Mask Around review - “ A juice-infused roguelite platformer”

• Frustrating default controls
• Collect juice to earn boosts like a juice power punch
• Use juice to buy new weapons and items

Mask Around is a new 2D shooter platformer roguelite from developer Rouli, in which you explore vibrant levels as you battle enemies, collect the juice and unlock new perks. You’ll need every drop of juice you can get to overpower your enemies. It’s up to you whether you hoard your juice to unlock boosts or spend it on new weapons and other items.

In Mask Around, you’ll make your way across colourful platforms, dispatching enemies, collecting juice, and unlocking new weapons and boosts. You'll start out with simple mechanics like jumping and kicking obstacles to break them. As you delve deeper, however, you'll come across new ones, such as operating levers to move obstacles and platforms.

Battling Enemies in Mask Around

You can take down enemies by shooting, punching, or kicking. One punch is often enough to take down a foe. However, you have to get up and close. You can kick enemies by jumping and pressing the punch button. 

Different enemies present different challenges. For instance, enemies with green triangle-shaped heads will generate a shield that you'll either need to break or skirt around to defeat them. Flying robots don't care about damaging you, but they will steal your juice drops if you let them get close, while unarmed enemies make up for their lack of weaponry with speed.

Mask Around is All About the Juice

When you fill up your juice meter, a yellow juice hand will sprout from your backpack, letting you pack a bigger punch. Fill the meter a second time to temporarily transform your avatar into a beefy juiced-up version of himself. While juiced up, you can’t die, so take advantage of this mode while it lasts.

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You can also choose to spend your juice on new weapons and items. You can purchase drinks at vending machines. Red drinks heal you, green drinks increase your punch damage, and pink ones increase bullet damage. You’ll also come across items you can purchase, such as a cosmic trampoline that makes each bullet you shoot bounce off the walls once, or the Big White Boots, which let you walk on air.

Mask Around Features Annoying Controls

Mask Around suffers from poor default controls. The default controls are especially difficult to handle. You hold your finger on the left side of the screen to go left and the right side of the screen to go right. Unlike many games, changing directions does not change the direction your avatar faces.

You control that separately by double-tapping the side of the screen your avatar is currently facing away from. Double-tap the side of the screen you're facing to punch enemies, tap both sides of the screen simultaneously to jump, and tilt your phone to aim your gun. If these controls sound frustrating, it's because they are. Unless you've got a knack for gyro controls (and power to you if you do), then you're going to get frustrated fast.

This 2D roguelite platformer does let you switch to on-screen controls under settings; however, these still feel a tad clumsy. It is controller-compatible and luckily using my NEO S Frost edition controller let me really enjoy running around collecting precious juice droplets. I highly recommend either using a controller or switching to the on-screen button controls for a less frustrating experience.

Mask Around and Find Out

Mask Around is a creative 2D roguelite platformer and the only one I've come across to put such an emphasis on juice. While the default controls are incredibly vexing, switching to an external controller or on-screen buttons makes the experience much more enjoyable. Thanks to silly juice boosts, a variety of enemies, and entertaining weapons to unlock, Mask Around is worth checking out.