Salsa mode steals the show
By Paul Hunter
Mascot platformers were everywhere when I was growing up, so I still get excited seeing a colourful character sprint, jump, and bounce onto centre stage. Marsupilami is latest character to do just that, and despite his relatively recent return to gaming space, he's actually been around since the 1950s starring in André Franquin’s comic book series.
Ocellus Studio brought the character to modern consoles with Marsupilami: Hoobadventure in 2021, and now Marsupilami 2: Salsa Palombia has arrived on the scene. Published by Microids, this 2.5D sequel quickly won me over with its personality and obvious affection for classic platformers. Does this trip through Palombia deserve an encore? Let’s find out!
Behind the curse is the Mummy Queen, who has returned from the Land of the Dead with her minions and has no intention of letting Palombia settle down. Fortunately, our three Marsupilami heroes Twister, Hope, and Punch are not affected by the spell and set out to stop her and restore their home before the entire region becomes one never-ending dance floor.
The premise is silly, sure, but I liked the simplicity because it suits the characters and has a similar light vibe to the one found in the comics and animations. There's something wonderfully silly about saving a world where everyone literally cannot stop dancing.
Twister can air-dash across wider gaps and use his tail to slow his descent. Hope has a spinning double jump that reaches higher platforms, while Punch turns into a bouncing ball that crosses spikes and smashes obstacles. I loved how stages are purposely built around these abilities, causing you to swap heroes depending on the challenges in front of you. One stretch might call for Hope to double jump to reach a ledge before Twister takes over to glide across a large the gap ahead.
All three also share a broader set of moves, such as rolling to build speed, latching onto marked points or attacking enemies with your tail, wall jumping, and ground pounding from the air. It's nice that their core moves are the same as it makes character swaps feel more seamless and gives a nice flow to the gameplay.
Exploration is central to each stage, as you'll want to find and collect fruit to fill a meter after each stage that rewards you with musical notes. Earning enough notes lets you take on each world’s boss. Hidden dojos provide optional challenges such as beating a timer, defeating enemies, or surviving long enough to finish the challenge.
Finishing a stage also unlocks Salsa Mode, easily the best feature of this game. Salsa Mode turns courses into a score-focused speed run where grabbing fruit keeps your points combo going, and maintaining the chain increases the multiplier. I had a blast figuring out better routes and memorizing where the next piece of fruit sits so I could keep the multiplier going and achieve a high score.
When you're ready to bring a buddy along, local co-op lets you and a friend each control one Marsupilami at the same time and complete stages together. Dojo games bring out the competitive flavour with survival contests, ball-scoring matches, object-holding battles, and territory challenges. It's certainly a lot of fun and I highly recommend experiencing the game through co-op.
Different times of day give individual stages another visual change, and the cartoon-style cutscenes between worlds fit naturally with Marsupilami’s comic roots.
The soundtrack injects even more personality into the presentation, with tunes inspired by rock, jazz, electro, and disco. I especially enjoyed the boss tracks, which are full of energy and help make those moments memorable.
Performance-wise, on PS5 the game runs silky smooth whether you're playing alone or together in couch co-op. All in all, Marsupilami 2 is a colourful, joyous world that's supported beautifully by its stellar soundtrack.
Final Score: 8.5/10 - Great
Developer: Ocellus Studio
Publisher: Microids
Genre: Platformer
Modes: Single-player, 2-player Local Co-op
By Paul Hunter
Mascot platformers were everywhere when I was growing up, so I still get excited seeing a colourful character sprint, jump, and bounce onto centre stage. Marsupilami is latest character to do just that, and despite his relatively recent return to gaming space, he's actually been around since the 1950s starring in André Franquin’s comic book series.
Ocellus Studio brought the character to modern consoles with Marsupilami: Hoobadventure in 2021, and now Marsupilami 2: Salsa Palombia has arrived on the scene. Published by Microids, this 2.5D sequel quickly won me over with its personality and obvious affection for classic platformers. Does this trip through Palombia deserve an encore? Let’s find out!
