Mutant Mudds is a "12-bit" 2D platformer game developed by Renegade Kid (Dementium: The Ward, Moon) for the Nintendo 3DS and later PC (via GOG.com, GamersGate and Desura) and iOS devices.
One day, a sentient race of mud creatures, known as the Mudds, invades Earth. A young nerdy kid named Max sets off to fight the Mudds with his water cannon and bubble-powered jetpack (and a little help from his grandmother). To drive the Mudds away for good, he needs to search for giant medallions called Water Sprites, which are hidden at the end of each level. Collecting Golden Diamonds (similar to coins in the Mario games or rings in the Sonic games) will allow him to earn power-ups for his jetpack and blaster to help reach secret areas.
The PC version added an extra 20 secret levels for players who had already achieved 100% Completion (and on October 25, 2012, these levels were added to the 3DS version for free).
The game later got an Updated Re-release for the Wii U in June 2013 as Mutant Mudds Deluxe, keeping all the levels in the original and adding 20 new "ghost" levels, adding such twists as weapons with limited ammo and Invincible Minor Minions. The new content was also added to the 3DS version, and was later made available on the Play Station Network that December. In 2017 Mutant Mudds Collection was made available on the Nintendo Switch, including Mutant Mudds Deluxe, Mutant Mudds Super Challenge, and a new puzzle game called Mudd Blocks.
Tropes used in Mutant Mudds:
- Alien Invasion: All the enemies are alien mud creatures from outer space, nearly all the levels are set on Earth.
- Checkpoint Starvation: The original game has no checkpoints at all. Deluxe averts this, though you can turn the checkpoints off.
- Deliberately Monochrome / Splash of Color: The secret V-Land and G-Land levels are done in this style. Only the backgrounds change color, though; Max and the Mudd sprites remain unchanged.
- Excuse Plot: Mud creatures invade Earth. Kill them all.
- Fake Difficulty:
- One complaint about Deluxe was that the lack of a 3D effect made things harder than they needed to be.
- The lack of checkpoints in the 3DS version, though they were eventually patched in.
- Healing Checkpoint: Passing a checkpoint in Deluxe resets Max's health to full. It's the only healing Max can get mid-level, so make the most of it.
- Invincible Minor Minion: The ghost levels in Deluxe turn all enemies into this. The only way to "kill" them is by using an uncommon pick-up that gives Max's gun 10 anti-ghost shots, and even then they come back a few seconds later.
- Jet Pack: Max has one to hover horizontally or in place. One upgrade allows him to super-jump with it.
- Kill It with Water: Max's weapon shoots water.
- Lethal Lava Land: Level 3-X takes place in a lava-filled temple-like structure.
- Level in the Clouds: Level 4-X takes place in a cloud-filled mountainside.
- Mooks, but no Bosses: Super Challenge has boss battles, but the original game and the Deluxe version don't.
- Muck Monster: The Mudds are evil alien blobs of mud.
- Mutually Exclusive Power Ups: The upgrades you get from Granny. Averted for Granny herself, who uses all three at once.
- Never Mess with Granny: The Expansion Pack allows you to play as Granny in 20 new levels designed specifically for her after you've collected all of the Water Sprites and Golden Diamonds. Unlike Max, she can use all three upgrades at once.
- One-Hit Kill:
- The myriad Spikes of Doom will instantly obliterate Max if he touches them, regardless of orientation. The actual hitbox of the spikes isn't as big as advertised, so there's some leeway for weaving through them.
- The swinging hammers in Level 5-X will knock you into the foreground with enough force to kill you, regardless of how many hearts you have left.
- Retraux: Has a "12-bit" art aesthetic.
- Shout-Out: The G-Land levels are Green Boy Color, and the V-Land levels do the same for the Virtual Boy. CGA-Land levels use the color scheme of the IBM Color Graphics Adapter graphics card.
- Slippy-Slidey Ice World: Level 2-X takes place in an icy cavern, complete with requisite ice physics.
- Space Zone: Level 5-X.
- Spikes of Doom: If it's not Mudds you're trying to get around in the levels, then it's this.
- Updated Re-release: Deluxe, which adds 20 new "ghost" levels and CGA-Land levels that only Grannie can access.
