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The Mummy: Demastered Review: Six Hours of Fun, Zero Ambition

A shooter of sand and mummies, Demastered for PS4, Linux, PC and Xbox One, delivers combat with a shotgun but little surprise.

By mitch·3 min read
A warrior fires a shotgun at mummies within a dim Egyptian tomb.

The Mummy: Demastered drops you into the Egyptian desert with a shotgun and a lot of angry mummies. It is a remake of the 2008 shooter, built for PS4, Linux, PC and Xbox One, and it lands somewhere between competent and forgettable. The game asks you to fight your way through tombs, temples and pyramids while solving light puzzles and dodging traps. It mostly delivers on the shooting, less on the surprises.

Trailer, via WayForward.

The Setting

The game opens with a crash landing in Egypt, and from there it moves through a series of locations that lean heavily on the ancient setting. Tombs are dark, narrow and full of enemies, and the lighting does a good job of selling the sense of being buried alive. The puzzles are simple: move a lever, push a block, find a key. None of it demands much thought, but it keeps the pace moving.

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Combat

Fighting is the strong point here. Enemies come fast and in numbers, and the guns feel solid. The shotgun is a particular highlight, and the game’s emphasis on close combat rewards players who get in close and keep moving. Boss fights are larger and slower, giving the player a chance to plan around bigger foes. Health regenerates slowly, so reckless play gets punished quickly.

Visual Design

The Mummy: Demastered runs at a steady frame rate across all four platforms, and the visual design leans on dusty browns and golds. The environments are detailed enough to feel lived-in, even when they are just corridors of stone walls. The animation holds up well, and the enemy variety keeps each encounter distinct.

Pacing

The game is short by modern standards, clocking in at around six hours. That brevity works in its favor, since the middle stretch can drag. There is a rhythm to the levels: a puzzle, a fight, a puzzle, a boss. It rarely breaks that mold, but it also rarely overstays its welcome.

Sound Design

The score is atmospheric without being distracting, and the sound design sells the tension well. Footsteps echo in empty halls, and the wind outside adds a sense of scale. Voice acting is minimal, which keeps the focus on the action.

Load Times

Load times are short, which helps when the game keeps shifting between puzzle rooms and combat arenas. The menu system is simple, and the game rarely asks the player to navigate menus during play.

Where It Falls Short

The Mummy: Demastered is not a deep game. Its puzzles are easy to guess, and its enemies follow familiar patterns. There is no branching path, no hidden secrets, no reason to return once the credits roll. The game is best enjoyed as a quick fix rather than a marathon.

The story is thin, and the characters are barely developed beyond their roles in the plot. The game is more interested in spectacle than in telling a compelling story, and that focus is fine as long as the action delivers. It does, mostly.

The Verdict

The Mummy: Demastered succeeds at what it sets out to do: deliver a fun, if shallow, shooter with a cool setting. It does not try to reinvent the genre, and it does not need to. The shooting is satisfying, the pacing is tight, and the look is atmospheric. Where it falls short is in ambition. It is a polished, enjoyable game that stops short of greatness.

Section Time
Crash landing and opening locations Start of play
Puzzle rooms (lever, block, key) Throughout the game
Boss fights Larger encounters
Credits roll End of play
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