Musashi vs. Cthulhu Review

This Musashi vs. Cthulhu review is based on the Xbox Series X version. Musashi vs. Cthulhu is also available for Nintendo Switch, PS4/PS5 and PC.

Nostalgic flashback

Do you remember those old-school flash games you could play on the internet? I used to play a lot of those during my high school days. They were easy to pick up and could get you hooked for hours. Especially when there were leaderboards involved, I would go into ultra-challenge mode with my friends to reach the top. My first look at Musashi vs. Cthulhu brought back those memories.

Musashi vs. Cthulhu lets you play as Musashi, a famous warrior from feudal Japan who has somehow fallen victim to a curse. The curse has made him the target of an endless army of Cthulhu monsters who are out for his blood, and that’s all you need to know. There’s no intricate storytelling with plot twists—just a plain, simple story about how you’re in trouble and why you need to defend yourself.

Straightforward gameplay

Musashi vs. Cthulhu’s gameplay is straightforward in concept. Monsters will come at you from both sides, and it’s up to you to stay alive as long as possible. You do this by pressing one of six buttons—three for each side, corresponding to different parts of the body you need to strike: head, torso, and legs. Each part comes with a target marker to indicate which button to press. As you kill a monster, a new one spawns. As your kill count rises, more enemies will appear in larger numbers, and they will have more markers you need to hit.

Musashi vs. Cthulhu throws six different kinds of monsters your way, each with its own attack pattern and health. Some enemies will test your agility by rapidly switching sides and attacking you from behind. Others come with an extra defensive marker that you need to hit twice before it gets destroyed. One thing is for sure: MvsC gets very hectic quickly. Before you know it, enemies start closing in from both sides, and you have to rely on quick hand-eye coordination.

Difficulty and assistance

I always had trouble with games like Guitar Hero, where the game heavily relies on quick button switching. Due to the speed, I always reach a point where I keep mixing up the buttons. For people who have the same trouble, it’s good to know that there is a small safety ability that blocks any kind of damage received. However, the action bar must be raised by attacking enemies, making this ability especially valuable in hectic situations.

Competitive edge

MvsC features daily, weekly, and all-time leaderboards, which make the game more competitive. Unfortunately, not many people play this game on Xbox, so the daily and weekly leaderboards are barely contested. The most players I have seen was three, including myself. If you’re not into leaderboards, MvsC can become dull quickly, as there isn’t much else to it.

Art Style and Design

MvsC has a very dark and gritty art style that perfectly complements the sinister enemies you encounter. The enemies are exactly what you would expect from Cthulhu-inspired designs, featuring lots and lots of tentacles. By attacking left or right, your character advances in the direction of the attack, eventually making a full loop around the level. However, before you manage to complete the loop, you will likely have died a dozen times.