Welcome to our review of The Mobius Machine, a twin-stick side-scrolling shooter that has an ingenious health system to keep you playing.

Carve your path through a vast alien world filled with brutal lifeforms and malfunctioning machines. Explore beyond the Crash Site, through the desolate Spaceship Graveyard, into the depths of the Mining Grounds, and up to the Floating Forests. The Mobius Machine is a classic 2D adventure game with detailed 3D visuals. Explore a complex interconnected open world, discovering it your own way. Stumble upon the breathtaking environments of the Isolaria moon. On land, underwater and in the skies.

Combat an array of deadly adversaries: the local fauna, infected colonists, and abandoned machines that once worked in the facilities. Defeat more than 80 distinct enemies, including the epic bosses that guard the most precious gear. Shoot Anywhere. Designed for both Gamepad or Mouse and Keyboard controls. Run and jump around while shooting in any direction using a tight control system. You can have 2 weapons equipped at any time, and use them as you need.

Acquire the gear that will make you more mobile and unlock new areas. Climb walls, dash, dive underwater, glide through the air and evolve the way you interact with the world. Collect blueprints and craft new weapons and upgrades in order to fight more effectively. Each new item you acquire will give you more options and increase your chances of survival.

The Mobius Machine is basically a mash-up of many games and does things quite well. Once you pass the superb tutorial, you are on your way to the either ultimate game experience or the hardest game you will play in a while. You need to handle your player with a lot of finesse and once you do get the hang of things, The Mobius Machine will actually become a really good game. Rather simplistic shooting mechanisms do not bother you much, you will learn to adapt to them pretty quickly.

 

What is actually the showstopper in this game, the ingenious system where you find shield energy that can be used to up your health again, but as a precaution, this is voided when you get hit during the regeneration. So you have to actually keep this in mind and not just be slightly pushing the button mid-fight, no, this needs to be well timed and well, also properly planned. Sure, in between fights or when the screen is empty is preferred, but nothing beats the agony when you get hit and loooooooooooooose all the energy you just spent.

And agony is a right word, The Mobius Machine is on the harder side as a game, with some enemies having curious attack patterns at first and yes, it does take a while to get through to them when you are still in the beginning of the game. Yes, you read that right, it does get a lot better the more you play, but let me tell you this, it is not an easy game. That aspect probably makes it a more niche side of the market, but give it a try if you like the harder games, it is quite fun!

In conclusion, The Mobius Machine is a tough nut to crack and a hard pill to get right from the start, but persevere in your efforts and you got an amazing side-scrolling twin-stick shooting game on your hands, the mouthful on that one, right?

8/10

Tested on PlayStation 5