The other mystery game I had the pleasure of playing at PAX Prime was Full Mojo Rampage. This Voodoo themed rouge-like is being published courtesy of the good folks at Nicalis, and it looks to be a lot of fun. I got a chance to sit down and play it, and found many parallels between it and The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth.
First off, let me give credit to Full Mojo Rampage for doing something that very few games have – focusing the lore of the game on Voodoo. This is incredibly rare, and with a couple of unusual exceptions, has never really happened before. Which is strange, when you sit down to think about it. After all, Voodoo is chock full of monsters, mayhem and mischief, so it seems ripe for the picking. Either way, I’m glad to see the focus, and it certainly translates to the full game. You start by selecting what your avatar looks like. This is purely non functional, and mostly illustrates your own style. A nice nod to Nicalis characters of the past can also be found in costumes. Then you select which Voodoo Deity you serve. This decides your special attacks and predilections. You can then pick from several modes, such as Campaign, Daily Quest, Survival and Survival Unlimited.
Combat is a twin stick rogue-like affair. You can find a variety of weapons to use, and they each have a different attack pattern. My utter favorite in my time was the persistent lightning ray weapon, seen above. I also found explosive fire spread, bomb rolling and much more. There’s a ton of variety in the game, and it certainly makes things that much more interesting. You’ll also notice the graphics. Though cutesy and colorful, there is a certain dreariness present that fits the overall theme. You’ll mostly find yourself in graveyards and other dark places. Enemies I fought consisted of skeletons of many stripes, floating eyeball monsters, blob creatures and many more. They each have a unique attack pattern and can pose a serious threat to you if you’re not paying attention. Another nice aspect of the game is that it features two player co op, though the second player is a much weaker version of player one, and you can revive him for a portion of your life force.
The titular mojos come into play during the combat as well. You will find many relics which gift you passive buffs and even potential drawbacks. One especially cool mechanic is weapon crafting, which is done via combining two different weapons into a new one. Overall, there seems to be quite a lot of replay value to be found in Full Mojo Rampage. If you’re a fan of The Binding of Isaac and need a new fix, it will release for PS4 and XBox One this Winter.
