Mutant Mudds 3DS eShop.

This is the game that really put Renegade Kid on the map. What initally started out as a 3D platformer on the DS, eventually turned into the 2D Platformer we now know as Mutant Mudds.

Peacefully spending time together, it was just a regular day for Max and his Grandmother when the ground shook and the television went bonkers, with anchormen shouting about a muddy alien invasion. The Mudds had invaded, and like numerous heroes before him, Maxmillion sets out from his front porch to repel the muddy invaders. Max must collect the 40 Water Sprites to drive the Mudds back into space, restoring peace back to Earth.

Mutant Mudds is a kickback to the games of the yesteryear, set in it's own 12 bit style, and not afraid to remind gamers what platformers of the 8 and 16 bit era were made of. In order to repel the Mudds, Max must traverse through 5 worlds, collecting water sprites and blasting the Mudds with his water cannon, and jumping back and forth between layers in the levels. Precision and patience is needed in this old school platformer, otherwise Max will die a very flithy death.

Since he is a boy however, Max should go back home to check in with his Grandmother. After all, Grandparents are filled with advice and spoil their grandkids right? Not this Granny, she charges Max to upgrade his equipment that will make his quest easier. Armed with a Water Cannon and a H2O Jetpack, Max is well equipped to battle the Mudds, but if Max collects enough sprites in the levels, Granny will unlock a power up for Max to use. These power ups range from a shot extender on Max's water cannon, a hover extension on the jetpack, to a rocket attachment to the jetpack that allows Max to launch straight into the sky. The catch? Only one of these can be equipped at one time, so plan accordingly.

Max's jetpack helps alleviate the difficultly in the game, but the game is still a challenge. True to it's inspiration, Mutant Mudds is designed to give even experienced gamers a painful death if they attempt to rush through the levels. Level design will occasionally leave no room error, resulting in many deaths for Max, but make no mistake, these aren't cheap deaths. The levels are all packed with oversized spikes, tons of Mudds, and plenty of pits, and Max traverses through them exactly how the player tells him to. The controls handle with an extreme amount of precision, and they aren't hyper sensitive either, if anything they are stiff and slow when compared to the controls of platformers like Mario and Sonic. While the controls might be stiff, they will never let the player down. When Max dies, it will most often be the result of a poorly planned jump, not cheap enemy placement, which is more obvious towards the end of Mutant Mudds. It is also worth noting that there isn't a single boss fight in the entire game, but this doesn't take much away from the overall experience.

Mutant Mudds initally started out with 40 levels, 20 regular levels with sprites to collect and an addition 20 G-Land and V-Land retro levels. The G-Land levels are colored in a retro pea green that gamers who grew up on a Gameboy would remember whereas the V-Land levels pay homage to the ill-fated Virtual Boy levels in a deep red theme. Both of these Lands offer a stiffer challenge than the inital 20 levels and offer no sprites to collect, it's solely platforming and shooting the Mudds. It is worth noting that Renegade Kid has released a free update that added 20 exclusive Granny levels that allow gamers to play through another even harder challenge than offered in the previous 40, and the previously exclusive to the  Deluxe versions of Mutant Mudds, the 20 Ghost levels will be coming to the 3DS version within the next few months. All free nonetheless too.

Mutant Mudds looks great for a 12 bit game and really comes to life when viewed in 3D, especially when Max is smaller and harder to see, the 3D graphics make up for this and make Max easier to see. The tunes are catchy and match accordingly to each of the levels overall themes.

Mutant Mudds is a fantastic platformer that doesn't know the defintion of handholding, and isn't ashamed to show it. Fans of retro platforming action shouldn't let this gem get passed their radars, and the deal is only getting better. What started out as 9 dollars for 40 levels two years ago has turned into 80 levels and has become a better investment over time.

Overall 8/10