Overview – developed and published by HAMMER95 in collaboration with Epopeia Games, Mullet MadJack is a fast paced and frantic first person shooter, wrapped in a retro anime style. As the titular Mullet Mad Jack, embark on a brutal campaign against the Robillionaires in Nakamura Plaza, carving a bloody path to save the Princess. This version of the game is available for the Nintendo Switch, with a link to the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank JF Games for providing the copy of Mullet MadJack that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. I will be covering the core aspects of this release, as I don’t want to spoil any of the major plot points or surprises that the game has to offer. I will also be using the default game experience when discussing the gameplay, as there are settings that will alter the experience. Images used provided via press kit.
Story – in the far future of 2095, humans need dopamine to survive as Robilionaires are the elite. Those desperate for dopamine become Moderators, vigilantes who fight the robots as part of PEACE Corp, killing for a live audience. The latest Moderator is the man known as Mullet Mad Jack, with his mission to save the world’s most famous influencer. Jack is sent to Nakamura Plaza to save the princess, with each kill giving him that precious dopamine he needs to survive.
Gameplay – Mullet MadJack is a frantic first person shooter, where the player takes the role of the titular characters. The player is a Moderator, working for PEACE Corp, with his mission to kill the robots that have kidnapped The Influencer, a mysterious idol adored by the world. In order to save the princess, players must slaughter the robot henchman, while climbing the tower of Nakamura Plaza, facing deadly opposition on his way to the top.
The main game mode is the story mode, where players take on the challenges of Nakamura Plaza. Split into chapters, the player must blast their way through the floors of Nakamura Plaza, killing the robotic henchman that appear. Each chapter is made up of a series of floors, where the objective is to reach the goal elevator of the floor. But that can be easier said than done, as Jack may have a rather limited lifespan during the raid.
As a Moderator, Jack must have likes and dopamine pumped directly into his veins, as he will die if he doesn’t keep the rush going. During the raid, players have 10 seconds of life, which can only be extended by slaughtering the robots and exciting the crowd. When moving through each of the floors, harness the likes of the audience to extend his life. Each kill will add a second of life to Jack’s timer, but the flashier the violence, the more life that is added.
Not only can Jack use his weapon to kill, but he can use aspects of the environment to annihilate the robot menace. As there are numerous doors throughout each of the floors, Jack will use a powerful kick to break them open. This kick can also be used against enemies, sending them flying back with some of them being killable by the boot. However, the kick can be used to send enemies into fans, electric panels and more to kill them, adding a bonus to the life timer.
If players are very short on time, there are two ways to fully refresh the life timer. The first is through Life Soda, cans of pure likes that spill from vending machines when shot or kicked. But the most satisfying way to refresh Jack’s life is through a finisher kill, an ultraviolent strike using a variety of tools including Knives, Axes and Crowbars. These are scattered through the floors, with the player being able to hold one at a time to use when needed.
Time itself is not the only danger that will present itself to players, as enemies will fight back using pistols, shotguns and even as drones charging the player. Every time the player takes a hit, they lose precious seconds, pushing them closer to death. The robo henchmen and drones aren’t the only danger that players face, as there will be environmental hazards that appear the further up the tower the player gets. These include Acid, electricity and even lasers.
Each time the player reaches the elevator to clear the floor, they will be able to take a moment to rest. As the representative of PEACE Corp talks to the player, using a variety of one liners, the rep then offers the player a selections of perks and upgrades for the next floor. These include additional life time, bonuses for specific kill types, alongside special effects like explosive shots. Between floors, only one upgrade can be chosen from a randomised pool.
The player starts the game with Jack’s trusty Panther revolver, a powerful semi-automatic pistol that is capable of eliminating all threats. However, there is an expanded arsenal that players are able to pick up, with a shotgun, sub machine gun and even elemental Katana swords included in the pool. These weapons replace the Panther, with infinite ammunition, so players can blast as much as they want, but they do have to reload frequently.
At set points during the climb of Nakamura Plaza, there will be areas where the PEACE Corp signal is disconnected, disabling the timer entirely. This leaves Jack with a limited amount of life, shown as a percentage on the display. In these areas, the player will encounter the Robilionaires, powerful boss combatants that need to be defeated in arena based combat. These boss battles are tough, with the player needing to drain their battery bar to defeat them.
The deadly Robilionaires have varied attack patterns, with ranged and close quarters attacks that will keep players on their toes. But they all die the same way, with a violent execution finisher when their battery has been depleted. Once the boss is defeated, the chapter will be cleared and the player will move on to the next stretch of the tower. At the end of a chapter, a time and score will be shown, with ratings and awards based on the performance of the player.
