HomeGenreActionFull Mojo Rampage Preview

Full Mojo Rampage Preview

full-mojo-rampage-preview-004

Full Mojo Rampage is Over the Top Games’ newest project. The indie devs are the same team behind The Fancy Pants Adventures and NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits, two games that have won high praise from reviewers and GameLab, international video game trade show based in Spain. Full Mojo Rampage is described as a rogue-like “face-paced exploration and action game.” The game is currently in alpha status. The first of five quests and three of the Parent Loa’s are currently available for testing in both single player and multiplayer format.

Players take control of a voodoo keeper, and arms themselves with up to two Voodoo Pins that serve as initial stat modifiers. There are five Parent Loa’s that grant four unique abilities. Each Loa are inspired by the spirits of Haitian Vodou. To start with, only a few Voodoo Pins and two abilities from each Parent Loa’s are unlocked. New abilities and Voodoo pins are purchased with medals earned from completing quests and gold, randomly dropped by enemies and chests, respectively. A variety of different masks are also selectable, but the effects of the masks are strictly superficial.

full-mojo-rampage-preview-003

Being a rogue like game, death in Full Mojo Rampage is permanent. Upon dying, the player will have to start the whole quest from the beginning. The only things that carry over to the new game are the coins and medals used to unlock items, thus health management is an extremely important part of Full Mojo Rampage. Health potions are currently at relatively low drop rate and are rather rare in the in game shop. On the other hand, the potions can be hoarded in the inventory, available for use whenever needed, in the case the player is lucky enough to find multiple potions in a run. The other way to restore health is to hunt for green health orb drops from enemies and chests. To help keep players alive, all of the playable Loas have some sort of defensive ability that will help them evade damage.

full-mojo-rampage-preview-005

Full Mojo Rampage keeps the pace quick. Most areas will spawn two to six enemies as the player enters, with certain areas tending to spawn even more. The player moves around with the WASD keys, aims with the mouse, fires their staff with left click, and uses special abilities with right click and space. The controls work very well in its current state, but for those who need a little extra tweaking can customize the controls to their liking. Inventory management is a drag and drop matter, as the mouse pointer is free to move about the screen.

full-mojo-rampage-preview

In addition to the default wand that spams small balls that do a small amount of damage, and the larger abilities that are fueled by the pink mojo pool, players can pick up special weapon wands to do extra damage and equippable items that will further modify the player’s stats. These items are scattered randomly through the levels, found in chests, dropped from enemies, and purchased from stores. Inventory space tends to get a little tight at times, so inventory bags can be found to increase the amount of equippable  items. I found these were a bit on the stingy side, as I often had to pick and choose between items before I reached a store. But I soon discovered I was able to push items around like a soccer ball until I was able to drink a potion and free up some space in my bags. Randomly spawned inside levels and available after most levels, the store carries four random items and allows the player to sell unwanted items for a decent amount of gold. The well used for selling items is still a little glitchy at the moment, requiring a few attempts to actually sell the item.

full-mojo-rampage-preview-001

The levels in Full Mojo Rampage are randomly generated. Currently, a few themes such as dungeons and cemetery have been added. The level layout itself is randomly generated, but the quest within the level is not. The levels are broken up with boss battles. However, I have found the bosses so far are rather predictable and could use a little more complication to the fight.

Full Mojo Rampage is a cute and cartoony take on the voodoo theme. Voodoo keepers are child sized, with exaggerated features. The world of Full Mojo Rampage feels like The Nightmare Before Christmas met Saturday morning cartoons and had a wonderful video game baby. The loading screen art is one of my favourite parts of the game, showing off the game’s unique style.

full-mojo-rampage-preview-002

The music also reflects the cartoony nature of the game, fitting right in with the classic Saturday morning cartoons like Pinky and the Brain or Beetlejuice. There are only a small handful of tracks at the moment, and I hope the full release of the game will provide a little greater variety. The sound effects are great, though the sound of spells can feel a little weak at this time. But of course, being an alpha, these sounds may not even make it to the final version of the game.

Full Mojo Rampage is ramping up to be an excellent game. It is a simpler and more accessible game compared to most action RPGs on the market, and the rogue like qualities provide some excellent pick up and play content. The alpha is surprisingly polished, mostly lacking in content and minor tweaks. Over The Top Games may have a top quality AAA indie title growing in their offices.

Jamie Laike Tsui
Jamie Laike Tsui
Jamie is the Managing Editor at Capsule Computers and has covered video games and technology for over a decade. When not playing or writing about video games, he can be found studying law or nerding out on fountain pens and stationery.