in which you play as Smushi,
a little mushroom jumping their way home.
For the most part, you jump around
a series of modestly sized environments
and solve problems for the other
forest creatures you find as you explore.
For example,
a bug needs something, but it’s high up,
and so you get it for them by platforming.
Once you solve a few specific problems,
you’ll get what you need to unlock
the next area and get closer to home.
Smushi can run and jump
and quickly acquires a glide, accessed
by holding the jump
button, and climbing gear,
which lets you double jump
once you latch onto a wall.
It’s a simple moveset,
but it provides a feeling of freedom
while also making
you use the environment to gain height.
Smushi does feature a few puzzles,
but they’re mostly exploration-based.
You need to find a thing
by platforming and exploring the area,
then carry the thing to the place
it obviously goes.
Though they’re technically puzzles,
they mostly feel like a reason to do
the exploration and jumping,
which was fine by me.
A lot of the game is designed
to elicit a cozy vibe;
chill music plays in the background,
and you run into creatures
that all talk to you in a charming,
funny way.
Nothing is all that difficult,
nothing bad is waiting around the corner,
and there’s no combat.
A lot of the optional content will give you different skins for Smushi,
and some collectibles will increase
your gliding or sprinting time.
When you encounter
different types of mushrooms,
you unlock codex entries
on their real world counterparts,
as well as Smushi’s opinions on them,
which is cute.
Overall there’s
a nice sense of exploration here.
The 3D environments are crafted
to feel large, but understandable
in a way that makes it fun to explore,
even if you know the game is ultimately
a short, 3-hour-ish experience.
There’s enough variety in those
three hours to keep the game interesting.
The colors you see and platforms
you have to work with change
as you move through the areas,
and upgrades
to your glider and climbing gear
make previously enormous jumps a breeze.
You can also sail a capybara
across a lake, which is rad.
Ultimately, your feelings on Smushi
are going to be defined by its difficulty
and length.
The fun here is in exploring
and enjoying the platforming,
rather than high difficulty.
Most players should have no trouble
completing the game,
especially given its short length.
In a way
it reminded me of A Short Hike — short,
but a fun little world
to explore on a lazy afternoon.
If you’re looking for a lengthy,
difficult platformer, this isn’t it.
But if you’re looking for a cozy 3D
platformer where you play as a mushroom,
this does all of that really well.
