Max Mustard

March 21, 2024 admin

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🚀 Platformer · Adventure · Meta Quest · PSVR2 · Steam · All Ages

⭐ 4.8/5 on Quest · 4.87/5 on PSVR2 · "Best VR Platformer Since Astro Bot"

Max Mustard

Planet Krunch is in trouble. Villainous businessman Stubbins is kidnapping adorable creatures called Mudpups and selling them as luxury products to the wealthy elite. Only one person can stop him: rocket-boot inventor Max Mustard — and you. A joyful, brilliantly controlled VR platformer across 40 hand-crafted levels, 4 ridiculous bosses and 8 powerful gadgets. Built from the ground up for VR, from indie studio Toast Interactive. The finest VR platformer since Astro Bot.

$29.99 Meta Quest 2/3/Pro PSVR2 · Steam Toast Interactive 40 levels · 4 bosses March 2024

Meta Store — $29.99 Steam

XR Rating

4.5

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Platform: Meta Quest 2/3/Pro · PSVR2 · Steam · Price: $29.99 · Developer: Toast Interactive (indie) · Ratings: 4.8/5 Quest (667 reviews) · 4.87/5 PSVR2 (464 reviews) · Metacritic 77

About the Game

What is Max Mustard?

Max Mustard is a made-for-VR 3D platformer developed by Toast Interactive — a small indie studio — and released on Meta Quest in March 2024, followed by PSVR2 and Steam in October 2024. From its first moment, the game communicates a clear ambition: to do for VR what Astro Bot Rescue Mission did in 2018, delivering a joyful, precise, content-rich platformer that uses VR's unique perspective as an integral part of the experience rather than a novelty layer over a flat-screen game.

The result is the highest-rated VR platformer released since Astro Bot — earning 4.8 out of 5 from 667 Meta Store reviews and 4.87 out of 5 from 464 PSVR2 reviews, with reviewers across Road to VR, 6DOF Reviews, The VR Realm and MIXED all recommending it strongly. The central premise is charming and kid-friendly: inventor Max Mustard witnesses small, adorable creatures called Mudpups being kidnapped by the villainous businessman Stubbins and sold as luxury vanity products. You team up with Max to rescue them — one vibrant level at a time.

The Astro Bot comparison: Reviewers consistently reach for Astro Bot Rescue Mission (2018) as the reference point — the PSVR platformer that remains many critics' best VR game ever made. Max Mustard doesn't quite match Astro Bot's consistency or production polish (it's an indie game on a fraction of the budget), but it earns the comparison. The controls are smooth and precise, the level design is inventive, and the feeling of guiding a small character through a VR world from above is reproduced with genuine craft. For students who can't access the PSVR2 version of Astro Bot, Max Mustard on Quest is the next best thing.

The game launches you into the action immediately — there is no tutorial, which reflects confidence in its own intuitiveness. You are eased in through the genre's well-established conventions: simple enemies, clear level paths, and the deeply satisfying feeling of landing on an enemy's head. Each of the 40 levels is hand-crafted with its own surprises, hazards and mechanics.

Features

What Makes It Special

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Third-Person Platforming Built for VR

The core experience is classic third-person platforming — you watch Max run, jump and stomp enemies from above and behind, guided by your VR perspective. The controls are universally praised as smooth and precise: jumps feel correct, enemies can be reliably stomped, and the camera follows a thoughtfully designed path through each level. MIXED Magazine highlights the precision as the game's strongest quality — "it's a real pleasure to run and jump through the worlds with Max." 6DOF Reviews calls it "the most enjoyable third-person platform experience I've had in decades."

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First-Person Gadget Sections — 8 Power-Ups

Woven into the platforming are first-person sections where you use gadgets to help Max through obstacles and defeat bosses. The plunger gun fires at enemies and environmental targets; the wind gun moves platforms and objects; other gadgets unlock as you progress through the game's 8 upgrades. These sections lean into VR's physicality — you're actively aiming and shooting rather than just watching. The integration is not seamless (some reviewers find these sections feel separate from the main platforming) but the variety they provide keeps the 40-level journey fresh.

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40 Hand-Crafted Levels — No Boring Bits

Toast Interactive's stated design principle is "no boring bits" — each of the 40 levels is purpose-built with its own visual identity, hazard set and mechanical surprise. Levels are tubular in structure (like Astro Bot and Super Mario), moving you forward through a continuous path rather than an open sandbox. The variety across 40 levels is considerable: reviewers note that while quality is uneven in places, the best levels are genuinely inventive and the worst are still solidly playable. There are hidden Mudpups and collectibles in each level for completionists.

