Recent reviews by Deckerdramon

A very charming, enjoyable 3D platformer that's more than worth checking out for any fans of the genre. The art design for the game is gorgeous, and the puzzle design is wonderful, being relatively straight-forward if you just want to beat the game, but definitely having some tricky or more hidden collectables that really test how much you're paying attention if you're going for 100%. Just an all around pleasant experience.

UPDATE NOVEMBER 21, 2023: I still have numerous complaints about the story. But I'm seriously impressed with how the developer has supported this game since launch. From launching any number of accessibility options, to adding co-op with both expected and unexpected character choices to the mode, and so much more. It's seriously impressive just how much COWCAT has added to this game since it launched!

Like, seriously, the accessibility options themselves are immensely impressive and greatly appreciated. But then adding co-op and such on top of this? I realize some of these were goals of the original Kickstarter, but still, to see the actual implementation and support of this game is extremely impressive.

In addition, even smaller things have been vastly improved since launch. Like, originally, there was one narrative path that covers some extremely sensitive topics and while the choices you have to make to get that path would suggest that things definitely weren't going to go smoothly, to put it mildly, it still caught people like me off-guard with just how intense that ending is. Since this review was written, a warning was added to that narrative path, with a content warning and you can skip the most intense scenes if you're not feeling up to them, which is a small simple change, but one I greatly appreciate.

Therefore, I'm switching my original review of the game from negative to positive. I still have misgivings about the narrative. But the amount of support COWCAT has continued to give this game since launch gives me a lot of hope and is definitely something that makes me feel this game is at leas worth checking out and supporting the game by itself, because so few games get this kind of continued support.

Original review below (minus a few paragraphs I had to delete to get this update to fit, but the gist of my complaints remain):

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Honestly, I have very complex feelings about this game and am really not sure what to say about it. Like, I really want to recommend it. But in the form this game ultimately took, I don't believe I can.

My biggest problem is that the game has multiple endings. That of course isn't a problem in of itself, as one of my favorite genres in recent years is stuff like visual novels and the like, where that is extremely common.

The main problem is that I didn't realize this was the case for this particular game, not to the sheer extent it affects the writing and plot.

In my particular case, the first ending I got was one called "Slummers." That by itself was an extremely satisfying ending. There were loose ends of course, certainly, but I loved the writing and in particular the characters and grew very attached between the relationship between the main character, Brok, and his foster-son, Graff. Brok and Graff had their differences, so it wasn't easy, but just like Brok, I tried my hardest to make them understand each other as best as I could.

And like I said, while the ending I ultimately got for that, "Slummers," while leaving a number of loose ends untied, was ultimately nonetheless satisfying for the emotional bonds between the characters and the character development they go through.

So then imagine my surprise when, after getting through the credits, the game flat out says the ending I got, "Slummers," was explicitly, in no uncertain terms not the "canon" ending, and really, REALLY recommending that I should try to get the canon ending, that it totally would be worth my time.

And what was the hint the game provided for what I apparently did "wrong," that I needed to do differently to get this "canon" ending?

That I was apparently TOO nice to Graff, my foster-son, and that I need to be more of a jerk to him to get the "true" ending.

Naturally, I was more than a little "WTF?" to that? Of all things, THAT'S what I want? That I managed to keep the bonds between Brok and Graff so high, despite everything that was trying to push them apart and everything else that was going on, apparently that's "wrong" and I need to be a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ♥♥♥♥ to my son instead.

So naturally, I was more than a bit reluctant to give the game a try. As that both went against everything I strived through in my first playthrough and a second where I was deliberately rude to Graff naturally didn't sound very satisfying. It also naturally raised questions in my head "okay, so if I make Brok be a jerk to Graff, how will they repair their relationship then? Some magic nonsense or something?"

But against my better judgment, I decided to suck it up and get the "canon" ending. And well, I was more on the mark than I knew.

The "canon" ending is basically a complete wet fart of an ending by itself. Where indeed, basically Garff remains upset at Brok after the events at the ending.... but then some magic ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ happens at the end instead to conveniently give Brok a potential avenue to fix his ♥♥♥♥-ups (which just doesn't happen on other endings, like the first ending I got, "Slummers," for completely unexplained reasons, because again, magic ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥).

But that's not even the worst of it! The worse part is, that the canon "ending" itself can barely even be called that! That particular ending basically ends where it starts. That is, where Brok makes the decision to use some magic nonsense to try and fix his mistakes, but right when he makes the decision to try to do so, the game just ends.

