We analyze Mutropolis, the first graphic adventure from the Madrid studio Pirita Studios, which exudes classic spirit on all four sides.
The relationship of the graphic adventure genre with the development of videogames in our country is curious to say the least. Despite the enormous success that the genre had in Spain, and the tremendous popularity it had enjoyed in our country since the mid-80s, it would not be until 1994 when the first graphic adventure created in the national territory would be launched. Yes, in 1987 the good folks at Opera Soft released the Incunabula Crime Abbey, and during the late 1980s and early 1990s we were able to enjoy unforgettable conversational adventures made here, but these weren’t proper adventure games. It would be the Madrid-based Pendulo Studios who would have the honor of launching the first Spanish graphic adventure, the mythical Igor: Target Uikokahonia from 94. Unfortunately, and despite the enormous success that the genre had until the end of the 90s, we saw few more incursions into it. of the native software, except for the original Dráscula by Alcachofa Soft and the new sagas of Pendulo itself, Hollywood Monsters and Runaway.
Curiously, it is now, years after the genre was considered dead from 2000, and in full resurgence of graphic adventures to the surprise of many, that several Spanish studios have opted to jump into the ring developing graphic adventures, having our Genre’s own homeland golden age of a few years so far. In this time we have had such outstanding titles as The Last Door (The Game Kitchen), Dead Synchronicity (Fictiorama), Randal’s Monday (Nexus Game Studios) or the hybrid with video adventure Candle (Teku studios) and the damned difficult Gods Will Be Watching (Deconstructeam). For this year we expect the promising 3 Minutes to Midnight (Scarecrow Studios) or Lone McLonegan. And of course, this Mutropolis from Madrid’s Pirita Studios, made up of only 2 members, Beatriz Gascón and Juan Pablo González.
Mutropolis is a totally classic graphic adventure, with pointer control and traditional puzzles in the genre, most of them based on using objects from the inventory in the right places. We really liked their story and their characters, and the humor they show off, as well as their attractive visual finish of watercolor and pastel tones. We have not liked so much its effort to look so much like the classics in which it is inspired and inherit the less good of those, with puzzles that are often not logical and poorly implemented in the development of the adventure. The people of Pirita have not made it easy for us in an adventure that is not the best option to start in the genre, since despite its friendly appearance, it will be the most veteran and expert adventurers who enjoy it the most.
Futuristic archeology
The plot takes place in the future, specifically in the year 5000. Humanity has left our planet and moved to Mars, leaving behind an Earth in ruins and almost completely forgetting much of its history and popular culture. Our protagonist will be the archaeologist Henry Dijon, one of the few who has not precisely forgotten our legacy and continues to maintain an interest in it. It will be for this reason that he will embark on an archaeological exploration mission on planet Earth that attracts his attention so much. Together with your team, you will set out to explore ruins and vestiges of civilization in search of wonders and secrets. The adventure will begin while they investigate, and after some first acclimatization steps, we will discover a mysterious door, which leads us to signs of the mythical lost city of Mutropolis, a legend among explorers. At that point a disconcerting altercation will ensue, and our mentor, Professor Totel, will be kidnapped right under our noses.
At that moment our mission to rescue Professor Totel will begin, and by extension the search for the lost city of Mutropolis. The adventure exudes humor on all four sides, similar to the classics of the genre. The cast of characters is very well worked and is very funny, so we will quickly empathize with them. The amount of references to popular culture, seen through the prism of a 5000 year old human civilization that has forgotten its past, is very comical and leaves very good moments. Without being anything bombastic or especially complex, Mutropois’s plot captures and invites us to continue racking our brains with its complex puzzles. Both Henry and his companions will leave us interesting dialogues full of comic winks and humor, all of which is one of the things that we liked the most about the adventure.
