Bad Mojo Redux

I remember playing this way back in the 2000. It was the regular game at that stage. I had become a big fan of adventure games and horror and thought this would be a good mix. I didn't expect it to be such a journey. It's a game that takes a piece of bacon and makes it a bridge. It takes your everyday environment and magnifies it. The detail of ordinary objects up close was sometimes creepy but often fascinating. The lack of HUD was great and the in picture fmv that revealed bit by bit the characters story added a sense of mystery. The puzzles felt connected to reality, both with things done early on relating to later outcomes and just the limitations of what a roach can do. The oracle with her riddles were enchanting and the CGI was brilliant for its time. The puzzles aren't super hard but the main pull is how unique an adventure game this is. I haven't really played anything quite like it. If games with live actors are your thing with an intruiging story and unique control set then this game is for you. I haven't played the redux version yet so this review is based off the original. OH and the music! Listening to the awesome soundtrack as I write this. The artist can be found at www.xorcist.com and he doesn't get money from your gog.com purchase so if you enjoy the music do what I did and go on his site and throw a couple bucks his way.

The game is delightfully different and very immersive- after getting a handle on the controls and solving the first few puzzles, it really sucks you in. The environment is incredibly detailed and unflinchingly filthy, nauseating and grim, but it's a lot of fun navigating it, and the game does an excellent job of telling a story through the environment alone (well, and an occasional cutscene)- everything is explained if you look closely enough, either in text form or simply from the context and condition of the items the rooms are filled with. The story goes in a very unexpected direction given the basic premise and initial impressions of the characters, and the game ends up feeling very dreamlike and trippy, especially when your fellow vermin show up to give you cryptic, rhyming clues about what to do next. The hints are usually useful without being too obvious, and all of the puzzles feel fair, with the exception of the fuse puzzle near the end, which really needed a tiny bit more elaboration. The deaths aren't always fair or predictable, but even if you lose all your lives, you just start the room over with any puzzles you solved already completed, so it's not a big problem. My only complaint aside from the fuse puzzle is that they might have been a little TOO enthusiastic with the disgustingness of the environment- not because I have a weak stomach, but because it doesn't really fit with the character of the landlord. One look at the kitchen and you can conclude that he cooks by spilling vegetables and beans all over the counter, chopping them up a bit, slicing the head off a fish while leaving another, still-living one on the cutting board, hacking up some meat (some of which has maggots in it!), tipping over a couple open bottles of spices onto the whole thing, then letting it boil over unattended in a couple pots, splashing all over the stove while cockroaches crawl all over everything. I know he's depressed and all, but DAMN!

There aren't many games that are truly unique. But I can't think of anything that directly compares to Bad Mojo. It's an adventure game that emphasizes exploration and observation over traditional puzzles, and as others have said, it does a great job of bringing to life the potential grossness of bugs, bathrooms, and even food. There are some typical adventure genre annoyances, but if you like weird and different, you should definitely try this out.

I played this on Mac in 1996 and it got me into adventure. It made me go back and play a lot of older games. None of them could recapture the feeling this game gave me however, except maybe Sanitarium, with its very uneasy, uncomfortable atmosphere. Playing as the cockroach there are thousands of seemingly insignificant ways to die! And that is one of this game's greatest strengths - it makes you FEEL like the cockroach. And while the FMV acting is really dodgy, the gameplay is perfect, and it's own motivation. This is a game with loads of soul. I never managed to get a hold of this game again as the PC port was more rare than the original Mac release, and when I found it I couldn't get it to work. So I'm buying this again from GOG!

I stumbled into this game by accident many years ago, and it quickly became a favorite of mine. It was so different, and gave a quite new view to what a game puzzle is. Really recommended (although I haven't had the chance to play this GOG version yet). I just do hope they have managed to keep the jerky movement (but still easy to control) that really made me feel in control a roach when doing this remake.