Nedávné recenze uživatele Ellietendo

Edited!
I have added some extra points at the top of this review after playing a recent update which allowed Critter Cafe to be played on Steam Deck. I have now also changed the rating from "Not Recommended" to "Recommended" after fixing my previously stated cons from the original review.

I received a free copy of this game for review purposes. I played it using a third-party Xbox Controller.

• Steam Deck - The experience on Steam Deck VS PC is like night and day, after writing this review originally, I decided to try the game again but on my trusted Steam Deck! The quality is so much more improved playing on the Deck compared to my gaming laptop which was a surprise, to say the least.
  
• Screen Tearing?! - The screen tearing issue that was on the PC is completely absent when playing handheld on Steam Deck so this has vastly improved my gameplay experience and I now want to explore this game further than previously when the screen issues were headache-inducing and had to shut the game down after 1-2 hours of gameplay.

Whilst I still agree with my original point that Critter Cafe tries to monetise on the "Cozy" hype train, the Steam Deck update has improved my original critiques of graphical issues which hurt the game a lot when I did my review 1st time around.
It still needs areas of improvement surrounding the Cafe Mini-games as this is a big issue. With the recent update in mind, I can now recommend this game to people. as it is in a much more playable state. The only thing I will say is that this game is much more suited for Steam Deck users; PC players may still have an unpleasant time. It's just lucky for me that I have both a gaming laptop and a Steam Deck.

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• Puzzles - The game has some fascinating/exciting puzzles I was not expecting from a game that advertises so strongly that it's a "Cozy" game. The puzzles in the outside world (not the cafe minigames) gave me a strong deja vu of Zelda's "Breath Of The Wild" puzzles. Even though the 'moving puzzles into place' had been done countless times before, these in Critter Cafe still felt fresh and I enjoyed completing them to gain pets for my cafe.
  
• Fuzzy Pets - The pets (Critters) in Critter Cafe are pretty adorable! I like how you can interact with them as a companion and it improves the cafe elements of the game. Decorating your own home/zone or the pets is a bonus; it also helps add a bit more substance to Critter Cafe than just the cafe section. It's a bit sad that one of the funest parts of this game "Critter Cafe" in it, isn't even the cafe itself, it's the pets!

• "Cozy" - It's safe to say that this game is trying to make the most of the "Cozy" category that's been gaining huge popularity and traction, Unfortunetly for Critter Cafe, it just falls a bit short on the whole "Cozy" element. Yeah sure, designing a cafe is relaxing, plus looking after pets/critters can be sweet but that's where the Cozy part ends. Running the cafe... well... You rush around to serve everyone, I don't see the "cozy" part of that at all!
  
• Cafe Minigames - The cafe mini-games can be cheesed... and I mean REALLY cheesed! If you want to blast through the cafe service with minimal struggle, you just have to have your seats next to the counter, that's it. There is nothing complicated or doing mechanics to break the game, just a simple thing that ANY player can do. It makes the whole "decorating" aspect of the game completely redundant... Just place X number of seats right next to you and does the same job as a nicely decorated cafe. I have also noticed it's VERY generous to if you've hit the "Perfect" target or not; it needs fixing badly as it didn't feel great gameplay-wise.
  
• Screen Tearing?! - The last thing I want to see on any games I play is the dreaded screen tearing! Now having V-Sync on of course eliminates that BUT the catch is that you have to have the game running on "Full Screen" mode. As a streamer this is a bit awkward as to capture a live feed of a game on streaming software (OBS for example) the games .exe only gets picked up when it's in "Windowed Full Screen" mode; streamers have to choose between smooth content experience or gameplay experience. Would be great to have a patch so you can just have V-Sync for all game window types.