Classic for the good and for the bad
As we have already mentioned, Mutropolis is a totally classic graphic adventure. The only concession it makes to modernity is the simplified interface common today, so that with the pointer we move Henry, and by pressing the left button we interact with the different elements and characters of the adventure, either speaking, taking or combining. objects. It is striking that a button has not been implemented to highlight the interactive elements or “hot spots” present on the screen, as has been the usual norm in other modern titles of the genre. This possibility is not entirely to the liking of genre purists, and it has been decided not to implement it. Fortunately, the game does not fall into the problem of difficult detection of these elements, the dreaded “pixel hunting” present in many graphic adventures. Unfortunately, Mutropolis does inherit other problems suffered by the classics that he tries so hard to seem.
The puzzle design has seemed in many cases illogical, and is not integrated in any organic way in the development of the adventure. Most of these puzzles appear to be obstacles purposely placed by the person in charge of designing the game to hinder our progress, rather than being properly integrated as part of the adventure. Sometimes we will have a clear objective, and to achieve it we will have to perform a series of tasks each more bizarre, use objects in many cases in an illogical way and go round and round trying things. At other times we will know exactly what to do, but we will not be able to do it until we find the exact sequence that the puzzle designer expects us to follow, causing unnecessary traffic jams. There are objects that turn out not to be interactive, and suddenly, when whoever designed that puzzle considers that they are, they become so even though they do not seem to be what we are looking for at that moment.
It is true that there are some good puzzles, attractive moments of looking for information and interesting parts of the adventure. But in many others the lack of logic and coherence prevails when it comes to raising the obstacles of the adventure, getting tired of making us dizzy until we find the implemented logic. And at that moment, instead of feeling the classic click of satisfaction to solve an enigma that we usually have with these games, we feel frustration and despair that the game cares more about making us dizzy and hindering us than about offering attractive and meaningful puzzles. Fortunately, the scenarios where each part takes place are never very wide, the resolution of the puzzles being limited to that part, so through trial and error and many turns we end up discovering the solution. It is appreciated that several of the puzzles propose different approaches to the classic use of inventory objects, some of these being the most interesting of the adventure. The duration of it will be between 10 and 15 hours, depending on our expertise and what we get stuck while playing. All the texts of the game are translated into Spanish.
A journey in pastel tones
On a graphic level, Mutroplis has convinced us. Its visual finish in watercolor and pastel tones is very attractive and has personality and hook. The character animations are very functional and effective, and the settings are full of details and very well constructed. Perhaps we would have liked to visit some older environment, this being the only thing we can attribute to the visual section of the game. The visual tone of the game reinforces, on the one hand, the atmosphere of the game, and also the humor that permeates the adventure, filling the screen with winks and funny elements. The soundtrack goes somewhat unnoticed, leaving interesting melodies that are always more in the background. The best of the sound section of the game is an excellent job of dubbing the voices for the characters, in full English of course. The voices are very well chosen and marry wonderfully with each of the characters they play, and they give a lot of packaging and credibility to the title.
CONCLUSION
Mutropolis is a correct and fun graphic adventure that offers a good story, interesting characters and an attractive visual finish, but which sadly is weighed down by a very irregular puzzle design, these being illogical on many occasions and being implemented in a non-organic way . At times it seems that we are fighting with a series of obstacles put like that just because, instead of playing a fluid and satisfying graphic adventure. At first its so classic development, its humor and its beautiful staging convince, but the effort it makes to hinder us in a somewhat arbitrary and not always logical way prevents it from reaching higher heights. It is a good but improvable starting point for the Madrid studio Pirita Studios, being a recommended graphic adventure mainly for experts of the genre and players with a lot of patience.
THE BEST
- Good story, interesting characters, and lots of humor.
- Beautiful and worked visual finish.
WORST
- Puzzle design is not organic and lacking in logic on many occasions.
- Few scenarios to visit.
Correct
It is not the latest or the most original, it does not have the best execution, but it can be fun if you like the genre. Good, but room for improvement.
