Mulaka (2018)

Games like Mulaka strongly prove that Video games are not "just" for entertainment and fun, but sometimes they can be used as a tool to teach us about many different things like history and myths. Mulaka's Story, gameplay, level design, Enemies and NPCs are all massively affected by the Myth and Legends about tarahumara. Gameplay is fun, art design is admirable and music matches the atmosphere of the game. Although Mulaka suffers from some gameplay issues, but in the end, it is a successful achievement for its developers and a valuable action-adventure game that worth to try.

Mulaka attempts to present a worldwide audience with the culture of a legendary Mexican tribe. For a game to be successful in this respect, it must be above all else a good and likable game, and Mulaka fails fails to accomplish this. There is nothing particularly appealing about Mulaka's visuals, and its combat tends to get repetitive very quickly. Mulaka can serve as an excellent example for developers who would like their games to reflect a particular culture. It is important for game developers to understand that they cannot use a cultural factor to persuade gamers to play their game, at least not until it is a good game in general.

Mulaka excels at just about everything a good adventure should excel at: interesting and fun exploration, a simple but well-constructed story, and direct and effective combat. As if that were not enough, they bring us closer to a culture that is surely unknown to many of us. Quite an achievement.

Overall, the game provides a very refreshing take on action/exploration genre. The variety it gives and the many places you can travel provides enough entertainment to keep you playing for hours. The story is definitely not it’s strongest aspect but it does make up for it in terms of gameplay. The puzzles were also entertaining for the most part but they can get repetitive along the way. The reason why I say this is because it’s as basic as collecting three stones to unlock a door and then defeat the monster from within that door. Although there are segments where the game gets creative with how you obtain these stones.

Mulaka feels deeply personal. A true passion for the Rarámuri culture shines through, as does an equal appreciation for games like Ocarina of Time.