Critter Cafe tries to monetise on the "Cozy" hype train and results in a bit of a disappointment, to be honest, because of it. Whilst it does have some fun moments with Puzzles and pets/critters, the main element, the "Cafe" has some major issues that hurt the whole game.
The key issues with the game are unavoidable. Despite wanting so badly to enjoy Critter Cafe as it was advertised as a "Cozy game" (A category I love), the troublesome Cafe Minigames combined with graphical issues made the experience a lot less "Cozy" and more "Crazy". It means it's hard to recommend this game to people which is sad as I have reviewed 'Secret Mode' games before and they've all been brilliant!
A major patch to fix the graphics options would help the rating of this game go up as that was a major complaint when I was doing a playthrough/live-stream. Also, a bigger variety/difficulty of the Cafe Mini-games would fix a lot of issues with completing services too quickly/easily. The Zelda-like puzzles are really fun and the Critters could be expanded more to make the strengths of this game even stronger!
Hopefully 'Secret Mode' will bounce back from this hiccup and find a way to make Critter Cafe just as glorious as the other games. I'm rooting for you to do the right thing!

I received a free copy of this game for review purposes. I used an MSI Mouse & Keyboard Combo for gameplay, controllers are incompatible.

Stunning visuals - This is a nicely detailed game without compromising fps (I've been playing at 60fps). It feels like I'm looking at a real aquarium; it's nice to sometimes just let time go by and watch the fish!In-Game Progression - The story of the game flows nicely. The premise is that you look after fish as a hobby, and it slowly progresses into a small DIY shop and even fish exhibitions. Solid story/way of showing achievements!Quality of life - DLC and updates for this game are regular so this is encouraging to see. It'll keep players interested in the long run. As of writing this review, I have tried the "Japanese Garden DLC" but not the "Aquatic Supermarket DLC"; I'll only comment on the DLC I own.*Japanese Garden DLC - *A huge update to the base game that gives a whole refreshing perspective to the standard "Aquarium" dynamic. With 18 new fish (Mostly Japanese Koi), 20 Japanese-themed decorations and a whole new storyline to renovate a neglected Japanese garden. It's great to see a game get active updates as it shows that they care about the community playing this game!

The Aquarist UI - It takes some getting used to the UI in this game, the tutorial is REQUIRED to understand the gameplay properly!Heavy Shop Focus - This game seems to be more on running a shop than decorating nice aquariums for pleasure. As an animal lover, I would have loved to have more options in the "Designer" (Freeplay) mode as its own campaign rather than just having 1 room that resets every time.Very repetitive... - If you're a fan of cleaning fish tanks, designing fish tanks and caring for fish tanks then this game is perfect. Aquarist gets very boring very quickly.* If you've played past the tutorial, be ready for pretty much more of the same gameplay but fancier!*Best to play 1 level at a time rather than all at once for the best gameplay results.

A decent Aquarium Simulator with nice visuals and a straightforward storyline. Whilst it can feel long at times with the repetitive tasks, pacing with the gameplay with 1 level at a time gets around this.
The heavy shop focus can be a bit off-putting at times but I was able to look past this as decorating the aquariums and watching the vast variety of fishes makes up for the grindy nature of this game!
With bonus DLC, the game is lifted up to another level, I found myself in awe of the Japanese Garden being lost for hours figuring out how to design this area and making the most of the DLC extras filling the ponds with Koi and decorations!
Well done Aquarist for reimagining a classic idea for the modern day! I'm sure with all the extra DLC & Updates that are regularly being pushed out, this game has plenty of life to continue growing and expanding.

I received a free copy of this game for review purposes.

• Wholesome & Literal - You pay for what you get. If you're not a fan of penguins then this game is not for you, if you are a fan of penguins (ME) then you will not be disappointed!
  Cuteness Overload - When I read the title of the game, I was expecting it to be essentially a simple penguin simulator, being able to interact with them more beyond just "Helping" them is great.
  
• Multiplayer! - I will admit when I saw this game, the last thing I was expecting was online multiplayer with friends!
  Combined Achievements System - Your progress is shared (if you play a game with friends), it makes flipping penguins so much easier!
  
• PENGUINS - It's a game about Penguins, what's not to LOVE about that?!?

• Optimisation - As expected for an indie game, the settings for graphics are minimal. Expect some inconsistencies from time to time as your device tries to keep up with the full graphical power it needs for this game.
  
