Mullet Madjack is a high-energy, high-speed roguelite shooter with a distinct style derived from classic anime from the early 90s. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Mullet Madjack Review Overview
What is Mullet Madjack?
Mullet Madjack is a 3D roguelite shooter that’s stylized with classic 90’s anime fittings, including loud-colored vaporwave aesthetics, era-appropriate fashion statements, and enough glorified anime violence to take any classic anime fan on a high-speed nostalgia trip.
Set in an absurd reality where the future is run by AI billionaires—appropriately called "Robillionaires"—Mullet Madjack is an FPS speedrun on maximum overdrive. With 10 seconds on your clock and a legion of robots in your way, there’s only one way to go about this: guns blazing, baby!
Mullet Madjack features:
⚫︎ Frenetic first-person gunplay with major mobility options
⚫︎ Iconic classic anime stylings
⚫︎ Amazing vaporwave tracks and arcade SFX
⚫︎ Fully animated cutscenes evoking classic anime styles
⚫︎ Roguelike upgrade progression
⚫︎ Old-school video game unboxing experience
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Mullet Madjack's gameplay and story.
 Steam |
$19.95 |
Mullet Madjack Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 The Fastest Gameplay Loop Ever Classic 90s Anime to A Tee Classic Video Game Unboxing Experience |
Needs More Variety High Skill Floor Not Accessible to All Players |
Mullet Madjack Overall Score - 88/100
Mullet Madjack is a love letter to classic anime stylings and arcade shooters from decades past. With its frenetic gameplay, loud visuals, and heart-pounding pace, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were isekai’d to a vaporwave music video. This game speaks through style and conquers through raucous, in-your-face action, providing an experience that can only be described as a high-speed nostalgia overdrive.
Mullet Madjack Story - 8/10
The devs did their research on classic anime tropes on this one—one might even call it a Cruel Angel’s Thesis. The story, setting, and premise are all extremely high-concept to the point of absurdity, which is exactly what I expect from a game that wears its inspirations on its torn sleeves. Leave it to a classic anime-inspired game to make some guy named Mr. Bullet seem menacing.
Mullet Madjack Gameplay - 8/10
Mullet Madjack’s 10-second time limit between kills really puts the pedal to the metal with this game’s pacing and I’m all for it. The stress of keeping your in-game and IRL dopamine levels topped off works wonders for the game’s visceral gunplay and high-speed platforming. If only the roguelike elements were stronger, maybe I’d have given this game a perfect gameplay score.
Mullet Madjack Visuals - 10/10
Mullet Madjack was made to evoke a singular vibe and it did so with flying neon colors. Everything from the main menu’s VHS stylings to the cluttered, vaguely anti-capitalist design of the setting’s skyline evokes a perfect image of the game’s obvious inspirations. It’s genuinely hard to tell if this game is just parodying the source material or if it singlehandedly reintroduced a long-lost aesthetic in a medium that’s since moved on.
Mullet Madjack Audio - 10/10
This game’s music formed the other half of its near-perfect recreation of a vibe that’s long since lost its mainstream significance. The vaporwave tunes, heavy beats, and classical arcade SFX created an atmosphere that I haven’t felt since I’ve seen recaps of classic anime. Together, they make me long for a time I never truly experienced, which, in my opinion, is the mark of a great homage.
Mullet Madjack Value for Money - 8/10
Despite its amazing style, vibing sound design, and heart-pumping gameplay, $20 is a tad too steep for a DOOM clone with a timer and a Hotline Miami filter. It’s worth it, sure, but even the nostalgia will wear off eventually and you’re going to want a couple of those dollars back.
Mullet Madjack Review: The Best 10 Seconds of Your Life
I’ll preface this review with the following fact so I won’t come off as disingenuous: though I was technically born in the '90s, the stylings and aesthetics I’ll be talking about in this review were not prevalent in my childhood. I’ll be talking about things I never truly experienced, but as you’ll come to see in the review, that works in the game’s favor.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about the amazing classic anime homage that is Mullet Madjack. It’s an FPS action roguelite by HAMMER95 that’s heavily inspired by the stylings of classic anime titles from the 80s and 90s.
If we want to be more precise, it’s mostly inspired by sci-fi action titles. Although the connection hasn’t been confirmed, elements from titles like Neon Genesis: Evangelion, Ghost in the Shell, Akira, Battle Angel Alita, Genocyber, and Cowboy Bebop are present. Throw in a little bit of Hotline Miami and a few aspects of classic DOOM, and you’ve got the high-speed action of Mullet Madjack.
