Mullet MadJack: creator talks about success and references of the Brazilian game

Mullet MadJack is a frenetic and distinctive FPS that has been attracting attention since its announcement at the PC Gaming Show in June 2023. The title has already traveled the world before becoming popular with the Brazilian public.

Currently, the game is on the list of “best games of the year so far” by the Metacritic website and recently reached the mark of 3 thousand wishlists on Steam with just under two months of release, a feat comparable to other giant Brazilian games on the market.

Given all this success, it was obvious that Voxel couldn’t miss the opportunity to talk to one of Hammer95’s developers, Alessandro Martinello, who is responsible for Mullet MadJack and was present at Gamescom Latam. We asked him about references and inspirations, production time, plans for the future and more. You can read the interview below.

Alessandro Martinelli, developer of Mullet MadJackSource: Disclosure/Epopeia Games

Voxel: In a nutshell, what is Mullet MadJack for those who have never heard of it? boomer shooter or have you never played Post Void?

Alessandro Martinello: Mullet MadJack is a fast-paced first-person shooter inspired by the arcades of the time. The pace is based on fast-paced games like Burnout, and the main factor is to provoke a feeling of adrenaline in the player.

V: For those who haven’t played yet, what is the average time needed to finish the game?

AM: Mullet has a main campaign that takes around 3 to 4 hours to complete, but it all depends on the selected difficulty and the player’s skill. But Mullet’s main focus is its replayability, due to its arcade factor. Among the available game modes, we have an endless mode in which the player can test their skills and try to achieve the highest possible score. I believe that this is the game’s biggest appeal, the possibility of extending the game for hours and hours.

V: Mullet MadJack is a game that has a lot of old movie and anime references. For those who don’t have much contact with these works, could you tell us some non-game references that were used in Mullet?

AM: Some anime references are definitely Yuyu Hakusho; we wanted to bring this aspect of the localization into Portuguese, since the text is very well adapted to our culture. In terms of visuals, we can mention Knights of the Zodiac, Akira and Ghost in the Shell. Regarding movies, the biggest references are the “brute force” movies with actors like Sylvester Stallone, more specifically Demolition Man, or The Demolidor, as it is called in Brazil. Including in the theme, about this sarcasm and the jokes that the movie makes about how things would be in the future.

Ghost in the Shell – O FANTASMA DO FUTURO (1995)Source: MUBI

V: When did production of the Mullet begin?

AM: Production of Mullet MadJack began approximately 4 years ago.

V: Artificial intelligence is one of the main themes in Mullet MadJack, resulting in several very well-constructed critiques. Did you imagine, 4 years ago, that this theme would have such a big impact when Mullet was released?

AM: Definitely. Artificial intelligence has been discussed for a long time regarding the degradation of workers, and we already suspected the proportions it would reach today. We translated this into the game so that our protagonist is inserted in a culture of likes. He needs likes to survive, they are what circulate in his bloodstream, and he does this by fighting against artificially intelligent robots that are in search of power.

“Samurai Y: Why did humans make us soulless?”Source: Gabriel Morais de Oliveira

V: When did it dawn on you that Mullet MadJack is an absolute success for Hammer95?

AM: It was on the first day of the launch. Our hope was to receive around 500 reviews in a month, but we received that in a single day. We have no way of measuring this in a concrete way, but we believe that Mullet has become one of the best-rated Brazilian games in record time. Our biggest references, as an independent Brazilian studio, are Horizon Chase and Chroma Squad, and imagining that today we are on par with our inspirations makes us very happy.

V: In a celebratory tone, you said that you really want to see the game dubbed in our language. Any news about the voices or when we’ll be able to play Mullet dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese?

AM: This is definitely a dream for us, but it’s not confirmed yet. However, we’ve put a lot of effort into making sure that both the full localization of the game into Brazilian Portuguese and the voice acting are the best they can be!

V: Hammer95 will have as its identity the boomer shooter Or do you dream of developing projects of different genres?

AM: Mullet MadJack is our identity at the moment. We were thinking about other projects leading up to launch, but Mullet has taken off in such a big way that we want to keep expanding, improving and updating it for a while, providing the best possible experience for all players.

Reproduction: Hammer95Source: Steam Screenshot (writer)

V: Now tell us, what weapon did you most enjoy putting in the game?

AM: A shotgunfor sure! Mainly because of our contact with old shooting games, where the gun appears a lot. It is also very versatile and has everything to do with the MadJack Mullet.

It was a great pleasure to interview one of the developers of Mullet MadJack! game is available for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC players will be able to purchase it for 20% off during the Steam Holiday Sale (check publication date).

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Text by Gabriel Morais.