Reviewed on Switch

Sometimes all you need is a quaint little game to pass an hour with. That’s exactly what Mastho Is Together accomplishes. It’s a simple but well-made distraction. It’s charming yet challenging. And it gives you a good one-hour experience for just $5.

Super Marshmallow Boy

In Mastho Is Together, you play as a small, sugar-free marshmallow. Stylistically, the game is somewhat reminiscent of a cross between the early Meat Boy Flash game and the more recent Rite. This is a tough platformer with some light puzzling, minimalistic graphics, and solid controls.

The reason Mastho Is Together works so well is because of how compact yet complete it feels. Each of the game’s 40 platforming stages are set within the boundaries of a single screen. There’s no vertical or horizontal scrolling here — what you see is what you get, and usually, that entails platforming that’s equal parts challenging and rewarding.

One thing that makes Mastho Is Together so easy to get into is how it constantly evolves its challenge. Yes, you can finish the game in one hour or less, but each stage is solved in different ways. Sometimes you might have to wall jump past moving obstacles. Other times you’ll have to dash to outrun deadly blades. You’ll be required to time jumps with pixel perfect accuracy, or you’ll be faced with multiple obstacles in a row.

Maybe because it’s so brief, but Mastho Is Together doesn’t really get frustrating. Well, for the most part. After all, there are a few stages that are pretty tough, so you might encounter some brief agitation. Even then, though, these levels usually just require persistence on your part.

Though the controls are sound for the most part, there were times while playing Mastho Is Together where I’d wished they were even tighter. There’s a lot of precision platforming in the game, and sometimes, the controls can feel just a hair off. Thankfully, this was only ever noticeable in the most chaotic levels.

Sweet, Marshmallow Goodness

Graphically, Mastho Is Together goes for a simple look. There’s nothing overly dynamic about the game’s graphics and onscreen effects, but the minimalistic look really works here. The game may be difficult to play, but it’s easy on the eyes, and it utilizes a nice, subdued color scheme to create a visual experience that’s serene and relaxing, effectively juxtaposing the challenging gameplay.

The music, a single theme that plays across all 40 levels, is definitely lacking. It’ll get a little repetitive over the game’s one-hour length, but it’s not exactly offensively bad. It’s just sort of there — a cross between catchy and underwhelming.

Mastho Is Together is something you play in between games, or while you wait for a TV show to start. This is a platformer that’s simple, to the point, and, quite simply, a good little game.

Score: 7 out of 10

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