M&M

Here it is. One of the big ones. When people talk about this game, it’s usually listed as their favorite. It WAS my favorite, but it’s fallen a bit. Still top 10 for sure. I’ll talk about my reasons why later. But yeah, this is a very VERY beloved game. Let’s find out why.

M&M

Taking place in the Partyverse, Amy the Party Girl is throwing yet another party, but she has to watch her kid sister. So she just locks her in the closet instead, alongside her talking pet dog, Max. The two sit there bored for a while, after Mini throws a mirror at the door in frustration. They just need SOMETHING to entertain them. Max suggests that they just become small. Mini is like “We can do that?” and Max is like “well I’ve never tried, but we could explore this whole room as small for a new perspective. Lemme try!” and then he becomes smol. Mini follows suit, and the adventure begins.

M&M

Mini and Max is a platforming game, kind of like a Mario 2 in some ways. You can run around, picking up and throwing objects and enemies as your primary attack. you hold down to shrink, and up to regrow. There’s not much to do in the room, but it can be used as a kind of level select, as you can grow big and stand near where you wanna go, then shrink again. There’s a BIG WIDE room to explore while tiny, and you are QUITE tiny. But that’s not all… early in the game, you meet someone who can teach you how to get EVEN SMALLER. This is where I slapped my forhead and went “Holy shit HOW BIG IS THIS GAME?!”

It’s big.

M&M

You’ve got the upper room, a big wide room while small, all one big level, and then microscopic worlds you can explore. These worlds are a lot more procedurally generated, though apparently it’s the same every time, it’s less polished and specific than the other areas, though there are PLENTY of things to find. Villages of chlorophyte people, little mushroom men called Mol Dolks (another reference to Night Manor, neat!), lamp people who worship the lamp. And like I said, the middle level ain’t no slouch either. It’s filled with bugs waging war on each other and a bunch of toys and things.

The main conceit of the game is that, a while ago, shinies fell to the mini’s world. Little shards shaped like stars, they’re so pretty and shiny, and now capitalism has infested the entire tiny world. Wars are fought and people die for these shinies, and it’s all shown as a Pretty Bad Thing. I wonder what was going on in the dev’s minds as they made this, huh. Money corrupts, don’t it? :) Anyways, that’s all fun and good, but the goal of the game is literally to get shinies. You can explore and find power ups and find fun settings, but the #1 thing you’re doing is getting shinies. There’s no real dungeons, per-se, no major powerups you need to complete major areas. They can HELP, for sure, but you can beat the game kinda bare bones, actually. Just… get the shinies, give them to the king, and he’ll open the door for you. Boom, that’s the game.

Some might view that as reductive, and it kinda is. There’s a LOT to discover and explore, and that’s the main fun of the game. There’s a bunch of things to do to GET those shinies. But once I realized it was JUST shiny hunting I ended up having a “is that it” moment. I feel this concept could have been refined to something really cool, and while what’s here is cool, I can’t help but have that “what could have been” moment. But I seriously am just splitting hairs. Mini and Max is a FANTASTIC game, and honestly worth the 25 dollar admission all by itself. It’s my #6 favorite game, after all. There’s a reason people love it. It’s creative, cute, filled with a bunch of references to earlier games, and the PERFECT late era UFOSoft game to show they weren’t losing their touch yet!

Unfortunately, I view this as the beginning of the end for UFOSoft. Things are starting to get… bleak around the office, and the golden days are over. With one last beautiful swan song, we now enter the Closing Era of UFOSoft. The final five games.

9.5/10