Top-notch 2D platforming fun

2D platformers are some of my favourite games and Marsupilami 2 - Salsa Palombia is a sequel that completely blew me away so let's get to it.

Nothing causes more disappointment than hype so at Video Chums, we avoid hyping games prior to playing them for ourselves. 🤩

Let's swing into action, Hope! Meet Twister, Hope, and Punch

Marsupilami 2 - Salsa Palombia follows in the footsteps of its predecessor Marsupilami: Hoobadventure which is an excellent game on its own yet this sequel adds so much to the formula that it's incredibly impressive. For starters, you play as 3 furry chums named Twister, Hope, and Punch that you can swap between on the fly with each stage letting you play as a pair of them. Their abilities let you air-dash and hover, double-jump and bounce off some dangerous surfaces, and turn into a ball and bounce around on basically any surface, respectively. 😺 v1d30chumz cyzttywqtyzzq

The resulting gameplay is phenomenally fun and switching up your character to tackle distinct challenges, make certain segments easier, or traverse tough terrain is always a joy and it's so super-intuitive, too. Mashing a button to speed ahead, tapping jump in perfect timing, smashing down into the ground, and attacking is made super-easy for any character but the challenges that wait ahead can be tough! 🏆

Hurry up and climb, Twister! Vibrant loveliness

With the intuitive and varied gameplay in-place, I'm very happy with how gorgeous of a game Marsupilami 2 - Salsa Palombia is with absolutely beautifully detailed stages set in 4 unique worlds that are generally modelled after the jungle, a city, frozen mountainsides, and an after-dark carnival. I say "generally" because there's so much visual variety within each world that it's just awesome. Throw in different times of day, cinematic scenarios that make certain segments super-memorable, and outstandingly great music that occasionally adapts to the gameplay to make some truly stand-out moments and you're left with one immersive campaign that always feels fresh. The musical theme of the story where animals are hypnotised shines, too, with genre-themed bosses that represent rock, jazz, electro, and disco; so fun! 👩‍🎤

Twister's hover move sure is adorable, isn't it? Brilliant stage designs

There's so much packed into Marsupilami 2 - Salsa Palombia that it's ridiculous. Now, I should mention that it isn't a particularly long game with only 4 worlds and I wish it was twice the length to match what you'd find in a first-party Nintendo game but the level of quality throughout is so high that it easily rivals those games which is undeniably impressive. Anyway, the stage designs are where things really start to get interesting because there's so much variety and distinct scenarios that you'll constantly be surprised by what's next and each character's skills will definitely be used in very clever ways. To give you a taste, you'll end up chasing electric currents before doors close, climbing a building that's collapsing, avoiding trains that rush through the bottom of a stage, trying to constantly move in the cold so you don't take damage, sliding on ice rails, riding a roller coaster, hopping between vanishing boats, and fighting some super-tough bosses, too. 🎶

All of these moments are accentuated with optional challenges that'll have you do things like carefully hop on enemies' heads to snag some extra fruit, reveal hidden rooms that may contain much-needed musical notes that unlock the boss fights, and one level even has you explore it freely until you're satisfied then you grab that always delicious goal fruit once you've discovered everything. You can tell how much love and attention to detail was poured into development and the level of challenge throughout is spot-on for 2D platformer fans to test their skills. 🏅

Is it Christmas already?! The thrills of salsa mode

The main goal in Marsupilami 2 - Salsa Palombia is to collect musical notes but you'll also have to amass a wealth of fruits because you'll need to exchange them to unlock extra levels that let you get even more musical notes. Thankfully, to inject a massive amount of rewarding challenge into every single main stage, you can take them on again in salsa mode which tasks you with zipping ahead as fast as you can and as you collect fruits, a multiplier increases but you have to constantly collect them because if you're not fast and efficient enough, the multiplier will reset. Chaining an entire stage is so super-satisfying and I absolutely adored this additional challenge mode as it makes the gameplay feel like an old-school Sonic game but much more unforgiving. And, hey, it's a great way to earn fruit, too! 🍑

These snowfolks don't have to lose their heads over little ol' me Master the dojo

Another element that you'll discover as you play Marsupilami 2 - Salsa Palombia is the single-screen dojo challenges which you can find in nearly every stage and they get incredibly tough. These grant you more musical notes upon completion and will have you do things like collect everything, defeat every enemy, or merely survive until the timer's up. They're extremely fun and once you unlock certain groups of them, you can challenge cups where you try and master a series of 3 dojo challenges which grants you a bunch of extra notes. 🎵

On top of all this, you can play Marsupilami 2 - Salsa Palombia cooperatively with a friend where each player controls a different character which adds a lot of value and there's a whole competitive component, too, where you can enjoy versus versions of the dojo challenges where you choose your character so it can even turn into a party game. With 4 modes that have you try to survive, hold an object, bounce a ball into your opponent's net, and cover more ground than your friend, you're left with loads of enjoyable good times to be had with a chum. 🛋️

Some of these dojo challenges will make you feel like a platforming sensei

If you enjoy 2D platformers even a little bit then you need to play Marsupilami 2 - Salsa Palombia as it's simply one of the best examples of the genre ever made. The amount of cuteness, rewarding challenges, and a whole clever multiplayer component make it a definite must-play.

Watch A.J. play Marsupilami 2 - Salsa Palombia 7:15

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Filed under: Reviews › PlayStation 5.