Outrider Mako Review – Gorgeous Indie Game with Frustrating Combat!?

I was instantly excited when I first laid my beady, hardened little eyes on Outrider Mako. Its gorgeous 16-bit pixel art immediately brought back memories of the 1986 arcade classic KiKi KaiKai—rebranded here in North America as Pocky & Rocky. I always wanted an excuse to say KiKi KaiKai on this channel! But in all seriousness, Pocky & Rocky is one of those games every '90s kid seemed to have encountered at one point or another, whether they owned it on the SNES or rented it from a local video shop. This top-down scrolling action shooter, starring a shrine maiden and her tanuki companion, was successful enough to spawn a sequel on the Super Nintendo and, later, a Game Boy Advance release titled Pocky & Rocky with Becky, which I sadly never got around to. I wasn’t much of a handheld player back then. It’s one of my bigger gaming regrets.

While the series went MIA for many years after the GBA release, our two heroes returned in 2022 with Tengo Project’s Pocky & Rocky Reshrined. I haven’t played it myself just yet, but let me know your thoughts in the comments below if you have. Anyway, a bit of a tangent, I know. Still, I’m sure at least a few of you made the same comparison between Pocky & Rocky and Outrider Mako. One of you? Maybe?

In reality, though, Outrider Mako isn’t much like Pocky & Rocky at all, beyond its visual aesthetic and the occasional scrolling shooter sequence. Instead, it leans into delivery-based missions presented in a format that is somewhat reminiscent of a roguelite, with a unique combat system involving red nectar. But does Outrider Mako ooze with style—or is it a hot goopy mess? Eww… Um… Let’s find out in our full review!

Outrider Mako could be described as a 2D action game, but that would be oversimplifying things as it blends many different genres together. Where do I even start? Well, there are deliveries to make, a bonkers battle system to master, bosses to take down, loot to collect, items to purchase, shops to shop in, nectar to bathe in—phew, you name it, it’s here! Everything but the kitchen sink! Is that how that saying goes? Simplifying things a bit for you, there’s a bit of RPG, a dash of action game, a pinch of delivery sim, and a peppering of roguelite working in tandem to create one highly unusual indie release. Would you expect any less coming from a publisher like PLAYISM? The main goal, you ask? To help Mako escape a delivery center she’s somehow been transported to, which is home to a piggish monster amongst other bizarre creatures and oddities. To return to her home world, she must earn stamps from various Gods through successful deliveries. You know, the usual. Yeah... not really. It’s kinda like that second Bill and Ted movie, what was it, Bogus Journey? Nah, you don’t get to play Twister with the Grim Reaper here, at least, I don’t think you do. Damn it, now I am flashing back to memories of that one time I played naked Twister, that was… interesting.

Far more enticing than being that close to an anus, however, is Outrider Mako’s world, filled with interesting characters, quirky and colorful enemies, and a healthy dose of dialogue that, while not always featuring the strongest localization that I have seen, does a respectable job of showcasing the game’s greater conflict. The story isn’t the main focus here anyway, rather the gameplay, but what’s presented is at least interesting enough to keep players curious about where things might ultimately end up. Will you make it home or is this gonna end like 2007’s Into the Wild? Damn it, getting teary-eyed just thinking about that movie. Regardless, the world and narrative definitely have a vibe I can get down with, however, if you’re not into the strange and surreal, Outrider Mako’s outright weirdness, much like beer mixed with milk, might not digest with you so well.

Outrider Mako begins in a hub area, one you’ll want to get familiar with, as it’s where you’ll prepare for each new delivery. I was half expecting a demon to pull up in a UPS truck asking me what brown could do for me, but it never happened. Your first stop should be the training room, where you'll learn the basics of gameplay. Without sounding like a tutorial myself, here’s a quick rundown of how the core gameplay loop of Outrider Mako plays out: Mako receives a delivery assignment from that pig-like creature I mentioned earlier, Mozu, and then heads into a much larger location through a gate guarded by a creepy demon duo, an area full of monsters and resources. Players need to collect a set amount of those resources, or mine for them, I guess (I use the term lightly) to craft the delivery item that has been assigned, package it up, and track down the spirit who ordered it who is SOMEWHERE out there, but usually not too difficult to find. Successful deliveries are typically how the story progresses forward.

It’s not quite as simple as merely gathering items and trekking from point A to point B, however. Each world is presented in a semi-open format, viewed from a top-down perspective that’s reminiscent of a classic Zelda title. I was a little nervous I might end up in the lost woods, but luckily, I wasn’t lost very often at all even without a map. That’s because the layout of each area is fairly well done, sprinkled with fast travel locations activated by ringing a bell, and enough diversity between screens to recognize key areas you’ve already visited. As far as gameplay variety goes, when you aren’t collecting various types of resources, you’ll complete side objectives for NPCs such as placing mushrooms on shrines; other times, you’ll be thrown into arena-style battles and need to defeat every foe to escape, or you may even face light environmental puzzles, though I do mean light, don’t expect The Witness here, or err…Zelda. Sorry, trying to think of a different comparison. One thing’s for certain, however: a relentless wave of monsters is always riding right up your butt, doing their best to halt your progress and send you to the game over screen, which always reminds you of how many deaths you’ve had on your campaign.

