The Mooseman Critic Reviews

The Mooseman is a unique, significant, and often beautiful indie game that proves there’s room in the video game space for all kinds of different experiences. There’s every chance you won’t have heard of the Perm region of Russia or its pagan mythology, but this is a game that places you within its traditions and iconography with sympathetic artistry.

A 2D platform game with great graphics and sounds. If its short duration does not convince you, at least it will be recorded in your memory.

The Mooseman was a beautiful adventure that gave me an appreciation for a culture I had never been aware of before. The art and story told through The Mooseman kept me extremely engaged for my relatively short time with the game. Overall, The Mooseman is a game that offers a fun puzzle mechanic wrapped in a pleasing package.

Your enjoyment of The Mooseman will come down to how much you enjoy edutainment. It’s definitely not for everyone, and if you don’t feel like reading every new page, then what you’re left with is a short, uneventful adventure game. If, however, that doesn’t phase you, then there might just be enough here to make The Mooseman worth your while.

Sadly, The Mooseman is a mixed experience. As a piece of art, it is by turns creepy and sublime. As a game, it is a disappointment. The power of its best moments is remarkable, so I hope that, in the future, this creative team will realize their attempts to implement traditional forms of play limit, rather than elevate, their work.

If you’re the type to burn through the Louvre in an hour and wait for your companions in the cafe, The Mooseman may well try your patience. If you’re more inclined to wander around with an audio guide, reading every accompanying plaque and information card, you’ll likely enjoy its sedate pace, workaday puzzles and catalogue of artefacts. A clumsy UI seriously hampers the experience but, if you’re willing to work around the irritations at its core, it offers an interesting, sometimes beautiful journey.

The Mooseman has its own distinct style but leaves something to be desired on the gameplay and fun front. It’s a handy educational resource, but not as great as a game.