Mundaun Xbox Series X|S Review

I think folk horror is the scariest kind of horror.

You can throw hundreds of monsters at me, with their contorted and deformed bodies and I wouldn’t blink. But – for example – in Elden Ring, the most scary part of that game was entering the Windmill Village and seeing laughing women, dancing in circles, singing folk songs. It was terrifying. The same goes for films like The Wicker Man – the scariest and creepiest of all films.

Mundaun fits right into that mold, with its strange alpine folk story full of mystery, oddness, and a headless talking goat. It’s also a story about going back home, memory, and family… with straw monsters. And what’s more, it now does it all fully optimised for Xbox Series consoles.

Mundaun first came out on Xbox One in 2021, to good reviews. Now it’s under the Annapurna Interactive stable and has a new Xbox Series X|S release which owners of the game can get for free. The new version has upgraded framerates and better visuals, with all the bugs fixed from the older version. 

The game starts with you playing the role of Curdin who is traveling back to his hometown of Mundaun high up in the Swiss Alps. The reason he is traveling back is due to the death of his grandfather, who died in strange circumstances, in a fire. As you go to the place where it happened you discover some evil force is at play and soon the world is turned upside down. Those forces are in control of the town of Mundaun. 

The story and the way it’s told is excellent throughout. There are some brilliant pieces of writing, mixing strange folk and horror dwellers in the haunting landscapes which makes this an unforgettable journey. You carry a journal with you that gets updated with the info you collect on the way, as Curdin narrates. It’s a strangely beautiful experience that is also highly original. It does a skilled job as well in swapping different realities and states of being; confusing in a good way. 

Gameplay wise and it’s all played in the first person – you can walk, run and crouch of course. You have an inventory too, and frankly, this is the best-looking inventory I’ve ever seen in a game. Here you are using items with each other to solve puzzles as per usual. Nothing too complicated to solve, but you might get lost a few times. There are moments in which you might be driving a truck and collecting hay, which is a bit different. There is also a point in where you have to make coffee, collecting water and wood for the stove to make it. These are almost RPG/survival elements at play, and these are interesting and welcome in the game. 

The only thing about Mundaun that I’m not a big fan of has been the combat. You’ll want to avoid it if you can (which is possible), utilising stealth more than anything else. You can engage and, for example, make the most of a pitchfork with the first lot of creatures you encounter – hay creatures. But pitchforks break so the best option is to set fire to the hay near them, taking them out one by one. It all works fine, but it’s my least favorite bit of the game. 

On the flipside, there’s nothing but praise for the visuals. My first impressions were a proper ‘wow’ moment, taking in the lovely hand-drawn visuals; they are pretty special to look at. The landscape of Mundaun is stunning too, with its mixture of the real and the strange. Further, the creature design is very disturbing and I think the monochrome hand-drawn style adds to that feeling of unease.

The sound is excellent as well, with the natural Swiss tongue working as the voice-over, whilst eerie music is mixed with musical tracks on the radio you find dotted around. 

Mundaun on Xbox Series X|S is extremely suspenseful, coming complete with an intriguing and beguiling storyline that will take you five hours or so to complete. The visuals are amazing, as is the soundtrack. It’s a game that has a complete artistic vibe that generates class. 

If you played Mundaun back on Xbox One and are considering a new playthrough via the Xbox Series X|S upgrade, then now might be a good time to enjoy the improvements and try for a different ending. If you haven’t played Mundaun previously, and are a bit of a horror fan, this is a no-brainer.