Between chapters, there will also be checkpoints, allowing for the player to both retry and continue the game if they choose to put it down. Each time the player dies, they will be sent back to the start of the chapter losing all earned upgrades for the chapter. The upgrades earned during a chapter will also be reset when moving to the next, with new upgrades being added to the pool. This makes each run and chapter more chaotic with the expanded upgrades.
In between chapters, players can also unlock new permanent upgrades each time a new chapter is cleared. These include additional shop items, weapon power upgrades and the ability to keep upgrades between lives. These persist throughout the save, which is useful for the more challenging difficulty settings of the game. if the player does die multiple times, the game will offer to lower the difficulty, easing the challenge up for players.
There are roguelike elements with the game, including a mode that has permadeath mechanics, where a single death means starting from the ground floor again. But for those who want to take the game a little slower, there is an option that replaces the timer with the life meter. This makes it feel like a more traditional shooter, with the life meter only being refilled with soda, executions or by selecting a health up between stages.
Away from the main mode, there are extra game modes for players to enjoy with additional replay value. These include the endless mode, which pits the player against a never ending marathon through ever changing floors. Players can still get upgrades between floors, but they only last for 10 floors before disappearing. There is one life and if the player dies, then they get a score depending on how far they could get.
There is also a boss rush, offering players a timed challenge where they must face the bosses of the game, with the goal being to beat them as fast as possible. Between bosses, the weapons will change with each weapon being tied to the boss fight challenge. There are also additional challenge modes, with all modes being unlocked during play. Players can also submit their best times and scores to global leaderboards.
The last thing to discuss is the special unboxing bonus, which is an interactive recreation of opening up a boxed PC game from the 90s. This includes a manual that players can read, alongside recreations of items that players would receive in a big box. The unboxing has humorous commentary from the PEACE Corp representative from the game, with some hidden secrets and details for players to discover.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to cover the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – the control scheme for the game follows the traditional twin stick setting, where players use the thumbsticks to control the movement and turning. As it follows boomer shooter rules, the controls are rather simplified with shoot, jump and kick/dash. So the game feels comfortable in general, but when playing in handheld mode, it can be a little inconsistent with twitchy movement. It is recommended to use a Pro Controller when playing on the big screen.
Difficulty – there are numerous difficulty modes, with settings that adjust the way the gameplay experience plays out. The challenge ranges from Easy with extended life timer and reduced damage, to Hard where the time bonuses are restricted and enemies do more damage. For those who may struggle, there is the No Timer setting for a traditional shooter experience. But those who want to suffer, there is Permadeath for a brutal challenge.
Presentation – visually Mullet MadJack is absolutely soaked in retro aesthetics, with the usage of vibrant colors, hand drawn anime style art and flat sprites for the enemies. The retro inspired synthwave visuals are dripping in neon, with environmental details that make the game feel like an interactive OVA. There are also elements of Vaporwave incorporated, with the use of grids and the 3D models and classic web based advertising.
Then we have the cutscenes, which are animated perfectly, blending 3D models and 2D sprite work, with the story scenes and stage transitions working well. The quick cuts between characters, the way the PEACE Corp rep appears and more create a unique presentation style. The sound is also excellent, with music that builds the atmosphere and enhances the action. Last is the voiced dialogue, which is delivered well with characters that give things a lot of life.
Final Thoughts – I have a lot of appreciation for retro styled games, especially those that utilize aspects of different periods and cultures. Mullet MadJack nails the feel of classic Anime and action media, while also using the modern interpretations of classic 80s/90s style. The story is well written, with a good use of classic tropes that enhance it, alongside gunplay that is frantic, chaotic and has that ultraviolence that was common in arcades of the time.
This game has been brought over to the switch pretty well, with solid shooter action and fast paced bloody action. However, it does have some flaws that need to be ironed out. During my time playing it, there were bugs that interrupted play, with the software closing unexpectedly. This may be due to playing on a Switch 2, but may also be present in original hardware. This has the chance to interfere with players, causing frustrations and loss of progress during play.
Overall, this is a good game, which I had seen and played a little on Steam in the past, having enjoyed the demo a while ago. But I never jumped into it fully, until now and I did have a very good time with it. I very much enjoyed the references to classic anime, like Akira and Ghost in the Shell, alongside the references to classic Cyberpunk media. So with all of that said, I am happy to recommend this game to fans of FPS games, but be prepared for a challenging time.
In the end, I give Mullet MadJack: Nintendo Switch Edition a final score of 4.25/5. This is a chaotically ultraviolent good time, with fast paced gun play, quirky characters and wall to wall bloodshed, all wrapped in a classic Anime inspired atmosphere and retro modern aesthetics. If you want to check this version of the game out for yourself, a link to the game will be available below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE) – EU
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE) – NA
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