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4 Ridiculous Bosses

Four boss encounters punctuate the campaign — each a set-piece moment where your first-person gadget skills combine with knowledge of the boss's pattern. They follow the classic "hit it three times" platformer orthodoxy but are entertaining and well-designed. The boss confrontations are highlights of the experience, raising the stakes after stretches of level platforming and providing satisfying conclusion moments to each act of the game.

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Vibrant Comic-Style Art — Bright & Readable

Max Mustard adopts a bright, bold, comic-style visual language that suits the platformer genre perfectly. Colours are vivid, Max is beautifully animated, and the levels have a clear visual hierarchy that makes hazards, collectibles and paths immediately readable — essential in a fast-paced platformer. Reviewers consistently praise the visuals as well-suited to VR, where the close-up diorama perspective gives the bright worlds a toy-like quality. The look is reminiscent of late-90s 3D platformers — Banjo-Kazooie, Crash Bandicoot — brought into VR with modern rendering quality.

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Audio — Music, Environments, No Voice Acting

Each level has its own music and environmental audio tailored to match the setting and pace. The sounds of Max's jet boots, the Mudpups, collecting coins and stomping enemies are all satisfying and well-mixed. One note: there is no spoken dialogue. The story is delivered through end-of-level notes that must be read — which means the narrative relies entirely on text and visual storytelling. For younger or emerging readers, this is worth knowing; for most school-age students, it's a minor consideration in an otherwise excellent audio package.

School Value

Curriculum & Educational Fit

Spatial reasoning

85%

Problem solving / timing

80%

Enrichment / reward

97%

Computing (game design)

70%

Engagement

96%

Age appropriateness (7+)

98%

Max Mustard is not a curriculum tool — it won't teach a chemistry concept or explain a historical event. Its educational value lies in spatial reasoning (navigating a 3D environment from a unique perspective), problem-solving and timing (learning enemy patterns, platform rhythms, and boss mechanics), and the broader value of experiencing high-quality interactive design. For Computing students, Max Mustard is a masterclass in game design principles — level pacing, difficulty curves, mechanic introduction, visual language and player feedback. Its platform structure (tubular levels, escalating challenge, gadget unlocks) illustrates core game design concepts concretely. As an enrichment or reward experience, it is outstanding — joyful, age-appropriate from 7 upwards, with no content concerns whatsoever and genuine skill development over its 40 levels.

XR School Verdict

Controls & feel10/10

Visual design9/10

Level variety (40 levels)8/10

Boss design8/10

First-person sections6/10

Story / narrative5/10

Bottom line: The finest VR platformer available on Meta Quest — joyful, precise and packed with content across 40 hand-crafted levels. The controls are some of the best in any VR game, and the Astro Bot comparison is well-earned. Story is thin and first-person sections are uneven, but neither undermines an experience that is consistently fun from start to finish. An essential purchase for any school VR library. Suitable from age 7 upwards with no content concerns.

🚀 Characters & Story

Max Mustard: Inventor, rocket-boot enthusiast, your companion through 40 levels

Mudpups: Adorable small creatures — the ones you're rescuing. Hidden in every level

Stubbins: Villainous businessman. Capturing Mudpups. Selling them to the wealthy elite

Planet Krunch: A dying world — the stakes behind the adventure

Story is light and delivered through end-of-level text notes rather than voice acting or cutscenes — charming but thin

Pros & Cons

✓ Best VR platformer since Astro Bot

✓ Near-perfect controls & jump feel

✓ 40 hand-crafted levels

✓ 4.8/5 on Meta · 4.87/5 on PSVR2

✓ Vibrant, readable visual design

✓ 4 bosses · 8 gadget upgrades

✓ Mudpup collectibles throughout

✓ Seated / standing / roomscale

✓ Quest 2/3 · PSVR2 · Steam

✓ Age 7+ · no content concerns

✗ Story thin — text notes only

✗ First-person sections uneven

✗ Level quality inconsistent

Quick Info

Platform	Quest 2/3/Pro · PSVR2 · Steam
Price	$29.99
Developer	Toast Interactive
Released	March 21, 2024 (Quest)
Levels	40 hand-crafted
Bosses	4
Upgrades	8 gadgets
Quest rating	4.8/5 · 667 reviews
Play modes	Seated · standing · roomscale
Best for	Enrichment · All ages (7+)