Full Mojo Rampage is a roguelike top-down shooter which takes place in a voodoo environment. It’s quite a comprehensive title which features various game modes like online co-op and team-based clashes like capture the flag. Like any roguelike out there, the purpose of the game is to make your way through the various levels and upon death, start from the beginning. However, along the way you pick up various items that make you stronger for your next playthrough. The items are unique and the charm of the voodoo setting shines through. According to the developers, “In this realm only the most powerful rites and powers can provide a safeguard against evil. Dying is not the end, only the beginning to becoming a stronger voodoo soul”. That statement accurately captures the heart of the game even though it can get a bit repetitive at times due to its unpredictable difficulty.
Before I get into why this sense of repetition and borderline boredom sets in, let me talk about the loot. When you play any other roguelike, the focus is on upgrading your character. Keep on dying and just upgrade your base statistics like health and stamina. Loot isn’t really given much consideration at least from my time spent with titles such as Bard’s Gold, The Binding of Issac and Rogue Legacy. The items in Full Mojo Rampage are randomly-generated implements of destruction. You always find unique and powerful objects which elevate your playstyle considerably. It truly changes the game and that was a refreshing change from just investing in more health over and over again like in other titles. However, don’t get me wrong, leveling up and unlocking voodoo pins plays a major role in the game too. You can use them to get special bonuses and much more. However, the title definitely has a loot-focused approach in my opinion, which sets it apart. Before I forget, there’s also a rather unique class system where you have to pick a voodoo god. The amount of customization options when it comes to appearance and powers is extraordinary.
Changing the appearance of your character also plays a major role in the experience so you will definitely end up with a unique avatar to express yourself. There’s also a section where you can input certain codes shared by the developers to unlock items such as a Minecraft creeper mask. There are a lot of Easter eggs in this game.
I have to go on another tangent now. The graphics are gorgeous and the degree of polish present is phenomenal. Being a reviewer you get to experience many top-down titles and after finishing Full Mojo Rampage I started Ghostbusters. Ghostbusters is also a top-down shooter but lacks the roguelike elements. You would expect Ghostbusters—coming from a major publisher—to outshine Full Mojo Rampage but that’s not the case. The quality of this title is a testament to the strength of the team which deserves to be lauded.
Now that we’ve already gone on numerous tangents. Let me discuss how best the game is played. I think that online co-op is by far the best mode. I along with Xian, another writer here, had a lot of fun destroying all sorts of bizarre magical creatures. It not only makes the game easier, but also more enjoyable due to the social interaction. While there are multiplayer modes like deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag and king of mojo, they don’t really allow you to actively engage with other gamers despite the impressive eight-player count. If you can, try Full Mojo Rampage with a friend.
Now comes the hard part. As much as I love the game, when you die the sense of loss is insurmountable. You have to start at the beginning of the mission and just having to slog through the levels over and over again becomes a chore after awhile. I understand this is a roguelike game but closing the same portal for the fiftieth time can get rather annoying, don’t you agree? Whenever I died I felt like I encountered a difficulty spike which surprised me and that resulted in my death. I had no idea what I did wrong. If you’re going to encounter enemies like that at least provide a warning of some kind. I’m not sure if this is human error or a flaw in the level design but it seems rather unfair. I’m sure I’m not the only one who encountered this because I consider myself pretty good at these types of games. This can lead to that sense of repetition and borderline boredom I discussed at the beginning of this review.
Summary
Overall, Full Mojo Rampage is a fantastic game despite its erratic and surprising difficulty. It’s gorgeous and features annoyingly addictive music. If you love roguelike titles be sure to give this one a go. The voodoo setting is unique and a topic not explored in many projects. It’s also expansive with an insane amount of content to master like its comprehensive single-player and multiplayer modes. This is definitely a worthwhile purchase at its low price.
Asher is a games journalist, former News Writer (Gaming) at Windows Central. They contributed 1110 articles to ICXM between 2015–2017, focused on opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news: wrote over 1,100 ICXM pieces on Xbox news, hardware reviews, and platform commentary before joining Future plc’s Windows Central in 2017.