Pac-Man meets a time-stopping survivor-like bullet heaven in Maze Mice out in Early Access

Maze Mice is the latest game from the developer of the popular Luck be a Landlord, and while many developers continue making their own form of Vampire Survivor-like, this is probably the most unique so far that truly mixes things up as it feels a lot more like Pac-Man. Note: key provided for me.

Not just a survivor-like meets Pac-Man but it also ends up a little like a reverse-Snake, as all the enemies start lining up in a big long line as they chase after you. The key here is to plan ahead, and pick what direction you're going to be running in to grab some XP orbs to unlock and upgrade more skills that auto-fire while you're moving.

Thankfully, it is not a race against time (well, not exactly) since it has a time-stopping mechanic where nothing happens unless you move.

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I love the idea of it. I really do. Initially, I wasn't entirely sure if it had enough to hook me in for long. The game mechanics the developer has taken and put in a blender here are certainly a very weird and interesting combo, but I thought the time-stopping mechanic was actually working against it.

After you play more though, and survive for longer, you begin to understand why the time-stop mechanic is actually great. Even with you able to just stop everything, there's still a surprising urgency to it, especially when you've repeatedly managed to back yourself into a corner and you're on your last little bit of HP.

Still, I would really like to see more dynamic elements and events on the map to just spice things up a bit more, and help it have some more staying power for the long run. As I've progressed through, I've enjoyed unlocking more abilities to have another run through and see what weird combinations I can make. And I look forward to unlocking even more.

It's out now in Early Access, so it has only just begun life with the developer hoping to add in more upgrades, characters and stages.

“Seeing the love for Luck be a Landlord has really motivated me while working on my second commercial title, Maze Mice,” said Dan DiIorio, lead developer and founder of TrampolineTales. “I can’t wait to watch everyone skitter through mazes, achieve high scores, and unlock cheesy upgrades!”