Muse Games have definitely hit a one two three combo with Hamsterdam. The game on mobile is easy to pick up and play, responsive, challenging, and encourages replay!
We first encountered Hamsterdam at Super Smash Con in 2018. We were doing a walk by and thought the booth Hamsterdam was being displayed looked interesting. Interesting became an understatement after playing the mobile build of the game.
We were amazed at the graphics, how smooth the action was, how responsive the touch was, how just entertaining the game felt. After getting our hands on the full game, we are so happy to say that the full game have given us a super satisfying game that after we are done, we want more.
Hamsterdam was a kickstarter project by Muse Games which became fully funded and at that time was slated for a mobile release. After making its milestone goals, Hamsterdam has been released on not only mobile platforms, but also on Steam as well as the Nintendo Switch. This review will focus on the iOS mobile version of the game.
In Hamsterdam you play as Pimm who is on a mission to rescue his grandfather and other towns folk from the vile chinchilla Marlo and his Vermin Gang who have brought chaos and disaster to the different peaceful districts. But how exactly is Pimm supposed to bring back the peace to his town? Well in this cute little hamster is the heart, skills, and knowledge of a mighty martial artist and with this power, he sets out on his journey to kick some tail and take down the Vermin Gang.
At first glance, Hamsterdam looks like a very simplistic tap tap swipe game. But after the first introductory stages you’ll soon find a deep, very responsive and rhythmic game. The sooner you realize that you’re not just wildly tapping the screen, the sooner you’ll be able to chain hits and combos like a pro.
Hamsterdam is broken up into three stages with eleven sections as well as bonus levels. To unlock each stage and progress, a number a stars needs to be earned, this is done by completing the necessary goals for the level. This can range from completing the level under a certain time to finishing with an amount of health. Next to gaining stars, Pimm has a number of customizable hats, jackets, glasses, and gloves. Each offer Pimm added skills or added challenges. To unlock these items, each level along with the goals to unlock the stars, has three other tasks to complete. Tasks like finishing a round by KO’ing a certain Vermin or not missing any quick time events to finishing a round without taking damage. Once unlocked, you’ll be able to purchase the item with nuts that you collect during your fights or during special stages where you try and collect as many nuts as possible.
Hamsterdam is a beautifully rendered game and again we can’t stop talking about just how smooth and responsive the action is and you will need every tap, hold and swipe to register if you want to beat up on those Vermins quickly. Something to mention is that some of these encounters later in the game is going to test your coordination and endurance. The mini boss and boss battles are challenging and entertaining. The final boss is the frosting on the cake.
Like we mentioned at the start, we played the mobile version of Hamsterdam, which was spectacular. We do have access to the Nintendo Switch and PC versions, so look out for our impressions of those.
Muse Games have definitely hit a one two three combo with Hamsterdam. The game on mobile is easy to pick up and play, responsive, challenging, and encourages replay! The game makes you feel like the worlds best martial artist and each combo and counter plays like a Rhythmic dance which show stops with and slow mo KO! This one is a must get especially for the beat em up lovers out there. We really hope that this is not the last of Pimm we get to experience.
