Bargain Corner returns as we once again perused the Nintendo eShop to find a cheap game to play and talk about. This time around we chose the Vector Unit game MouseBot: Escape from CatLab which is currently available for the low, low price of 5 euros. We’ve delved a bit niche with this game, it doesn’t even have a proper MetaCritic page, but that won’t stop us from playing it.
MouseBot: Escape from CatLab
Gameplay
MouseBot follows a very simple game design, you steer a robotic mouse through a course to collect cheese and avoid destruction. This simple premise is built on with great level designs that get increasingly more challenging without ever feeling impossible.
The game does add in some other mechanics as you progress through the stages such as the ability to jump, and the ability to duke left or right. These mechanics add so much to the game as they open up entirely new challenges for you to overcome, figuring out how to use these abilities to their fullest to survive is a challenge, but an engaging one. What helps in this regard is how well the game controls, the new mechanics control just as well as the base steering so everything feels controlled at all times.
While the steering and obstacles are the focus of the game the developers did a great job of adding little details to the game. Seeing the different cat scientists analyzing your path as they seek to destroy you is an added touch that I really appreciated. The sounds that your robot makes are also something worth mentioning. Your robot makes various bleeps and bloops, and when jumping or duking makes a noise that just fits the movement, it’s a small detail but once that adds to the overall atmosphere of the game.
Is It Playable
Very! This game has no issues, an impressive feat for a game selling for such a low price. The visuals, the hitbox, the steering, all of it is perfect.
The steering being done properly is very, very important for this game. The developers did a great job of making it feel loose enough that it’s not wooden, but tight enough that things never feel like they’re out of control. I’m generally bad at steering in games but I had no issues with MouseBot: Escape from CatLab.
Will We Play It Again
Most definitely. Putting the game down to write this article was already difficult enough. Once we beat the final boss we get to play through an arcade mode that promises us endless MouseBot fun!
