Crash: Mind over Mutant is coming to Windows, with Linux available now

Crash Bandicoot’s 2008 adventure Crash: Mind over Mutant is making its way onto modern PCs through a project called Mind over Recomp, and there’s already a playable Linux version. Windows support is planned for a later release. This isn’t a new remaster from Activision, nor is it a remake with fresh artwork and redesigned levels. Mind over Recomp takes the Xbox 360 edition of Crash: Mind over Mutant and gets it running as a PC game, with support for modern hardware, controllers, keyboard and mouse input, higher frame rates and local co-op. For anyone who missed this chapter of Crash history, Mind over Mutant comes from a very different period for the series. It arrived after Crash of the Titans and pushed Crash further away from his traditional corridor-style platforming roots. There’s still plenty of jumping, collecting and crate smashing, but combat plays a much larger part. And, yes, Crash spends quite a lot of time riding mutants.

Crash had changed quite a bit by 2008

Developed by Radical Entertainment, Crash: Mind over Mutant launched in 2008 for Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2 and PSP, with a separate Nintendo DS edition appearing around the same period.

Its main idea carried over from Crash of the Titans. Crash can stun larger mutant enemies and take control of them, gaining access to their attacks and special abilities. Mind over Mutant expanded this system by letting players keep selected creatures and call on them again later.

It gave the game its own identity. One minute Crash is running around on foot, spinning through enemies and collecting items. A few moments later he can be riding a huge creature capable of smashing through opponents or reaching areas Crash can’t handle alone.

Wumpa Island plays a bigger role too. Earlier Crash games often sent players through individual levels one after another. Mind over Mutant uses a more connected structure, letting Crash travel between areas and revisit places during the story.

The plot is suitably Crash-like. Doctor Neo Cortex joins forces with Nitrus Brio and begins distributing a handheld device called the NV. Its purpose is mind control, naturally. Crash and Aku Aku escape its influence and head off across Wumpa Island to rescue their friends and deal with Cortex once again.

The Linux version is already playable

Mind over Recomp has reached the point where players can get into Crash: Mind over Mutant and play it on Linux. Menus work, cinematics play, audio is present and save files can be loaded. Controller support is included, which will probably be the preferred option for anyone used to Crash on consoles. Keyboard and mouse controls are available too, complete with rebindable inputs.

Local co-op has made the move across as well. Two players can use separate controllers, or one can play on keyboard with another using a gamepad. It keeps one of the more entertaining parts of the home-console release intact. There’s another improvement modern PC players will appreciate. Mind over Mutant can run at 60 frames per second.

The Xbox 360 version targeted 30fps, so 60fps gives the game much smoother movement and camera motion. Higher frame rates are being tested too, though 60fps is currently the safer option. Some pieces of a game built during the Xbox 360 era weren’t created with very high frame rates in mind, so work is still taking place in this area.

This isn’t a one-click PC release

There is one fairly big distinction to make. Mind over Recomp isn’t being distributed as a complete copy of Crash: Mind over Mutant. Players need their own Xbox 360 version of the game and must supply the required files themselves. Mind over Recomp provides what’s needed to run those files on PC rather than handing out the commercial game data.

The Linux version is available now in its current development state. It’s aimed at players who are comfortable doing a little setup rather than downloading an installer, clicking Play and forgetting about everything else. Windows users will need some patience. A Windows edition is planned, but Linux is where the project currently runs.

A curious Crash game finds a new PC home

Crash: Mind over Mutant isn’t one of the series’ traditional platformers, and it never tried to be. Radical Entertainment took Crash in a combat-heavy direction, filled the game with controllable mutants and built Wumpa Island around a more open structure. Mind over Recomp leaves those ideas in place. Its job is getting the Xbox 360 game running on current PCs, with a few modern conveniences added along the way. Linux players can already try it with 60fps support, keyboard and mouse controls, gamepads, saving and two-player co-op. Windows support remains planned for a future release.

For a Crash game from 2008 which never received an official PC edition, it’s a curious development. Mind over Mutant is no longer tied quite so closely to its original console hardware, and PC players now have another way to see one of Crash Bandicoot’s stranger eras for themselves.