Mighty Goose Switch Review – Now With More Honking Content!

Mighty Goose made its way to the Nintendo Switch last summer, but the awesome team Blastmode has just released a new free DLC update that adds a whole new story, extra content, and more. Since we never reviewed Mighty Goose before, we thought that this particular review would lump the whole package together, since the DLC is free, and let you know if this goose is worth all the honk.

So is Mighty Goose a run-and-gun worthy of your mighty dollar? Or does this goose need to return to the north from whence it came? Let’s find out!

Our hero Mighty Goose is simply the best. They are revered, strong, and a threat to any baddie that stirs up trouble. In the main campaign, you are tasked with bringing down the Void King, the galaxy conquering monarch. The Void King has a vast army of minions and mechanical monsters that do his bidding, and Mighty Goose will travel to distant worlds facing all types of dangers along the way.

The DLC story picks up where the main story leaves off (Cannot be accessed without clearing the main campaign), so I will not be posting spoilers here. Just know that there are new creatures begging for your help and rooting you on, and there is a new baddie in town that is not happy that Mighty Goose is around to stop their plans.

Overall, the story is simple and effective. This is exactly the type of fun commando-style story with animals and robots that you want to keep you entertained and laughing throughout. All of the characters are enjoyable, and Mighty Goose’s legend mixed with the chaotic nature of all the evil happening is the perfect backdrop for this run-and-gun action platformer.

The game plays like some classic SNES action titles where you move from left to right taking out enemies, picking up powerups, and dying and respawning. Players may notice that the difficulty spikes relatively early in the game and sustains throughout, so even though the beginning feels a bit casual, the entirety of Mighty Goose is a legit challenge. One other area in regards to difficulty is the checkpoint placements, as there are certain times where dying sets you back way further than what feels fair, and this includes within the DLC.

The Goose starts off with a standard pistol/hand cannon, and it is honestly a solid weapon that gets the job done. However, new weapons like machine guns, shot guns, and rocket launchers become available as you progress, and these weapons are limited. Thankfully, if you run out, you automatically go back to your hand cannon, but there are plenty of pickups throughout levels, so running out of ammo for particular guns is not that big of a deal.

The armory is something you unlock early in the game, and it is one of the coolest parts of the gameplay. You can customize your loadout, and as you progress, more attachments will be gained. These contain things like a double jump, faster movement speed, more bullets, and so much more, but you are only able to equip about 3-4 at a time, which means choosing the best option for you may take some trialing. You are also able to equip a partner and a secondary attack, and once again, more will be available to you as you make your way through the game.

Bosses are excellent and are sprinkled multiple times throughout stages, which is both a strong positive for me and a slight negative. You see, stages in Mighty Goose are loooong, and although the boss fights for the most part are excellently designed, fighting the final boss of a stage can be a bit taxing after a long battle through the massive stage and its previous bosses. This could have been better if stages were cut down and bosses were simply the end of stages, making each stage a bit more bite-sized than they are. Despite that, the bosses are my favorite part of the game, as they are a wonderful reminder of the SNES days of action platformers while also being incredibly original.

Mighty Goose also boasts some of the best-looking pixelated graphics in quite some time, and it is not just the main characters that are gorgeous, but every little detail. The enemy and boss designs are great, and I cannot praise the explosions and particle effects enough, as just about every action scene in the game feels like a Michael Bay film in all the right ways.

On top of that, the sound is another department that deserves massive praise. Not only does the spontaneous honking make me laugh, but the the sounds of each weapon is so distinct and satisfying that it is honestly exciting to pick up each of the powerups. In addition to the fantastic sound effects, the soundtrack of Mighty Goose is one amazing track after the next, and I hate that I keep comparing it to the SNES days, but just about every track flared up my nostalgia senses and I was loving every second of it.

Mighty Goose is an excellent action platformer that is tons of fun to play. Sure, the stages can be a bit too long and the checkpoint placements are brutal at times, but everything else more than makes up for those flaws. The action is fantastic, the story is silly and fun, boss fights are a blast, the visuals are stunning, and the sound department knocks it out of the park. You can even play the whole game in co-op!

The whole campaign will only take you about 4 hours, and the DLC is technically only one (very long) extra mission with its own bosses. That may sound short to some people, but since this is an old school outing, replaying stages with new loadouts trying to get that coveted S Rank score raises the replayability for the right people.

If you are looking for a stellar old school experience on the Switch with lots of charm, action, and explosions, then look no further. Mighty Goose is honking excellent!

Mighty Goose Switch Review provided by Nintendo Link
Publisher: Playism
Developers: Blastmode
Release Date: June 5th, 2021 (Free DLC April 19th, 2022)
Price: $19.99, £15.09, €16,79
Game Size: 268 MB