Men’s Room Mayhem review for PS Vita

Depending on your point of view, you may be either disappointed or relieved to learn that Men’s Room Mayhem isn’t quite as lewd or salacious as its name suggests. While it’s certainly got some material that some people may find objectionable, it’s not quite the stuff of YouPorn or RedTube (or worse) that you might be expecting.

That said, it does take the term “scatological humor” pretty literally. After all, it’s a Flight Control-style line-drawing game where you’re directing traffic around a public washroom. Failing to get everyone through in an orderly manner leads to fistfights at best, or urine/feces if you’re not so lucky. Basically, if you’re of a tender, easily-offended disposition, you might want to avert your eyes.

And if you’re not? Well, then it all depends on your feelings towards line-drawing and traffic management, since once you get past the novelty of the subject matter, that’s pretty much all there is to Men’s Room Mayhem. It’s basically Flight Control with men who need to pee instead of planes.

Of course, in Flight Control you never had to worry about planes getting in fistfights — whereas in Men’s Room Mayhem, overly aggressive AI is practically the game’s defining characteristic (apart, you know, from the fact it’s about managing the flow of traffic in a men’s room). Once you get past level five or so, the issue isn’t making sure everyone can do their business and leave, it’s making sure that they don’t get close enough to see each other. Pretty much every game I played ended on account of massive brawls breaking out between people whose paths came kinda, sorta near each other on their way out of the washroom, rather than because of accidents caused by not getting everyone to stalls and urinals in time. While my traffic management skills are certainly behind some of those fights, the game’s AI is definitely not blameless.

I don’t want to be too hard on the game, though. After all, it’s only $1.39 — 97 cents if you’re a PS+ member — and for that, you get the whole game, with trophies and without any in-app purchases. By contrast, the iOS version sells for a dollar, and you have to pay an extra dollar if you want more levels. In other words, for anyone wondering how the Vita can compete with Apple and Android pricing…here you have it. Men’s Room Mayhem may not be the greatest mobile game ever, but it’s a decent diversion if you’ve got a few minutes to kill, and by that low standard, it’s probably worth checking out.