Mulaka Saves the World?
First released in 2018, I’m a bit late to the game when it comes to the game Mulaka. But I’m so happy that I took the time to play and finish it, particularly because it’s been a week and I’m still thinking about the ending.
Mulaka standing with the statues of the demigods from the developers press kit
Mulaka was developed by Lienzo studios, headed up by Edgar Serrano, and is focused on telling the story of the Sierra Tarahumara people. At it’s base, the game is a 3D action adventure game, but past that, it seeks to share the culture of the Tarahumara people. Serrano grew up next to the indigenous people in Northern Mexico and as he learned more about their culture, he grew more entranced by it. After a failed attempt at a Kickstarter in 2015, he and lead programmer, Adolfo Rico, found themselves a bit lost when it came to producing the game. Eventually, they made their goal and had to deal with the pressure to Americanize the game. Thankfully, they kept true to their heritage and based their game on real life locations near their home.
Serrano also received the blessing of some Tarahumara elders and worked with them and experts on the culture to ensure that the game honored the people it was based on. After visiting the Lienzo website, I found that some of the proceeds from the game’s sales go back to the Tarahumara people. That’s really cool that the developers set that up, I feel like we don’t see that very often in games.
It took me just under 8 hours to complete the game, and I left wanting more. Learning to navigate the puzzles and platforming that steadily got more difficult throughout the game was so interesting. In researching the article, I found out that some of the voice overs are recorded, authentic dialogue from the Tarahumara people. That was awesome to find out, it definitely makes me feel like the people, or at least the leaders, trusted this game to do well by their culture.
The game is about the Sukúrame who is making his way to the underworld in order to save the world and his people from the the apocalypse, essentially. Along the way, you prove your worth, purity of heart, and commitment to several demigods who lend you their power because they don’t want to see the world end either. You also spend time meeting spirits and helping people reunite their families. It’s an adventure that comes to a very unexpected ending, and it’s the ending that has kept me thinking about this game.
The game was a lot of fun but occasionally the controls felt a bit stiff. Some of the areas felt like they could have been more fleshed out and there was one occasion where I was completely lost as to what I was supposed to do next. While I do not enjoy games that feel the need to hold my hand, at that point in the game, it felt like there was no clear indication on what I was supposed to do next. I don’t feel great about it, but I had to look up a Youtube video to find that I had skipped passed the map screen that told me to go to the next area. Other than that, I found the story compelling and enjoyed visiting the different locations in the game. I will say, each area felt different than the last. Every area did feel like I had traveled to a new location and I appreciated that.
My Rating: 7.5/10
SPOILERS BELOW.
Here’s a photo to block the spoilers
Title card for Mulaka from the developers press kit
Mulaka’s story ends in a way I never expected. After working alongside the demigods and a Ganó, Mulaka finally gets to the the Underworld to fight Terégori and beats them. But the ones from above meet Mulaka in the Underworld and explain that Terégori wasn’t truly the villain. That darkness had been spreading across the land because the people were turning against each other. So defeating Terégori wouldn’t truly mean anything because they would be able to come back indefinitely, as long as the people had conflict with each other. So the ones from above decide that the best course of action is to start over. The game ends with them resetting and creating a new world. Everything that you did to save the world you knew ends up not meaning anything. And that was wild to me. Now, to give Mulaka credit, the ones from above decide that the Tarahumara people will be brought into the new world to prosper so long as they follow the same path as Mulaka.
I gotta be honest, it felt so weird to do my best to defeat the enemies and bosses throughout the game only to reach the end and be told that what I did ultimately didn’t mean much for the world apart from my people. I’m still reflecting on that ending because it’s so different from any other game that I’ve played. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a game that was just like, yeah, you beat the “bad” guy, but we’re still gonna end the world. Sure, Mulaka wins for his people, but what about all the other creatures in that world, what about the demigods? Is it a win if the world still gets reset? I don’t know. But I’m happy that the game made me think about it.
GIF of Mulaka swinging his spear from the developers press kit
Thank you to Lienzo studio for making Mulaka and staying true to your culture and the culture of the Tarahumara people. I enjoyed the opportunity to explore this story and that you give some of the proceeds back to the preservation of the Tarahumara culture.