I encountered this game by chance when I opened the page of a Honduran subreddit, which I occasionally visit to find the guts to connect with some of my people. As someone who is half Honduran, this project really spoke to me as something I just HAD to play, given that our country lacks representation and coverage for things other than corruption and homocide, and most people don't even know of its existence.
And [b]WOW[/b] Eduardo Guerra & Co, this blew me away and really made me go down memory lane!! I mean, Copán and Roatán?! In the (unfortunately) few times I've travelled to Honduras, those have been two major places I went to! I have a picture of me and my mom standing in front of the Copán ruins, and you could see me not being in the best mood. I believe that I was too young to really grasp the importance of preserving Mayan and other tribal/indigenous landmarks. Thinking about it now gives me second-hand embarrassment, because they're my ancestors and I should've shown respect. Also, who else is lucky enough to learn about the Mayans?! In Norway, where I've grown up and where my other half is from, we never could have learnt about such a niche topic! Therefore, seeing them represented here made me smile, and it is undeniably a crucial chapter of Honduran history and culture to include if you're going to try to represent it. Bien hecho, en serio!!
During one of my first visits to Honduras, we saved a baby tapir at night from some hunters that killed its mother. My mother, being a veterinarian, was engulfed in rage at the unfairness that this baby had just experienced. My grandfather, a former Honduran politican, now farmer, agreed to take it in until it could be given to a sanctuary, and during our visit my mother decided to help out my grandfather by nursing the baby tapir back to health.
Because of them I am a burning animal rights activist, but I usually keep it to myself. I do my absolute best to boycott whatever corruption exists in the industry. Basically, I love ALL animals, but my absolute favorites are the wolf, the elephant, and pretty much any bird. Macaws are especially beautiful (I have a picture of me holding several of them when I visited a Honduran bird sanctuary), and I never knew that the Scarlet Macaw was the national symbol of Honduras! Maybe it makes sense, because my grandfather used to lift me up at six years old up in a tree so I could feed his "pet" Scarlet Macaw. We named him Paco, and he'd come every morning for some bananas and to mimic our voices, and then he'd leave to do his own things. Eventually he found a mate, Lola, but he sadly died when he was killed by a hawk whilst protecting his nest.
I also didn't know that the white bat was native to Honduras, nor that it even existed! All I know about bats in Honduras, is that it's the word most kids pronounce wrong at first. It is no doubt one of the cutest things I've seen in a while, and I love how it's one of Mawkey's companions. Both fun and not-so-fun facts about Honduras casually getting mentioned in the game as you progress, is also a great way to spread awareness about it. Thank you so much, because both our people and our beautiful wildlife need urgent help, yet no one is talking about it.
Also, knowing that you are using part of the game's profits to help out animal shelters really touched my heart. You're not only doing important work for the entertainment/gaming industry, but also making this world a better place by using this game's profits for something good. By doing that, you're already far better than the mainstream game developers whom far too often seem to fall for the path to greed.
I love how there's a different inspiration for each world you progress to, and that the transitions between each are shown (f.e. the tapir & rocket ship minigames which prevent the game from feeling repetitive). The difference in colors/aesthetics from one background to the next, as well as the glitchy/drowsy effects in this game, allow for a huge variation of moods that can be conveyed. It goes hand-in-hand with the unique soundtrack, which I love. As someone who has done a bunch of pixel art, I find it hard to master, yet the pixel art in this game is beautiful and absolutely do all the characters justice. I don't think I've ever seen a cuter pixel bird, and especially not one I actually felt for as I did for Mawkey! I also love the game's cover art in the store! Rio happens to be my favorite movie of all time, and I couldn't help but think about Blu and Rafaél when I saw Mawkey and Trukki helping each other out! It also made me wonder if Rio was an inspiration for this game, which if it was, would be amazing. One form of inspiration I did see confirmed on the Kickstarter, was Mario, and that was exactly the vibe I was getting, especially when I got to the underwater and beach levels! I played tons and tons of Mario when I was younger, so this was also a thing that hit my wave of nostalgia!
When I first downloaded this game, I was afraid that it'd be too easy. But it really wasn't, proven by the fact that I sat for almost two hours in the last boss fight just now. The game had an appropriate difficulty level, and I liked that I had to go about some of the levels as if they were a puzzle. This is also the first time I haven't been able to look up tutorials for a game, which makes sense given that it's so new, but man did it force me to think hard whenever I was stuck on something, lol.
All in all, this game is very well thought out, and I am convinced that it was made with passion. Although the controls and duration of some of the narrator bubbles could do with a little polish (as well as enabling the F12 key for screenshots, because it wouldn't let me take any), the biggest flaw was not making this game longer, because this was an absolute joy for me to play - and is no doubt an important game for our community. I am not complaining though because I did love the ending, but oh man how great it would be if this game could become a franchise!! It was so addicting to play, and rightfully so!
I am so glad I found Mawkey: The Last Macaw. I have since followed Guerra Pixel Studios on social media, as well as subscribed to your (Eduardo's) newsletter because I am beyond excited to see what else you'll create in the future. A huge applause from me to you all.
[h1] Viva Honduras, y Feliz Navidad! <3 [/h1]
[spoiler](Also, if there are any Hondurans lurking here and wanting a friend, I'd love to connect with any one of you to practice my Spanish!)[/spoiler]
