Mostroscopy

As a big fan of the fighting game scene of the 1990s, I love that Street Fighter, Tekken and even Fatal Fury are finding new success all these decades later. But while it’s cool hearing about a new Virtua Fighter sequel, part of me wonders where all the weird fighting games have gone. You know, the ones where Rival Schools were united by fate and dinosaurs peed on each other? If you too are looking for something off the beaten path, then let me introduce you to Mostroscopy. It’s a brand-new one-on-one fighter where masked Luchador wrestlers take on ghoulish characters straight out of monster movies from the 1950s. Embrace the B-rate schlock when I review Mostroscopy from Seashell Studio.

While other fighting games give you street fighters, anime characters and, for some reason, sports athletes, Mostroscopy goes in a completely different direction. Taking inspiration from classic titles like Darkstalkers and Battle Monsters, this new game fills its roster with vampires, werewolves, mummies, ghosts, monster-hunting samurais and ... masked Luchadores? Oh yeah, from the moment you hear the retro music and see the film artifacts, you know that this is going to be a cheesy good time.

This is a throwback to the good old days when fighting games didn’t need a lengthy story mode that tied everything together, because all you really need is a brief cinema that sets up each character and an ending that leaves things vague enough for a possible sequel. That’s what you get with the sixteen characters in Mostroscopy. Each one – be it a ghoul, ghost, monster or wrestler – has their own motive to fight in graveyards, temples, laboratories and other scary locations. This usually (but not always) culminates with a fight against the game’s big bad boss, a character named Starman who fights in a stage inspired by M.C. Escher.

Although it’s a throwback in more than one way, the gameplay here isn’t inspired by Street Fighter or its many clones. Instead, we get a much more accessible set-up that splits the combat into two buttons – either a regular attack or a special move. In both cases, the move you pull off depends on the way you’re holding the D-pad or analog stick. For example, you may throw a fireball by holding forward and hitting the special move button, while holding down and pressing the button may unleash an uppercut.

I use the word “accessible” to describe the gameplay rather than “simplistic,” because, while it certainly seems simple at first, it never comes across as being shallow. Even if you don’t have to memorize a bunch of joystick motions to pull off the special moves, there’s still a lot of skill involved. One thing you can do is charge up the various moves in order to make them bigger and more powerful. There are also aerial attacks and a bunch of complicated combos for those wanting to graduate to high-level play. But even if you’re a casual fighting game fan, or somebody who is completely new to the genre, you’ll still have an easy time getting into the action and competing with the more seasoned players.

Of course, the real draw here are the ghoulish characters, and they do not disappoint. I love how the mummy nurse, Lisa, swings around in a metal cage and rides around on a giant syringe. The werewolf, Kitty, is also a favorite. Though more traditionally designed than most of the roster, her aggressive fight style and vicious bites lead to a lot of really fun combos. El Charro Negro is an old skeleton cowboy who comes packing a couple of pistols and a powerful lasso, while Graf Von DrakenHaussen is a vampire that double-teams the competition with his shadow self. Other characters include the actual embodiment of La Llorona, a winged demon named Luzbelle, a Japanese assassin with a samurai sword and an attack dog, and even a giant robot that looks like it was made out of an old refrigerator.

And that the charm of this game. A lot of the characters and backgrounds look like they came out of those cheesy horror and luchador movies that came out of Mexico in the 1950s and 60s. The sets are silly, the effects are often unbelievable and there’s just enough of a story to get you invested in each character. The whole game has this heavy filter that makes it look like you’re watching a long-lost movie print that was found at the bottom of an old dumpster. It’s grainy, full of film artifacts and looks like it’s in desperate need of a Criterion Collection restoration. And just wait until your eyes adjust to the Technicolor stages, which are bright and vibrant in all of the wrong ways. I loved every second of its aesthetic, but you really do need to know what it’s referencing to get the most out of Mostroscopy.

While I’m no expert on 1950s luchador cinema, I do appreciate the outlandish art design. While not every level is visually interesting, there are a few that go out of their way to give us something we’ve never seen before in a video game. And the world building being done in some of these stages is really impressive. That said, I do wish there was more to the game’s various endings. Yes, they are vague enough to lead into a sequel, but many of them aren’t very satisfying. They also aren’t nearly as interesting as the comic book-style cinemas that set up each story. Between the artwork and the horror, these cinemas remind me of mid-century comic books, like Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror. I wish there were more of them.

Unfortunately, there are other things that keep this game from stacking up with this generation’s best fighters. One of the biggest issues is that there isn’t a way to take the fight online to go up against a world filled with players. If you want to play against another person, then you’re going to need a friend and a second controller. Beyond the local multiplayer, you can go up against the computer or watch two computer opponents fight each other. That’s about it.

It's also worth mentioning that Mostroscopy is a barebones package with very few worthwhile modes. There is a training mode that gives you a chance to practice your moves and combos, though it would have been nice if the game gave the player a little more information on how to play. For example, you’ll occasionally unleash Mostro Mode, but nowhere in the game does it explain what it is or how you use it to your advantage. There’s a challenge mode that could have taught players the finer details about the game, but instead it just has you pulling off tricky combos.

While there isn’t a lot to keep solo players going for very long and the lack of online multiplayer means that the game will likely collect dust on my console, there really is a lot about this game that I like. From the characters to the art style, Mostroscopy has a lot of potential as a franchise. I especially love the retro music, which is heavy on the Dick Dale-style surf guitars. If all this clicks for you, then you’re going to have fun fighting through this monster of a fighting game, at least for a while.