Story and Narrative
Marsupilami 2 is a little light on story, but what we do have plays out with the lightheartedness of a Saturday-morning cartoon. A mysterious melody has spread across Palombia, causing the local animals to dance endlessly under its spell.Behind the curse is the Mummy Queen, who has returned from the Land of the Dead with her minions and has no intention of letting Palombia settle down. Fortunately, our three Marsupilami heroes Twister, Hope, and Punch are not affected by the spell and set out to stop her and restore their home before the entire region becomes one never-ending dance floor.
The premise is silly, sure, but I liked the simplicity because it suits the characters and has a similar light vibe to the one found in the comics and animations. There's something wonderfully silly about saving a world where everyone literally cannot stop dancing.
Gameplay and Mechanics
The gameplay in Marsupilami 2 is so much fun because you do not control just one hero. There are three playable Marsupilamis (Twister, Hope, and Punch) and each stage gives you two of them to swap between whenever their different abilities are needed.Twister can air-dash across wider gaps and use his tail to slow his descent. Hope has a spinning double jump that reaches higher platforms, while Punch turns into a bouncing ball that crosses spikes and smashes obstacles. I loved how stages are purposely built around these abilities, causing you to swap heroes depending on the challenges in front of you. One stretch might call for Hope to double jump to reach a ledge before Twister takes over to glide across a large the gap ahead.
All three also share a broader set of moves, such as rolling to build speed, latching onto marked points or attacking enemies with your tail, wall jumping, and ground pounding from the air. It's nice that their core moves are the same as it makes character swaps feel more seamless and gives a nice flow to the gameplay.
Exploration is central to each stage, as you'll want to find and collect fruit to fill a meter after each stage that rewards you with musical notes. Earning enough notes lets you take on each world’s boss. Hidden dojos provide optional challenges such as beating a timer, defeating enemies, or surviving long enough to finish the challenge.
Finishing a stage also unlocks Salsa Mode, easily the best feature of this game. Salsa Mode turns courses into a score-focused speed run where grabbing fruit keeps your points combo going, and maintaining the chain increases the multiplier. I had a blast figuring out better routes and memorizing where the next piece of fruit sits so I could keep the multiplier going and achieve a high score.
When you're ready to bring a buddy along, local co-op lets you and a friend each control one Marsupilami at the same time and complete stages together. Dojo games bring out the competitive flavour with survival contests, ball-scoring matches, object-holding battles, and territory challenges. It's certainly a lot of fun and I highly recommend experiencing the game through co-op.
Presentation and Audio
The first jungle stages immediately reminded me why colourful platformers can be so much fun to look at. Salsa Palombia starts with lush tropical greenery and lively backgrounds before the adventure moves into a busy city, snowy mountain scenery, and a night-time carnival filled with disco flavour.Different times of day give individual stages another visual change, and the cartoon-style cutscenes between worlds fit naturally with Marsupilami’s comic roots.
The soundtrack injects even more personality into the presentation, with tunes inspired by rock, jazz, electro, and disco. I especially enjoyed the boss tracks, which are full of energy and help make those moments memorable.
Performance-wise, on PS5 the game runs silky smooth whether you're playing alone or together in couch co-op. All in all, Marsupilami 2 is a colourful, joyous world that's supported beautifully by its stellar soundtrack.
The Verdict
Marsupilami 2: Salsa Palombia gave me exactly what I want from a modern mascot platformer. The movement is responsive, the three Marsupilamis give stages genuine variety, and the extra collectibles and challenges make revisiting familiar areas worthwhile. I loved its colourful worlds and music-and-dancing personality, it's the kind of joyful game you'll want to experience with others via local co-op. Ocellus Studio has built a stronger sequel that expands on the ideas introduced in Hoobadventure, and I had a fantastic time from beginning to end.Final Score: 8.5/10 - Great
Marsupilami 2 - Salsa Palombia details
Platform: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Nintendo SwitchDeveloper: Ocellus Studio
Publisher: Microids
Genre: Platformer
Modes: Single-player, 2-player Local Co-op