The only thing I knew about Molly Medusa: Queen of Spit was how it looked. Its screenshots gave off a distinctly Wind Waker vibe, and that was enough to pique my interest. I lost interest in the game in about five seconds. As soon as you boot it up, you hear thundering drums and wailing guitars. The music subsides sometimes, and sometimes mixes with generic fantasy/ren faire music, but it’s still pretty constant throughout most of the game. While there’s nothing wrong with loud metal as the soundtrack, in Molly Medusa’s case, it seems like a weird mismatch, especially when the volume rockets up while you’re windsurfing.
That critique, obviously, is a matter of personal taste – maybe someone will love listening to metal blasting for a couple of hours. The game’s bigger issue, however, is one that’s not personal taste: it’s terrible at controlling the camera. Not just because it’s a 3D game where you can control the camera sometimes and sometimes you can’t. That’s annoying, but not game-breaking.
Rather, the problem is that you can barely control the camera in a 3D game where the main character seems to be able to change gravity and walk on walls and ceilings. You can’t see where you’re going half the time because the camera doesn’t work that way, so whatever the game gains in terms of making you think creatively to solve puzzles, it doesn’t make up for it. There’s an option to switch between first- and third-person views, but that just means you have two different ways to not see Molly.
It doesn’t even begin with the 3D dungeons, where you have to figure your way through multiple doors, angles, and sides. It’s quite a feat to walk through one of those without getting at least a little disoriented. I tip my hat to you. Molly Medusa’s other issue is that it never really gives you much direction with those 3D dungeons. It pretends to, by giving you vague instructions and useless maps, but it rarely makes it clear what your objectives are. In the end, you’re Medusa, and you want to change your hair back to normal, but that’s more implied than stated in the game’s overarching plot.
The dungeons are kind of incomprehensible and rely on luck, but most of the puzzles involve moving boxes or flipping switches. You’ll know what to expect if you’ve ever played Zelda-like games, and it’s cute enough that it’d be hard not to fall for it. Nevertheless, Molly Medusa’s camera controls are so terrible that it’s impossible to enjoy anything else. With a few changes, it could become an under-the-radar hit, but for now, it’s the one to avoid.
