Ex-Mutants is one of those weird, janky Genesis games that somehow sticks with you. You play as these two mutant dudes—one’s got a sword, the other shoots energy blasts—wandering through a ruined city full of even weirder mutants. The controls take a second to get used to (why does jumping feel so floaty?), but once you do, there’s something oddly satisfying about hacking through hordes of freaky enemies.

The levels are these sprawling, maze-like things with hidden power-ups tucked in weird corners. I remember getting stuck for ages in the sewer stage because I missed some random ladder. And the bosses? Absolute units. That first one, a giant mutant rat thing, took me way too many tries to figure out.

It’s not perfect—some of the platforming is frustrating, and the story’s basically "mutants fight mutants"—but there’s charm in its roughness. If you dig weird ‘90s action-platformers, it’s worth a look just for the bizarre vibes alone.