Still no resolution whatsoever on the loose ends from my initial "Slummers" ending, including some of the larger mysteries on the game. Brok just goes on a journey to try and fix some of his mistakes and... that's all you get. What those mistakes actually were or weren't, whether Brok fixes them or not, left a mystery.

It's just... there's so much to love about the game, like the characters, their relationships with each other and their character arcs, for that to be my last impression, right at the very end, made it go from a bittersweet but very enjoyable detective story where I care about so many characters, to just complete "WTF? Why in the world would you do that though?" shlock at the last possible moment, and that's just not satisfying in any way to me.

So because of all that, despite the many pros, I have to go with "no."

A wonderful experience, with an amazing story and set of characters. Probably my favorite Digimon game thus far, and definitely has a solid place in the Digimon franchise in general, and that's saying something, as a huge Digimon fan. Don't want to really say too much to avoid spoiling the experience, but if you're at all interested in Digimon or visual novels or anything, this is a fantastic option. Just know that as the title Digimon Survive suggests, there are definitely horror elements to this that some people might be very understandably uncomfortable with, so keep that in mind. Otherwise, this game gets a full recommendation from me.

This game is flarkin' sweet. Enough said.

Gorgeous game that was very fun to play through. Story's not the best (I personally enjoyed the story of stuff like Monster Hunter World more), but otherwise had fun playing through this.

A beautiful, heartwarming, charming game that made me cry multiple times over. Definitely more than worth checking out and fully recommend. Would say more, but definitely don't want to risk spoiling anything and it's best experienced for oneself. But yeah, if you want to a story-heavy game that will almost certainly hit you right in the feels, this is more than worth a playthrough, IMO.

I really wanted to like this game. I really, really did and was looking forward to it for a while.

And indeed, there's a lot to enjoy about it. The game is absolutely gorgeous, with absolutely beautiful artwork, just so many wonderful sprites, a great story almost entirely told by you putting the pieces together from context cues as you unpack, and see what's different, what's the same, etc, each you move, with a soundtrack that definitely compliments all those sentiments to boot, resulting in a very comfy, relaxing, stress-free game that's just pouring charm and heart.

And indeed, on top of that, there's a variety of great accessibility options, such as the ability to place items wherever you want if you're not particularly interested in the "puzzle" aspect of the game, and the game doesn't demean or punish your or anything for choosing that, which I definitely have to applaud the devs for. That's all wonderful and appreciated to say.

Unfortunately, despite that, while I'd like to say that would be enough for me to recommend it, and I really want to, I ultimately can't.

That's in large part because, playing the game under normal options, it's meant to function as a "puzzle" game of sorts, where the are "right" and "wrong" locations for each objects (as they're correct locations are both meant to serve as the puzzle of the game and also serve as environmental story-telling as well, as just the simple fact of where you can or can't place certain items reveals a lot about the characters as the game progresses).

That's fine in theory, but the execution is lacking. First off, because while the pixelwork is beautiful, it's nonetheless not always clear what a specific item is supposed to be in the first place. And if you don't even know what an item is, even if you were to know what the puzzle would be otherwise, if you're not even sure what an item is, it's going to be hard to figure out how to play it (like, for instance, an item that's apparently actually a draw-erase board I easily mistook for something akin to a Wacom drawing tablet or THQ's uDraw tablet accessory, an easy mistake to make considering how many art items there are and whether tablet or dry-erase board, they're both art related, so yeah, that kinda thing can easily lead to confusion).

Having some kind of tool-tips when you select an item that says what it is would greatly help with this, because while most items are clearly identifiable due to the wonderful spritework, when you come to one of those few exceptions that just confuses you with what it even is, that's not a particularly fun experience.

Furthermore, playing the game normally, you're basically trying to figure out the "puzzle" of where the character you're playing as would have placed the item.

Only problem with that is, you're given no real hints. You just place items wherever you think makes sense, the items that are "wrong" will be highlighted with an outline, and while you will probably get a bulk of the items right without too much problem, for those that are wrong, you just have to move them around until you happen to stumble onto the "right" answer.

Which, as I mentioned earlier, is great for environmental storytelling and learning about the characters.

But it's absolutely terrible from a "puzzle" perspective, because there are no hints, no clues, no particular way you could possibly know what's right or wrong in any particular house as the whole point seems to be discovering the characters' lives and how they change as they age and grow, which is all well and good, but a puzzle game, at least in so far as this one is constructed, is a terrible way to get that across, because you just have to stumble onto the "answer." And while the answer itself might be satisfying, the process of figuring it out is just trial-and-error, which is very much fun and unsatisfying in a puzzle game.

