Mussel

Who doesn’t like minimalistic sidescrolling shooters with a retro vibe to them? Seriously, who? Because there’s this really neat game called Mussel that I want to introduce them to.

I’ve said about other similar shooters that they were minimalistic but this one definitely takes the cake. It’s so much so that you can count the pixels that make up the ship without wasting more than 15 seconds, now that’s low-res design.

At a first look, it might seem like a bit of an over stretch to make things this simple but once you start playing, you notice a few things. For one, ship mobility is slightly hindered when shooting, the game rocks a nifty CRT TV outer buttling effect, getting hit triggers some disorienting screen shakes and a few more. While it looks basic on the outside, the right kind of thought went into what’s under the hood.

Mussel is a name that’s given to clams and some kinds of molluscs but don’t expect the action in the game to drag along. This shooter is right on the money when comes to being tough and intense.

There is a lot of shooting, a lot of dodging, more shooting and fairly more dodging, let’s say that if you’re not a good shot the screen tends to pile up with enemies. There are a few power-ups to collect for temporary boosts in firepower, an extra life and so on but they disappear if you don't get to them fast enough, and that’s how Mussel takes you out of your comfort zone.

Mussel is nice not just because of the visual packaging but also thanks to its great choice of a soundtrack. It totally works and it adds even more charm to an already very charismatic game. There’s not a lot to it, but it definitely is enough.