Smells Like a Mushroom Review

There’s something to be said for wacky games that don’t take themselves too seriously, especially for third-person shooters. I would argue that many titles in this genre tend to be quite dark and serious so it’s nice to play a game where you can (and please excuse the pun), veg out and turn your emotional brain off. That’s where Red Limb Studio’s latest title Smells Like a Mushroom comes in. However, the question is if this is a fungus that you should add to your game salad, or should it stay in the dark?

Smells Like a Mushroom’s plot is suitably weird; essentially, humans have all died out and have been replaced by sentient vegetables but a new threat has emerged: space-faring mushrooms that invade Earth. You take the role of Carrotado, who is on a quest to avenge his recently deceased wife and must travel the cosmos, taking the fight to the mushroom menace. It’s not the deepest story in the world and is filled with more jokes than serious moments of introspection. Honestly, it reminded me of the old PC shooter days when you controlled a wise-cracking stereotype, making suitable corny (again, sorry) puns as they shoot hordes of enemies. 

The plot might not be fantastic fiction, but then it doesn’t need to be because we are here to kill mushrooms and travel the galaxy, and that is exactly what we are going to do! How you do that is a different question. Carrotado is joined by a pair of mad scientists, Garlic Einstein and Nicola Siesta, who have developed specialised weapons to bring the fight to the enemy. These are recognisable, with there being the usual archetypes of shotguns, pistols and snipers. Thankfully, they are each different enough from what you would expect that it's refreshing and there are plenty of more zany weapons that you can unlock. 

Gunplay in Smells Like a Mushroom takes the form of a third-person shooter with platforming elements. You move around the level, dodging shots and firing back to make sure you don’t lose all your lives. Honestly, I wasn’t a huge fan of games that still use “lives”; I get it, but it feels dated. The issue is that there is no way to get new lives during the level and, while you can upgrade the amount you start with, it can be frustrating during some of the boss fights when you must start from the beginning. It’s not the worst thing in the world, thanks to the actual levels being fun and the boss fights being relatively simple, but it's worth noting. 

It also helps that there are usually enough crates with ammo and health that you don’t die in the lead-up to the boss fight. These crates are also where you will usually find scrap, which is the game's currency. This scrap can be used to buy more ammo for your guns in-mission, but its true purpose is to upgrade weapons and items. I will say that the prices appear pretty high when you start, but you usually have enough scrap after each mission to upgrade at least one thing. 

One note: I’m not too fond of the mission hub, which takes the form of your spaceship. You’re invited to explore the ship and talk to people but it's tedious and involves going up and down lifts a lot. This is a direct contrast to the fast-paced action and kind of put me in mind of the first Mass Effect, which also had a similar lift on the Normandy.

Graphically, Smells Like a Mushroom isn’t amazing: the textures are blocky and weird, and the characters are… well, they’re veggies that someone stuck arms and legs on. However, some of the bosses look great, and the bright colours and simple design actually made playing through the levels more interesting. It’s not on the level of whatever Naughty Dog is working on, but it does what it needs to do. When paired with the voice acting, which manages to hit most of the right notes, it's an enjoyable experience and what more could you ask for?

Overall,  Smells Like a Mushroom is fun, weird, and exactly what you want from this kind of game. It has its issues, mainly some odd design choices, but I can forgive that to just veg (the last one I swear) out and shoot some mushrooms without dwelling on a deeper plot.