Hey! We’ve got a big update for Messenger Mouse today! This is our first official update to the playable demo on itch since the game jam almost 1 year ago. We had a few development releases on our shared Google drive in the spring, but this one is finally good enough to replace the original browser-playable version on itch and we’re pumped to go over all the changes!

All future updates to the demo will be handled right here on itch.

New in this release!

Ghost Race Mode

Ghost race mode was added to an earlier dev release in the spring, but it’s finally here on itch, playable in the browser!

Toggle ghost race mode in the options menu and choose between racing your prior best times or the developer ghosts through the levels. We have set developer ghosts for all levels and all challenge levels. Can you beat our times?

Read more about the code behind ghost race mode here: https://www.troystorygames.com/2025/05/14/record-and-replay-ghost-races/

Challenge Mode

In this release we’ve added a new “Challenge Mode” with 50 challenge levels that test the absolute limits of what’s possible with the movement mechanics in this game. You have to take advantage of jump, double jump, and the new “up-slash jump” to get the height and distance needed to clear some of these challenges!

This mode is intended to be very difficult but all challenges are possible. If you’re stuck, try toggling on the developer ghosts and see how we did it.

HINT: If you hold the jump button during up slash you will go higher.

New art

The first 4 levels have gone through a bit of a makeover with a new style/feel. The remaining levels are still a bit of a “work in progress” visually, but fully playable.

Breakable Blocks

One of the new levels showcases the breakable block mechanic. This mechanic is still new and not visually complete but it’s ready to play around with. The breakable blocks reward precise timing to maintain momentum.

New moves!

Player movement is the core of Messenger Mouse and this release brings many new ways to get around!

• Ground pound: Slash down and hold the attack button to ground pound. Use this technique to smash through enemies and breakable blocks or to descend quickly. Break out of a ground pound before hitting the ground with a jump.
• Spin slash: While this move is not visually complete, if you hold the attack button and left, right, or up while in the air, your player will roll. In this state you can cut through any enemies or blocks while you fall through the air.
• Up Slash: Up slash is now a sneaky way to get a third jump. Hold the jump button at the same time for extra height.

And much more!

• Fixed the cheat input to be more clear
• Swapped “long_trail” cheat out for “auto_slide” cheat
• Cleaned up tutorial, removed a lot of spikes, added lots of coins
• moved exit stone on level 2
• Removed need to ever stop and recharge the sword
• Secrets can be revealed with a slash now
• Moved exit blocks on tutorial to be more clear
• Fixed bug with enemy spawns where they start to stack on each other (more consistent enemy spawns)
• Fixed bug where flying enemy bullet wouldn’t despawn on death
• Tweaked visibility layer for slash so it’s not behind foreground elements
• Fixed bug where player could kill enemies during death animation
• Made speed doubling with “Konami code” cheat cleaner code
• Spinning slash and ground pounds cut through breakable blocks properly