The first thing you’ll notice about this game is undoubtedly its unique style, although just how deep this classic anime inspiration truly permeates this game isn’t apparent from the get-go. And so, in full defiance of how I usually write reviews, let’s talk about how the game looks before we talk about how the game plays.
You’ve got this game’s number the moment you lay eyes on it unless you’re a bit younger and/or have not been exposed to classic anime titles before. The game’s outlines run thick, with loud colors and even louder patterns filling in the spaces in between.
The fashion is in full retro swing with windbreakers, aerobics gear, mirror shades, and the titular mullet making up the main characters’ design.
The skyline, framed by a pink and yellow sunset often associated with the vaporwave style, is populated by towering buildings and woven with a retro-style understanding of futuristic cities.
Heck, the very premise of the game itself is perfectly evocative of that era’s narrative and world-building tropes, down to the strange religious imagery, intense violence, and anti-capitalistic caricatures.
There is no mistaking what vibe the devs were going for when they created this game and, I must say, they managed to realize a vision of that era that’s neither too parodic nor reflective. It’s a style that doesn’t take itself so seriously, paying homage to cultural cornerstones while still being able to laugh at its own absurdity.
This style goes much deeper than mere visual aesthetic too, as the game supplements the clear visual themes with a smooth vaporwave track and voice-acting that sounds uncannily like old-school English anime dubs. Pair those with era-appropriate audio crackle and arcade sound effects and you’ve got yourself an immersive deal!
But style alone does not a good game make; you’ve got to have gameplay that compliments it well and carries its narrative themes along with it. Enter Mullet Madjack’s 10-second timer, which represents the length of your dopamine rush and lifeline. If that timer ever hits zero, it’s roll credits for you no matter how cool your shades were.
You replenish these precious seconds by rampaging through levels filled with low-health henchmen and getting kills using your arsenal of stereotypical anime weapons. You’ve got your standard shotguns, pistols, and rifles, but you’ve also got various elemental katana and handheld blades to choose from.
The game also lets you get upgrades for your weapons and skills between levels like you would with roguelikes. There isn’t really a currency system to speak of, you just get to pick one from three with a few unlockable rerolls thrown in down the line.
Your goal is to just make it to the end, so you don’t have to kill everyone, just enough of them to top off your timer until you reach the exit. The game has plenty of mobility options to that end, including jumps, dashes, wall runs, and forward kicks. Think ULTRAKILL but the hallways are more cramped and the guns are somehow less absurd.
This is the game’s bread and butter apart from its distinct visual style. The 10-second timer is one heck of a driving force for you to get good with your shots, though it is also technically optional. The various game modes can let you sway the difficulty to either extreme, halving your timer, or removing completely depending on how much you enjoy pain. The controls are intuitive, responsive, and complimentary to the game’s blinding pace.
I just wish that the roguelike element was more pronounced. The upgrades aren’t really that game-changing although they do technically help you. Some guns are also just strictly better than others, although that could be a skill issue on my end.
The game’s most glaring downside is its accessibility, however, as it currently lacks the means to tone down the epileptic qualities of its visuals apart from several warnings to just not play the game.
Even if it did, doing so would undoubtedly affect the quality of its visuals to the point of losing what made it stand out in the first place. It’s the cost of stylization, one that prevents some players from enjoying the game through no fault of their own.
And that’s about it for Mullet Madjack. It’s a game that banks heavily on its unique style but backs it up with a solid gameplay loop that’s as high-speed and in-your-face as a headshot. It is both respectful to its inspirations and unafraid to lean into its absurdity, creating a fun experience that makes me long for an era I wasn’t born into.
Pros of Mullet Madjack
| Things Mullet Madjack Got Right |
|---|
|
The Fastest Gameplay Loop Ever Classic 90s Anime to A Tee Classic Video Game Unboxing Experience |
The Fastest Gameplay Loop Ever
I’m a fan of fast-paced games and this is as fast as they come. 10-seconds isn’t a lot of time and it’s much less when you’re trying to chain headshots together. It’s a substantial push forward that incentivizes the "into the fire" style of learning that a lot of these DOOM adjacent games employ, made even more frenetic by a literal ticking clock of a lifeline.
