Marsupilami 2 – Salsa Palombia hands on playtest – quality platform fun, just like the good old days

I get sent a lot of opportunities to play games in development, speak to devs, or even travel around to see them at work. I am lucky like that, I know. I also know that I simply don’t have the time to do many justice because of time pressures, but occasionally one comes along where I keep going back to it because it is so much fun.

Marsupilami 2 – Salsa Palombia has captured me and I keep playing the 30 minutes or so I have been treated to.

Growing up playing platformers on Sega, Nintendo and even the Amiga, Marsupilami 2 reminded me instantly of those good old days. In fact, it probably reminds me of the great Amiga platformers the most and I am really looking forward to seeing the other levels.

Marsupilami 2 – Salsa Palombia is the follow-up to 2021’s Marsupilami: Hoobadventure, once again putting the elastic-tailed jungle hero into a bright, family-friendly 2D platforming setup. This time, the action takes place across Palombia, where a strange melody has swept through the jungle and sent the local animals into a dancing frenzy. Behind the chaos is the Mummy Queen, who has returned from the Underworld with a cursed concert and apparently very little interest in personal space or wildlife welfare.

The big mechanical hook this time is the ability to play as three different Marsupilamis, each with their own move set. Twister can glide through the air, Hope has a spinning leap, and Punch uses heavier bounce attacks to smash through obstacles. The game lets players swap between them to chain moves together, reach new areas, and, hopefully, keep the platforming moving at the kind of pace the series’ springy tail-based chaos deserves.

Salsa Palombia is being pitched as a 2.9D platformer rather than a straight 2D sequel, with four worlds to explore, ranging from the jungle and city to snowy mountains and the Underworld. Alongside the main adventure, there is local two-player co-op, speed-focused Flow Mode challenges, time trials, and competitive Battle Dojos, which should give it a little more to do than simply hopping from left to right until the credits roll.

There is a strong “modern Saturday morning cartoon platformer” energy to the whole thing, which makes sense given the licence. Marsupilami has always been about big colours, big expressions, and that ridiculous prehensile tail, so the promise here is not grim reinvention. It is a cheerful-looking platformer built around character swapping, co-op, and momentum, with enough extra challenge rooms and bonus content to keep younger players and nostalgic adults occupied.

At a glance: Marsupilami 2 – Salsa Palombia launches on September 3, 2026 for PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PC. It supports 1-2 players locally, is developed by Ocellus Studio, published by Microids, and currently has a Steam demo and I highly suggest you check it out.

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