I really enjoyed the core gameplay loop of Outrider Mako. Its clearly defined mission structure works well, reminding me of a less punishing roguelite or roguelike in how it plays out. Go to a hub, purchase items, grab the next mission or continue the one you failed, etc., etc. However, here, death isn’t a massive ordeal, which I like. The main punishment merely involves being sent back to wherever you last saved. The game’s manual save system, which involves using statues scattered across each world, does, however, feel a bit archaic and definitely got me into a heap of trouble later on (more on that later) but generally speaking, there are enough save points that it isn’t a problem... until, well, it became one for me.

Outrider Mako’s combat is where it may leave players more divided than people on the pronunciation of jif or gif. Much of your success depends on how well you get along with the game's blend of jumping, pouncing, and nectar dipping. While attacking foes head-on is an option, it’s sadly not always the best one, often resulting in Mako taking a great deal of damage due to how the enemy AI is programmed. These annoying little buggers sometimes wear attack-resistant helmets, can dish out massive damage that can wipe out a full heart of health if not more, or just have random unpredictable patterns that are pretty tough to dodge. For the most part, enemies are designed to be defeated in a very specific way: by perching atop their heads, plopping pink goop on them, and then striking to deal more damage once they are covered in the icky stuff. Oh god, that sounds so bad. The red nectar not only weakens most foes, but can also spread to others within its radius. It’s an interesting idea, but it never quite clicked with me like I THINK the developers were intending. I found that bouncing between enemies was frustrating at times as it was difficult to tell who I was targeting, the slime, or er, nectar feature didn’t always work during crucial moments, sometimes evaporating from foes, and when it did work, getting it to spread effectively was often a challenge as enemies don’t always travel in packs. The game’s combat just never feels great mechanically, which steals much of the joy I was otherwise experiencing.

There are a few other, more advanced techniques to learn as well, like a flash explosion that deals massive damage or the ability to slime crystals to break them down faster. But in the end, Outrider Mako’s battles and combat engine just weren’t very fun to engage with. Even your secondary attacks feel designed in a way that makes them miss more often than not, which makes them far less useful than they should be. Boss fights fare even worse: frustrating affairs with creative ideas buried beneath the game’s lackluster controls. One boss, for example, requires you to light candles in a narrow corridor to weaken them while cheap zombies spawn around you dealing massive damage, more than even the boss itself! If that wasn’t frustrating enough, it was obviously hard to see because, well, it’s dark, and I also wasn’t totally sure what I was even supposed to do. Not enjoyable in the least. I eventually figured it out by simply whacking away at the boss and bringing a massive amount of healing potions, but what a headache!

After each run, you’ll be able to bank materials you have gathered, heal up, purchase perks, and get ready for the next delivery mission. There’s really not a traditional leveling system here at all, though there are a few shops where you can grab some useful items, my favorite being beacons that can be summoned. These can drop off red nectar reserves for when you run dry (yes, you’ll run out often) and even act as traps enemies can run into. It’s like Home Alone but without the burglars, and your name’s not Kevin, so, nothing like that except that they are traps! But if I can be serious for a moment, for all the issues I had with Outrider Mako’s combat, I did greatly enjoy this system of setting down beacons. There’s more too, like the three cards that can be equipped to give your character various perks known as divine blessings which can boost your health, agility, or other features, but if you were hoping for deep RPG mechanics and stat-based progression, or proper leveling, you won’t really get that here.

Outrider Mako does attempt to switch up the gameplay from time to time, even offering up a scrolling shooter section. Hey, I mentioned Pocky and Rocky for a reason, see? There was SOME influence here! While I usually enjoy genre-blending, and I’m always down for a good scrolling shooter, this sadly marked the end of this review. After reaching a gate near the end of one of these sections, I did what any sane player would do when spotting a save point after a good stretch of gameplay: I saved. That turned out to be a fatal mistake. The game glitched and I was trapped in a small section. When I reloaded my save hoping to un-bug things, Mako started running downward on her own—and I had no control over anything. I was stuck. No auto-save to fall back on either since saves are manual, just totally screwed. Eight hours of blood, sweat, and nectar… gone. Maybe a patch on launch day will iron out this game-ender, but it wasn’t the only bug I encountered, just the only MAJOR bug.

With all its shortcomings, Outrider Mako is undeniably a beautiful game to look at and listen to. Its throwback visuals are endlessly charming, the animations are lovely, and the world is a joy to take in, brimming with character and brought to life by an endearing color palette that was pleasing to my eyeballs. Everything here is downright adorable, from the character designs to the menus, even if the menus aren’t the most easily navigated. The game looks great and sounds awesome too, with quirky musical compositions and sound effects that perfectly complement its offbeat vibe. For all the gameplay issues I encountered, I had nothing to complain about when it came to this wonderful presentation. The music is a total bop, a soundtrack worth owning and listening to on its own.

But in the end, it’s not quite enough to overcome the game’s less-than-ideal mechanics. I really wanted to love this title, it’s so freakin’ cute, but its unusual combat system and bugs deprived me of an otherwise endearing product. It’s a shame, because if I liked the red nectar system just a bit more, I might have even felt compelled to start over and do another seven hours just to get back to where I was. But time, my friends, is precious. And considering all the frustrations I had on my initial run, it was hard to muster up the willpower to do it all again—especially with the ever-looming threat of a game-breaking bug. Plus, there are 50 zillion other indies on this channel and endless amounts of work to be done. I gave it my best to finish the game as I always do, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe one day? Maybe? If you’re willing to wait out a patch or two, and you click with the game’s combat more than I did, you may very well enjoy your time with Outrider Mako. But unfortunately, I can’t quite recommend it in its current state.

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