Mr Sun's Hatbox

Mr Sun's Hatbox (2023) is a slapstick running, jumping and shooting game about retrieving a stolen hatbox at any cost. Play is Spelunky-style platforming and shooting, but with characters who have problematic traits that must be offset with hat abilities. It stands out for the looping heist challenges and interstitial base building that depends as much on picking the right hats for your team as on quick reactions.

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Mr Moon and his troublemakers have stolen Mr Sun's hatbox and it's up to you to build a team, stage a series of heists, and get it back. In each stage, you choose a team of characters with different quirks and abilities. Maybe they can taser anyone they touch. Or maybe (less useful) they have dry eyes and blink a lot, turning the whole screen temporarily black. Or maybe they have a guilty conscience that means they panic and jump around after killing someone. These abilities need to be paired with (offset by) all manner of whacky hats - ping pong rackets, shark hats and the like - along with the usual firearms, explosives, and sharp objects.

Because the abilities and hats define not only your team but the enemies, learning how they work together not only helps you progress but avoid enemy attacks. This Spelunky-style chaotic platforming combines with the base and team-building aspects to always give you another reason to go back for another run. In this way, you develop from your modest beginnings to build a unit fit for taking down the mischievous Mr Moon and his troublemakers.

The result is a game about working with what you've got and finding ways to use your team's negative traits to your advantage. Add the cooperative element to this and it offers the kind of emergent fun usually associated with more complex and better-looking games like Sea of Thieves. Don't be fooled though, play here is just as nuanced and unpredictable.

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Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Mr Sun's Hatbox 20 months ago. It was re-examined by Thom Robertson and updated 10 weeks ago.