Mad Adventures

Mad Adventures - This Game Is Mad Fun!

A Perilous Expedition Through a Strange and Diverse 3D World

An Eclectic Gaming Experience

The world of video games has come a very long way over recent decades. Now, with so many great games available, it's easy for everyone to find something they enjoy. However, one downside of the abundance of games is that new and unique games are few and far between.

Enter: Mad Adventures. Developed and published by Nel, this multiplayer 3D platformer is as unique as it gets. Rather than sticking to a genre or two, this game sprinkles a little bit of everything into the recipe, and the results are fun.

Mad Adventures, which is only available for PC via Steam, takes platformers, party games, roguelikes, battle royales, and several other genres and shoves them into one game. Surprisingly enough, it somehow works.

Surviving an Eventful Expedition

Mad Adventures boasts a unique world filled with different environments, creatures, and obstacles. Playing as your customizable character, you and several friends must embark on a four-day expedition. Along the way, you'll face various challenges, including treacherous terrain, intense boss battles, and potentially, even betrayals.

The game is played in a third-person perspective, and much of the actual gameplay revolves around fast-paced platforming. However, the platforms you must navigate only account for one part of the total package and serve as a means to get you from one activity to the next.

The ultimate goal of Mad Adventures is to survive your party's perilous journey and reach the final boss battle. However, it's up to you to remain cooperative with the other players and work together, or strictly look out for yourself and turn on them at will.

Concept Rating: 4/5

Unique 3D Graphics

Mad Adventures is set in a vivid and colorful 3D world that constantly seems to have multiple things going on. Regardless of the environment or activity, you'll always see lots of movement on the screen, which helps keep you engaged and attentive at all times.

Overall, the animation looks pretty good. It's not hyper-realistic or anything particularly innovative, but the game animation has a clean, cartoonish aesthetic, and the setting often feels like its own character.

Now, for the soundtrack. Mad Adventures is filled with light, feel-good background music that syncs with the gameplay perfectly. Within five minutes of playing the game, you're likely to be in a relaxed, upbeat mood, and the happy soundtrack contributes to that.

Graphics & Audio Rating: 4/5

Co-Op or PvP?

With most multiplayer games, you tend to know in advance whether what you're playing is cooperative or PvP. However, that isn't necessarily the case in Mad Adventures.

Although you can advance through the game with your teammates and work together, you can also choose to betray each other at any given time. This allows you to steal coins from your fellow players and ultimately shift the game's dynamic. However, once you betray someone, there may be no turning back, and you never know when you might wish you had their help.

"Although you can advance through the game with your teammates and work together, you can also choose to betray each other at any given time."

Fully Customizable Characters

The character creation aspect of Mad Adventures allows you complete freedom for customization. If you want your character to resemble a stealthy ninja, a fearsome pirate captain, or just an animated version of yourself, you can make it happen.

Party Upgrades

As you and your party progress through expeditions, you'll regularly collect coins. You can spend those coins in the lobby for various upgrades, which will apply to all of the other players in the lobby. So, the better you do, the better the rest of your party does.

These party upgrades will typically give you and your teammates advantages in the game, offering boosts like double jumps, increased movement speed, and more powerful weapons. Alternatively, if you don't feel like helping the other players, you can use your coins on personal, cosmetic upgrades.

Boss Fights and Battle Royales

After you and your party have managed to survive a four-day expedition, you'll get to battle a mega-powerful boss. Whether it be a giant dragon or a bizarre tornado cube, you'll use your fighting and healing abilities to emerge victorious. However, the fun isn't quite finished once you've defeated the boss.

After you win a boss challenge, you'll unlock a battle royale free-for-all with your entire party. This will put you and the rest of the players in a unique environment where it becomes every player for themselves. Whoever comes out on top will get to wear the coveted golden crown!

"After you win a boss challenge, you'll unlock a battle royale free-for-all with your entire party."

Diverse Activities

In addition to all of the platforming, the expeditions are packed with many engaging activities. For example, you might hop on a snowboard and race down a steep mountain course. Later, you might play a slightly altered version of Capture the Flag, reminiscent of Dani's hilarious battle royale, Crab Game.

These activities are where the game shines. They're unique, challenging, and fun, and they do an excellent job of keeping the gameplay fresh. These mini-games are also when the upgraded abilities you've purchased can come in handy.

Gameplay Rating: 4/5

Purchasing Mad Adventures

If you're ready to jump into the unique world of Mad Adventures, the good news is that it's completely free to play.

The full version of the PC game launched on November 22, 2022, on Steam. Finding the real gems among free-to-play games isn't always easy, but Mad Adventures provides more fun than you'd expect from a game that costs nothing.

Lots of Low-Stakes Fun

When you're in the right mood, a high-intensity first-person shooter or terrifyingly realistic horror game can be an incredible experience. Sometimes, though, a lighthearted, casual video game is what you need. When that's what you're looking for, Mad Adventures will satisfy your cravings.

That isn't to say there's no engaging action in Mad Adventures, as that would be untrue. However, a large portion of the game has a relaxing and upbeat vibe, which makes it a consistently pleasant gaming experience. And with a solid selection of activities and settings, the replay value is above average for a free-to-play title.

Replay Value Rating: 4/5

The Good

• Diverse gameplay
• Nice-looking graphics and settings
• Unique game mechanics

The Bad

• Platforming could be improved a bit
• Could use more content

TL;DR

Mad Adventures is an eclectic, relaxing party game that blends several popular genres into one low-stakes adventure with friends.