It’s a dystopian future. Corporations have taken over and the world lives on the internet. Humanity needs entertainment, without it they DIE. Also, there’s a video game called Mullet MadJack releasing in this world, and it’s a day one Game Pass port. Released last year on PC this fast-paced roguelike FPS is a beautiful homage to 80s anime, excess, and mullets.
The Waifu Princess is in another castle
Robillionaire scum have stolen a waifu influencer princess, and you are tasked with slaughtering them and saving her. To do this, you’ll blast through floors of a building 30 seconds at a time, destroying all in your path. Guns, swords, and mullets are all valid tools for dishing out death. Every tenth floor is a different Robillionaire boss fight, and things may not be as they seem.
This vaporwave-drenched game has the music, graphical sheen, and old-school stylings of your favorite bloody anime from the ’80s. Developed in Brazil by Hammer95, and it’s clear how much they love anime, gore, and roguelikes. I first played the title shortly after it launched on PC in May of 2024 and instantly loved it.
You’ll start with an intense cutscene showing our hero taking a job to save a pretty lady with green hair from an evil robot. The main campaign sees you ascending dozens of floors in a set of twin towers. Things aren’t as linear as you might imagine and over time they’ve added in boss rush modes and various other content, and it’s all so damned good.
The Loop
The base difficulty and systems in Mullet MadJack work thusly: Humanity has evolved into a group desperate for dopamine. Every 10 seconds you need something to make your blood pump or else you DIE. Headshots, melee kills, kicking robots into the wall and frying their circuits, or just blasting them in their robo-balls will keep your heart from exploding when you’re on the job.
As a contractor for “Peace Corps”, you’ll retire every Robillionaire in sight, in the name of justice. Your reward for all of this? A sweet pair of fresh new kicks and the right to live through another night. The action is extremely fast-paced. It had me worried about how it would translate to a controller. This always felt like a mouse-aim type of game; thankfully, they got it right.
There is no aim-assist, which seemed odd at first, instead, there is a fair bit of bullet magnetism at play. As long as you’re close, you’ll hit, and you always feel in control as the game never magnetizes your aim onto a target. It is incredibly fast-paced by default, though you have various difficulty modes to choose from.
Story mode gives you no timer, just a health bar, and makes it more of a tight corridor boomer shooter. Every other difficulty option has a varying degree of max time available and how much each kill gains you back. The harder modes require headshots or environmental kills, and death is permanent as the toughest. Every 10th floor cleared is a checkpoint otherwise, which helps keep the frustration down.
Roguelikes are all the Roguerage
The base campaign mode features roguelike elements. You’ll have, eventually, over 50 different upgrades to choose from. You’ll unlock more as you progress, and each 10th-floor clear will reset your current build. The meta progression is solid and constant. The game isn’t overly difficult. You can clear it easily enough on normal. That is where all the additional boss rush and endless mode content helps.
Controls are simple, with a shoot and melee button on the triggers. Melee works as a dash, and you’ll use A to jump a lot. You start each run with a pistol, and after your first stage clear, you will get new weaponry to choose from. While your upgrades disappear after a boss clear, your current weapon does not, which is key as enemies take more to kill as you progress further into the twin towers.
An-E-May
I adore this game’s vibe. It’s so damned cool and full of saxophones. It’s not just your typical 80s vaporwave feel. It’s this crazy blend of classic gore-filled anime and Brazil. Cheesy one-liners fill every fight, with a crazed, over-the-top Peace Corps worker constantly in your ear.
The cutscenes look fantastic, with just enough filtering over them to make it look old but never fuzzy. The action is so frantic that I was hoping for a 120hz mode on Xbox, sadly it’s stuck at a rock-solid 60. I get over 400 fps on PC so it’s a bit disappointing to see the lack of a higher refresh rate on the console.
Finally, the music is a perfect tone-setter. From the instant you start the game and see the opening animation loop, you know you are in for a treat. Even if you don’t like Anime this shit is just damned cool to hate on.
Wrapping Things Up
Mullet MadJack is excellent in every way. It looks great, sounds even better, and has gameplay for days. It’s a day-one port into Xbox Game Pass. No matter your skill level, there will be something for you to do in this weirdly wonderful title.
Mullet MadJack
Played on
Xbox Series X (main), and PC
PROS
- Graphics
- Music
- Gameplay
- Roguelike Elements
- Variety
CONS
- Lack of 120hz mode
