Alright, here we go.
Playtime: I don't remember exactly, but around 20+ minutes (about one and a half runs). I played the Honey Shroom.
First Impression
I really liked the idea of controlling a mycelium in a roguelike-style game. The concept immediately drew me in. Overall, nothing was confusing, except for the phosphorus mechanic at first. I wasn't sure what it was or why I needed it.
Gameplay
The controls felt fine and were easy to understand with the standard mouse controls. The game was unfortunately quite laggy on my low-end Lenovo Windows laptop (Intel Celeron), so it didn't always feel very responsive. Luckily, the genre doesn't require fast reactions, so it was still playable. I probably had around 3 FPS, but thanks to delta time it still worked.
Level Design & Progression
I never got stuck. The short tutorial explained everything I needed, so I always knew what to expect from new mechanics and levels. Progression felt smooth and nothing was confusing.
Visuals & Audio
I really liked the overall theme, especially the title font—it looked like mycelium itself, which was a nice touch. The only thing that stood out to me was the mix between the realistic HUD artwork and the simpler in-game visuals. They didn't quite match. The playing card art looked great, though. The music wasn't very noticeable, but the sound effect when your mycelium grows was satisfying.
Difficulty
The difficulty felt quite low, although I only played through the first level and part of the second.
Bugs & Technical Issues
I didn't encounter any bugs or glitches. My only issue was the performance, as the game ran at around 3 FPS on my laptop.
Favorite Moment
My favorite card was the Grow 3 steps in direction and fan out card. It was fun to use and honestly kept me playing into the second level.
Biggest Improvement
The biggest improvement would definitely be performance on lower-end hardware. It would also help if the visual style between the realistic UI elements and the in-game graphics felt a bit more consistent.
Final Thoughts
Despite the heavy performance issues on my laptop, I enjoyed playing Mycelium. The game delivered exactly what it promised—controlling and expanding your mycelium. I liked choosing cards and slowly planning my path through the map. The core idea is fun, easy to understand, and has a lot of potential.
Overall Rating: 16/20
A unique concept with enjoyable strategic gameplay and a strong atmosphere. Better optimization and a more consistent visual style would make the experience even stronger.
yes I used chatgpt to overwrite my review since it was Just one massive text block. :(
-Cookie