Is this game fun, guy?
Parasitic mushrooms invaded from space, spreading all over the Milky Way. Since humans are long extinct and vegetables rule the Earth, it shouldn’t really be YOUR problem anymore. Except that you’ve got to suspend your disbelief, because somehow you’re the one who has to stop the invasion. Surprise!
Smells Like a Mushroom is a third-person shooter where you play as a carrot called Carratado who works with other pun named characters such as General Despotato, scientists Nicola Siesta and Garlic Ailstein. It has some dark humour alongside it that I wasn’t expecting when I thought it was more targeted at younger gamers, but I was incredibly wrong here…
As for the game itself, it functions well as a typical third-person shooter. My main quarrel is the lack of rumble which seems bizarre to me in any shooter. There are some bizarre and quite archaic choices in level design and lives, but overall it does what you would expect and then, things you wouldn’t quite expect either. There’s a lot of randomness to be found here, both good and bad.
As such, there are a few performance and visual glitches that occur from time to time. It does run smoothly for the most part, but it does have its moments. Voice-acting is intentionally B-movie level of cheesy, but if you go in expecting that then it won’t be a huge shock.
The Verdict
Smells like a Mushroom has the potential with its puns and dark humour. The main problem is the level design feeling dated, performance issues and the lack of rumble. It has its fun moments, but it does feel that it lacks that bit of extra polish to make it a must-have shooter.