Pretty fun and inventive spin on the idle game genre. The mini games evolving into completely new games as you unlock new progression is a very welcome twist. If you don't mind a game that includes some grind, this one is a worthwhile pick up.

I think some of the best reviews of a game come from the people who've dedicated hours of their lives to find that the game they've played for dozens of hours is really just ok

I want this point to be clear: This game, in its current state, is like a 5/10. I wish Steam had a "Mixed Feelings" because I like part of it, but the whole is not worth it.

PROS:

- The art is pretty good. I will fully admit that I am just a sucker for pixel art, so this is a little bit of my bias, but the sprites on display were really well done.

- I LOVE the characters, even if some were clearly heavily inspired by pre-existing games, like Froggy clearly just being Frog from Chrono Trigger. Each character was unique, and I loved the personality given to them in the unlockable interactions. If I had to pick, my favorite designs are Froggy (Because I’m a slut for CT), Tankston, Mortimer, and the Elemental Brothers.

- The option to carry over save data from other playthroughs is a nice QOL that helps smooth gameplay

- All of the incremental games are, minimally, alright. I think my ranking from worst to best is something like fishing, mining, Vampire Survivors, Apples (which just becomes Touhou), and ice breaking. Keep in mind that even at the bottom, fishing can still be fun. I loved playing incremental flash games like Johnny Upgrade and Upgrade Complete growing up, so seeing a full game based on that was super cool.

- The upgrades that unlock from beating game modes are a super simple but perfect way to have a sort of “rebirth” effect for the game

MIXED FEELINGS

- The story is pretty lame, but I don’t think it matters too much. Spoilers for all 2 people who care, I guess. The “twist” of the game that gets heavily implied in one of the unlockable interactions and in at least one game end is that the game was, as Pyrocynical would put it, “all in le head.” Granted, this one is less that, since everyone is trapped in some unexplained testing facility by the leaders who you do quests for spirit points, but it still stands. Basically no game has ever done this over-35-year-old trope well, and Cauldron is not going to be the exception.

- While I do like the design of some of the characters, there are clear power imbalances in how they’re designed. You basically figure out your party by the 2nd or 3rd playthrough and then just cross your fingers that you get the characters you want because APPARENTLY the spawn locations are randomized (this might be wrong btw but it wasn’t the same throughout my playthroughs). I find that while they are interesting, most of the characters are completely worthless. The only characters worth anything are damage dealers like Froggy and Huntress, Tankston and Shieldra for tanking damage, and supports like Buffy, Cleanse, and Hearth. This leaves a bunch of useless characters. I wish there were more reasons to use multiple characters / teams instead of just trying to build one team for the entire game.

- This is definitely a minor nitpick, but the way the bribe option is implemented is kind of ridiculous to me. If I recall properly, only 3 game modes actually let you bribe, and (at least how I played it) I only ever used it in the game mode where it’s required and longed to use it in the ones where it’s turned off just because. I like the idea of it, but having the option just gated off feels weird… especially when the bribe requirements show up in the game modes that don’t let you bribe. Wished that panel wouldn’t be there at the VERY least.

NEGATIVES

- The multiple game modes are a good concept, but ultimately feel forced and unfun. Let’s go in order of the ones I played: Normal mode is fine. It has all the problems I’ve listed, but the main game on its own is fine. Pacifist is kinda neat. I mentioned previously that I don’t like how bribe is implemented, but a game mode where it’s required is exactly the kind of game mode I want in this game. Next, I did idle and… man this was such a slog. I get the idea, but the slow pace of the collection boxes just kills it for me. I’m also barely playing the game at this point. I’m checking in every hour to collect my idle production, then cross my fingers that THIS build will beat the area I’m stuck on. Then it’s the triple threat: Harder enemies, Double Trouble, and EVIL. Harder Enemies isn't even really *that* much harder, it just removes bribing and maybe statistically increased enemies in a barely noticable way. Double Trouble is actually kind of interesting, it doubles enemy spawns and gives them items, but YOU get to have double items and lower "prices" for skill points. That's actually an interesting concept for a new game mode here! And then EVIL is just Double Trouble mixed with Harder enemies and I just stop caring. Seriously, that game mode was just bad. Not even funny bad, just boring. I basically just idled every fight until I realized that I fought all the darkness. I really wish that each game mode were as interesting a change as Pacifist and Double Trouble, but they just aren’t.

- If you are a 100% completion kind of person like myself, AVOID THIS GAME LIKE THE PLAGUE. At a certain point, the only achievements left are the 1 decillion mark for each mini game. Those decillion achievements are a nightmare. I liked the mini games, but three pretty much boil down to luck for the decillion mark. The only ones that are OBJECTIVELY skill are Apples and Ice, since you can (hypothetically) always hit 1 decillion at a certain point (hell, apparently you used to be able to overflow the number in ice because of how much you could make). However, Fishing, Mining, and Vampire Survivors boil down to getting enough points for the broken “rebirth” upgrades to a decilion. Here’s an example: I had more than enough upgrades bought of bretheren to score well over a decillion. The power-up pool just didn’t agree with me for a long time. Mining just wouldn’t give me enough multiplier pots to score enough, and VS… man this might’ve been the worst one. You just have to hope you make enough orbs to hit for score. It’s the exact same concept as the previous two, but Bonus Orbs and Henry are basically set in stone compared to how orbs work in VS. This last stretch was probably the biggest reason I have a sour taste in my mouth with this game.

CONCLUSION

I think in it’s current state, Cauldron is a very mixed bag, with some high points, some low points, and a very overly long 100% grind. Personally, it doesn’t click for me, someone who feels the need to complete games as best he can. Honestly, if you took out the last few hours grinding, I’d probably cautiously give this game a reccomendation, but I just can’t now. I’m too jaded. If you don’t feel the need to complete games, this is more than fine. But if you have any completionist blood in you, sit this one out.

Loved the game! I probably wont hunt every achievement, but absolutely loved it. The dialogue, not that there was much of it, was all entertaining. The graphics are fun and cute. If you like incremental games, it's a good time. Well worth the price and the time I spent on it. Took about 65 hours to fully finish the 'story' (6 different game modes beaten + ending) if you want to call it that. The AI (when you have the minigames play themselves) leaves some to be desired, but honestly it's such a small issue, and it works more than well enough to get you what you need.

Wasn't big on the fishing stuff. I almost always had that on auto, but that one's pretty hectic. (Fishing hectic?! It's a first)

Honestly, I brute forced quite a bit of stuff. (I also didn't realize how much bleed helps until my LAST playthrough). But you totally can do that if you want to or want to idle mostly. You can also play the game without idling (other than the idling gamemode lol).

8 1/2 out of 10!