Been focusing a bit more on my book backlog than my games, but the Wholesome Direct had me grabing two new games and wishlisting like… 30. So here’s one of the games I grabbed!
Once again, I wish Steam had a better rating system than "recommend" or "don't recommend". Where the game is right now, I definitely have a fair few issues, but overall the game was enjoyable and I see potential for updates and improvements.
Overall, this game is relaxing aside from the usual frustrations of the nuances of claw machines. I actually had to laugh at how realistic it could be at times, where just being that little bit off gets you nothing. Of course, it is overall easier than the real games, aside from the fact that the fish move.
There are (at the moment) three claw machines you can play (and one out of order). Each one has a new gimmick you have to deal with when it comes to dropping and grabbing with the claw. While I found them annoying at the time of playing, I do really like the idea. It means you're not just doing the same thing for the entire game.
Now, my issues.
My biggest one first. There's no save. And it doesn't tell you there is no save. While the game is short, sometimes I don't even have the 30 minutes to sit down and play it to completion. It's really disappointing to be almost done, have to run an errand, and then come back and start over. It wasn't much of a time loss, but. It almost was enough to stop me from playing it to it's entirety.
Next, the fish LOVE to hug the walls of the machine, where your claw can't go. And I get that that's a thing in reality when playing these games too, but they literally just. Swim the parameter until they get near the box, then move out for a moment. You just have to sit there and wait for them to come out. If it'd be possible to better randomize the fish patterns, I think that would help.
Also, it only happened once and was an easy fix, but the fish CAN get stuck in corners. All you have to do is leave for a bit and come back, so it's not at all a make or break issue, but definitely a little annoying.
Lastly, I imagine it's just a bug, but having finished the game I ended with only 27/28 fish. I got the achievements for both getting all the claw machine fish and bucket fish, so unless there's a hidden method somewhere else, I'm not sure what happened. I still wound up with all achievements.
And one other thing I'd love to see is the ability to view the fish you've caught again, in a little book or something. Either in the game or in the main menu would would, I just think it'd be a nice little touch :)
Rating being positive or negative is basically a leftover from when it wasn’t a review system, but rather a recommendation one. Some might say there’s no difference between those two. I’d say recommendation is a lot more straightforward so YES or NO did its job.
I still like my neutral options lol sometimes I don’t lean either way
Yeah, a lot of games are just average. But average often times is enough if you have a certain itch you want scratched.
that’s why I tend to recommend on steam unless I hated the game lol
Whoops. just noticed now I commented on the wrong post. Luckily my answer still fits lol
Definitely true! Only two options seems a little too few, but on the other hand I think it’s intended to be as simple as possible. Thankfully there are sites like BLAEO where we can read more nuanced reviews about games we’re not sure about.
Because judging from your review, the game does indeed sound like it needs a bit of work. At least you got all achievements despite “not meeting the requirements” :)
Even just a neutral option would help I think. I always feel bad marking a game not recommended, because it’s usually just the game wasn’t FOR ME, so I rarely do unless the game is broken.