• Short Game - It is a short playtime (about 2-3 hours to do everything) so best played in no rush and/or with friends for the best time, if you're by yourself it could get repetitive quickly.
  
• Too Simple? - You can tell this is again an indie game. The contents of the game are limited, however, this is a small negative, It's still a charming game despite the small in-game world!

It's pretty hard to hate a game about helping penguins that have fallen over! It's not their fault!!
A few minor things that could be fixed but with the adorable gameplay, I can overlook them. The fun makes up for it 100%.
I could honestly spend so long just giving them cute scarves and hats, petting them, feeding them fish and watching them do penguin things! It's a perfect chill/cosy game for when you don't feel like doing anything (besides helping Penguins)!
Finally... PENGUINS!!

I received this game as a free copy for review purposes. Whilst playing this game, I used a 3rd Party Xbox Controller and also an MSI Mouse & Keyboard Combo as well.

• Absolutely Fantastic Storytelling - I'm not normally a person who plays a video game for the storylines but Copycat gave me a remarkable story I could not just look away! I felt like I had to reach until the end of this game to find out what happened to our cat friend (Dawn)!
  Immersion - The immersion is to another level, I felt fully invested in what was about to happen next as I was playing as the cat (Dawn)! I started to get feelings for the cat as if it was my own pet...
  
• Controls - Very simple controls to pick up on! whilst I tend to stick to controllers for my gaming, this is one of the rare games where I could use my keyboard instead and not feel like I'm struggling to keep up due to the pace of this game!

• Is This A Game? - This is an interesting one as whilst this "Game" does have some interesting interactive moments (mini-games), it doesn't feel like I'm playing a full video game? It feels more like a "Visual Novel" / "Interactive Story" that I occasionally have to use mouse/keyboard or controller inputs.
  
• Graphical Struggles - I noticed significant "stuttering" on my game despite my gaming laptop being set to the lowest graphical settings and with V-Sync on. I have a pretty decent laptop for gaming, maybe more optimisation settings would really help!
  
• Art Style - Some inconsistencies with the art style was a bit odd to me: Normal gameplay is full graphics, and the dream sequence mini-games being low poly. This might be an artist choice by the Game Devs, didn't do it for me.
  
• Unclear Objectives - It felt at times that you let the game play itself, you don't have full control of what happens next, and it's a very linear in-game path you take. A consequence of having a "Visual Novel" / "Interactive Story" style game I guess.

An emotional rollercoaster I wasn't sure if I needed or not...
The storytelling and immersion makes up for the inconsistencies with other fundamentals like art style and gameplay. In its current state, it's a great demo/concept! If I have to rate it as a full game (Which I am), it needs improvement. I wish there was a "Maybe Recommend" option as I don't feel strongly about saying "Yes" or "No" but I have to in this case so I had to mark it as "No".
Not all hope is lost though, with a few adjustments, it could be a fantastic game!
P.S. Make sure to cuddle your pets after playing this game, they need it! <3

For those reading this review, I did receive a free copy of this game for review purposes.
I used a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller for gameplay.

• Charming visuals - Unique art style with clever use of colour schemes for each level/world as you play through!
  
• Easy controls - was swift to pick up the controls of this game, and has 2 control schemes to choose from!
  
• Good level of difficulty - The levels aren't so easy that you can cheese through them but they aren't so difficult that someone new to 3D platformers feels alienated/uncomfortable trying to play this game.
  Developers - As this game was built by the developers of "Sonic Mania", you know that it will be experience behind this 3D platforming game but with a fresh and innovative I.P.!

• Some story plots - The main game story doesn't always flow well and/or makes absolutely no sense to what is happening gameplay-wise.
  
• Some Major game bugs - I have found VARIOUS glitches in this game which I have posted as videos on my Youtube channel for educational/review purposes (not to criticise heavily) for the game devs!

Would recommend this game to fans of SEGA, 3D Platforming and/or appreciators of innovation/new IPs!
Some bug fixes and possible quality-of-life updates would elevate this game to the next level, I look forward to what's to come next!