Have you ever played a soulslike game and gone—man, I wish I was doing all of this, except as an adorable little mouse guy with a teeny-tiny mouse helmet. Same grim atmosphere, same ruined world hanging on by a thread. Except you’re a creature the size of a thimble. Well, if you’ve had that incredibly specific thought, Mouseward’s for you.
Mouseward is an N64-inspired soulslike from Finite Reflection Studios. In it, you play a royal knight resurrected by a fallen star—only, the stars have kinda messed everything up. All the cosy and cute woodland animals are, at present, under the thumb of decidedly uncosy things like indentured servitude, starvation, and the “restless”—undead who aren’t anywhere near as smart or adorable as you are.
The loop present is pretty simple, but that’s where Mouseward finds its charm—you have an attack, a heavy attack, a block, a dodge roll, a backstep, and (if you’re using a shield) a perfect parry. This is then supplemented by cookable meals, consumable trinkets and traps, and a bow and arrow that’s used more for exploration.
Stamina management is the name of the game here. It’s very easy in Mouseward to over-extend your stamina and get thrashed by enemies. Mind, I played on the harder of the two difficulties—but it’s still deeply punishing when you muck up.
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This sort of bothered me, because it meant I spent a lot of time spacing rather than learning enemy attack timings—but there’s upgrades you can issue to your stamina bar, so I don’t see that becoming a problem in a longer playthrough. Enemies will often throw out sweep attacks you can jump over, too, so I can see plenty of mastery there.
What’s really pulled me into Mouseward is the atmosphere. Finite Reflection Studios has put together a really darling little artstyle, here—one that manages to capture the requisite gloominess and vastness of your average soulslike while still remaining lovely to look at.
The fact you’re a woodland critter means the studio’s had the excuse to put some of the biggest canopies ever above you—with sullen midnight hues and a simple shifting texture genuinely managing to sell a feeling of bigness. Mouseward does a lot with very little, and while its opening tutorial area is a little dull, I was very taken with Oaktown, which felt appropriately sprawling.
There’s some great collectathon design going on here, too. Oaktown has a ton of nooks and crannies with hidden coins and stars (which you use to upgrade your character) hidden about the shop. Ropes you can snap with arrows, hidden ledges, and—as is tradition—kickable ladders. Love a kickable ladder, me.
Mouseward is looking quite promising, a comfy entrant into your soulslike library with a unique visual style to sink into like a warm bath, even if it’s still a world in ruin with buff badgers that’ll bash your face in with a big club. You can play the demo now on Steam.
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