
I’ll be honest, I went into Marsupilami 2 – Salsa Palombia without really knowing what to expect. I didn’t play the original game, so I can’t really compare the two directly, but I don’t think you necessarily need that experience to enjoy this sequel. What I got was a colourful, cheerful platformer that clearly takes some inspiration from games such as Donkey Kong Country, but does enough with its three playable Marsupilamis to give itself a little identity of its own. And I ended up enjoying it quite a bit.
Three Marsupilamis, three ways to play
The basic premise is suitably simple. A strange melody has swept across Palombia, causing the animals to start dancing uncontrollably, with the Mummy Queen responsible for all the chaos. Naturally, it’s up to the three Marsupilamis to save the day. The story isn’t really the reason you’re here, though. This is a platformer first and foremost, with four worlds to explore, plenty of levels to work through and a collection of bosses waiting at the end.
The interesting part is that you don’t simply have one character with a collection of abilities. Each of the three Marsupilamis has their own special ability. One can glide through the air horizontally, another has a spinning double jump, and another can use a powerful invulnerable bounce. All three can also use their tails to attack enemies. This takes a little getting used to. I had to break a few of my usual platforming habits, particularly when it came to jumping. I’m so used to pressing the jump button twice and expecting a double jump that initially I kept trying to make the characters do things they simply couldn’t do. Once you get used to which character does what, though, it becomes quite enjoyable working out which Marsupilami is best suited to a particular section.
Good Level Design
This is probably where Marsupilami 2 – Salsa Palombia impressed me most. The levels aren’t simply a series of platforms thrown together. There’s clearly been some thought put into where obstacles, enemies and collectables are placed, and the different abilities give you reasons to experiment. There are apples to collect, hidden notes and bonus areas tucked away in the levels, encouraging you to look beyond simply reaching the end. The levels can be fairly long too. They feel more like proper little platforming adventures rather than something you’re going to finish in a couple of minutes. There is also a reason to return to them. Each level can be replayed in salsa mode, where collecting fruit quickly keeps your combo going and allows you to earn more currency. This can unlock future levels and content. Normally I can find replaying platforming levels a little tedious, but here I actually found myself wanting to have another go.
Bosses
If I had one bigger criticism, it would probably be the boss fights. The normal platforming difficulty feels like it gradually builds at a reasonable pace, but the bosses can suddenly make things considerably more difficult. They generally have several phases, and while I didn’t necessarily struggle to understand what I was supposed to do, some of them felt more frustrating than rewarding. It became more about surviving a small window of hazards than mastering the boss itself. Thankfully, the game does offer different difficulty options, including an option that effectively gives you unlimited health. I did have to use this for one particularly frustrating boss, and I actually like the fact that you can change the setting rather than being locked into your original choice. It’s a nice accessibility option and means the game can cater to people who want a tougher challenge as well as those who simply want to enjoy the adventure.
Colour and Personality
Visually, this is a very nice-looking game. It’s a colourful 2.5D platformer with plenty of detail in its environments. The jungle areas obviously feature heavily, but there are also cities, snowy environments and other locations to keep things from becoming too repetitive. There’s plenty of foliage and background detail, giving the levels a surprising amount of depth despite the relatively straightforward platforming structure. The enemy designs are fun too, with various animals being possessed by the game’s villains. It all has a very family-friendly feel without becoming overly simplistic. The soundtrack fits the experience nicely as well. It’s upbeat, cheerful and generally does exactly what you want from this type of platformer.
Conclusion: Quirky Sequel
I came away from Marsupilami 2 – Salsa Palombia more impressed than I expected to be. At first glance, it’s easy to look at it and think, “Oh, this is a bit of Donkey Kong Country,” and there are certainly similarities. But once you get into the game, the three Marsupilamis and their different abilities give the platforming its own little twist. I particularly liked the feeling of gradually learning how to use each character and then applying those abilities to the levels. There’s a nice sense of mastery as you start spotting shortcuts, hidden areas and better ways through sections you’ve already completed.
It’s not without its problems. The boss difficulty can be uneven, and the character abilities take a little time to get used to. But these are relatively small complaints in what I found to be a very enjoyable platformer. Considering I hadn’t played the first game and didn’t really know much about the series going in, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed my time with it. It’s colourful, playful and has enough ideas of its own to avoid feeling like a straight copy of the games that inspired it.
Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot.
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