You see this kind of pace in games like ULTRAKILL or Roboquest, where pushing past ignorance is key and shooting is often the answer. If you’re also a fan of this balls-to-the-wall pace, then this game is for you.
Classic 90s Anime to A Tee
There’s a lot to about this game that conveys the classic anime feel past its visual aspects. Sure, the classic anime character design and background aesthetics carry a lot of this game’s weight in terms of style, but I can argue that this game is only as stylized as it is because of its narrative.
To keep things plain, this game has a classic 90s anime absurdity about it that you can’t really get anywhere else. Something about the undertones of the setting and character, the writing and dialogue, and the massive figurehead of an arch-enemy you have called Mr. Bullet and his overtly capitalistic ways.
The oddly religious themes of sacrificing virgin blood and the dystopian caricature of the entertainment industry a la Running Man mesh into this episodic narrative where the rich keep the poor down. It’s this absurd seriousness that drives the vibe home.
Classic Video Game Unboxing Experience
I didn’t mention it in the main review because it’s more of an anti-piracy measure than an actual gameplay element, but this game has a classic video game unboxing experience built into it if you bought it legitimately.
First off, the anti-piracy measure in itself is a reference to how they used to do it back in the day, down to the spinning dial full of faces from The Secret of Monkey Island. Secondly, this is just a cool addition to have, especially for those already riding the main game’s nostalgia trip.
The experience itself has everything you’d expect from an old unboxing video, including an actual game manual to flip through, various Mullet Madjack paraphernalia, and the game disc itself.
Cons of Mullet Madjack
| Things That Mullet Madjack Can Improve |
|---|
|
Needs More Variety High Skill Floor Not Accessible to All Players |
Needs More Variety
This is mostly about the game’s roguelite upgrade system. Don’t get me wrong, it’s perfectly fine and doesn’t slow down the game at all. I just dislike how, despite your different upgrades, most levels largely end up as a spray-and-pray build with a different gun. I think the upgrades aren’t impactful enough or are too niche to create legitimate builds.
This is arguably a nitpick though, as the game plays well without it. I just think that if a feature is going to be added to a game, it should be executed well or not at all.
High Skill Floor
This is a matter of skill, but the game does have a high-skill floor to begin with. Granted, the game has plenty of game modes and difficulties to choose from, including one that completely eschews the 10-second timer. Even then, I can argue that this isn’t a casual game or one that you can just pick up and play.
The gunplay and fast pace persist through the game mode that lacks a timer, which could turn some people away if they prefer something more methodical or tactical than the guns-blazing action this game always has.
Not Accessible to All Players
I’ve alluded to it earlier but this must be made clear: this game has flashing lights and could trigger seizures in vulnerable people. This makes the game inaccessible to those people and, as far as I can tell, there’s no way to prevent this in-game. Your only option is to NOT play the game, which I think would limit who gets to play this game.
Accessibility isn’t everything, of course, and the game would have much to lose style-wise if it were to remove flashing lights. It just bears mentioning that not everyone will be able to play this game if they want to.
Is Mullet Madjack Worth It?
Yes, Though $20 is Pushing It
This game has a lot of things going for it, not the least of which is its amazing visual and audio style. That being said, $20 is almost a tall ask for a game that has a fun, albeit simple, gameplay loop. It’s an arcade game at the end of the day and that’s a lot of quarters. I’d still say that it’s worth it, but it’s pushing the boundaries of what I’d think $20 is worth.
| Platform | Price |
|---|---|
| Steam |
$19.95 |
Mullet Madjack FAQ
Is Mullet Madjack Playable on the Steam Deck?
Although the game has not yet been Steam Deck verified at the time of writing, independent testers from the PC Invasion website have confirmed that the game does perform well enough on the Steam Deck with minor stuttering issues.
Is Mullet Madjack Playable on the Legion Go?
Yes, the game is playable on the Legion Go, although issues regarding odd display aspect ratios have been reported. This is due to the device’s native screen resolution. A possible workaround for this issue is to play the game in windowed mode instead of fullscreen.
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Mullet Madjack Product Information
 |
|
| Title | Mullet Madjack |
|---|---|
| Release Date | May 15, 2024 |
| Developer | HAMMER95 |
| Publisher | HAMMER95, Epopeia Games |
| Supported Platforms | PC(Steam) |
| Genre | Action, Indie, Shooter |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | RP |
| Official Website | Mullet Madjack Website |