On a related note, playing the game normally, it also hits on another one of my pet peeves in video games: not being able to decide whether the player-character is an avatar for the player or if you're playing as and controlling an avatar representing yourself.

In Unpacking's case, you're very clearly meant to be assuming to the role of a very defined character, if playing the game "normally."

But then, if that's the case, why is one of the very first thing's you do be able to actually NAME the player character, as if it is you, with stuff thereafter referred to as "your room" and the like as a result.

It's very clearly not my room at all! And I'm very clearly not playing as myself at all either! So why "pretend" like I am and allow the player to name themselves, instead of the MC just having their own defined name. Of course, not that that requires a specific name--the MC doesn't actually need to be given any particular name at all. I'm just confused why I'm given the option to choose the name of a character who's very much not me, as if they were.

I dislike that in RPGs like Persona 4 and 5, and I dislike it hear. There's no reason to give the player the ability to select a name when they're not playing as themselves. It just results in a mixed-message that feels weird and confusing.

Now, to go back to something else I mentioned that's directly related to my complaints: while playing the game "normally" you're meant to put objects in particular places and stuff, assuming the role of the game's main character.

However, the developers did indeed include an option to allow you to put items wherever you want as I mentioned earlier, and that's a greatly appreciated option, and if you choose it, while you lose the effects of the puzzles/environmental story-telling, as you're warned about when you pick that option, because you can put items wherever you want, the game gives you much more creative freedom in that mode and it truly feels more like you're actually unpacking and decorating your own homes, and thus justifying the choice to allow you to name the protagonist if you choose to enable that option.

The problem being, even if you enable that option, it's still obviously very much confined by the game being designed as a "puzzle" game first and foremost.

As a result, even under that setting, you're still very much confined by stuff like the amount of hangers in the closet for actually hanging clothes, the amount of shelf/bookcase space in your bedroom for displaying stuff and similarly the amount of space on your desk as well, the amount of cupboards and storage in the kitchen, and so forth. It's kinda the exact opposite situation as playing the game normally, because playing it "normally," you don't have to worry about that type of thing TOO much because there are right and wrong answers for things regardless.

However, if you choose to play with the "put stuff anywhere" option enabled, you're almost certainly come up with some great idea for how you want to decorate your house, but be limited by shelf/desk/cupboard space/just general real estate with no option for just getting new hangers or bookcases or shelves or anything and end up having to compromise anyway.

Which naturally makes perfect sense. Because the game is designed as a puzzle game first and foremost, and so it naturally follows that even under a "no rules" mode, you'd still be limited by that fact. Like, I can't really fault the devs for that and don't blame them for that or anything, as it's just what the game is, for better or worse, take it or leave it, and it's not like it's an inherent wrong choice or anything.

However, the result of all this is a game that just feels a bit "off" no matter what: either you're trying to solve the "puzzle" of the MC's life while masquerading as an avatar, or you try to do things your way, but are still constrained and restricted from doing what you truly what by the inherent nature of the game.

A wonderful effort w/lots of love and soul put into it which I so desperately want to love, but this is not for me.

Absolutely gorgeous game that's an absolute delight to explore, with you always being rewarded by something, whether it be some form of collectable, stumbling into a side quest needed to get one of the game's many masks, or just beautiful landscapes, which really are their own reward and certainly worth playing for by themselves in a game like this. There were some rough patches when I played, the occasional graphical or menu glitch, but these were all minor and easily resolved by simply saving the game, returning to the title screen and reloading my save at absolute worst, so they did not detract from the experience at all. Definitely fully recommend this game.

Wonderful game, with many fascinating mysteries to solve which are very satisfying to figure out each step along the way, and with a great cast of characters, and with all that put together results in a thoroughly enjoyable experience that I'd definitely recommend.

A short, but charming, adorable and wonderful adventure game. The basic premise is that you control a frog who plans to hold a tea party, but is short on an ingredients. So you go around the town, and help the townspeople, solving simple problems for them to get the ingredients you need. All the puzzles are pretty simple and straightforward and most have hint systems as well if you need a little extra push, and whether you use hints or fail or not there's never any penalty, so it's just a very casual, relaxed experience that can be enjoyed by anyone. Due to the relaxed nature, adorable visuals, and charming characters, I'd easily recommend this game to anyone to whom it looks remotely interesting.