SMILE Game Builder Let's Play - Strangers of the Power 3 - Game Critique
43#rpgmaker #rpgmakermv #rmmv
Hello everyone! In this SMILE Game Builder Let's Play, we look at Strangers of the Power 3 by TuomoL, a 3D adventure in the SMILE Game Builder engine.
Visually speaking, this game is really good, with strong aesthetics., a nice soundtrack, and well-balanced battle system. The problem we had with the difference between the hand-drawn bust artwork and the 3D game engine has been solved with color contrasting and tones. Awesome job!
The level design is really good, especially on the opening dungeon (the tutorial level). The use of 3D space to obfuscate and misdirect the environment works in a way that encourages, and rewards, exploration. The design on the rest of the game, with the sorta exception of the second town (Buildings blocking doorways? Doesn't work...) is just as good. Well done!
The problem with this game, unfortunately, is threefold and pretty major. (1) There is no empathy towards the protagonist Marion or the deuteragonist Brandwyne... their involvement in the story is very generic with no real dimension to them... no starting quirks or pieces that give make them interesting. (2) The overworld, and especially the towns, are lifeless with nothing in them but buildings you can't enter and rabbit-hole shops. There are no people and no things to draw us into ... anything. (3) There is no direction in the game, save for what seems like a side quest to retrieve 92 dead bodies. We can't imagine anyone wanting to do that.
This leads to the biggest issue of all: For a game that was officially released on Steam on May 1st, this game is anything but finished. It is barely a functional Beta, much less a Gold release, and to have it available to the public now, to charge them money for it, is a huge disservice. We want this game to succeed, but it's going to take some major work. And until it is, it has (in our opinion) no business being sold to the public.
If you enjoyed this video, please give it a Like and a Subscribe. We put out Indie Game Let's Play Videos (RPG Maker Let's Play as well as others), as well as the occasional game development or tutorial video.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/StudioBlueGames
Follow us on:
Discord: https://discord.gg/HfzupW8
Twitter: twitter.com/studiobluegames/
Facebook: facebook.com/studiobluegames
Special Thanks to our Patreon Supporters: Battle Pisces Gaming, Damian Floyd, Jai R, Karthus Press R, Tuomo Laine, Jeff McIntyre, MastersChief, Reillo9, VentusRound, Dungeon Dreams, Inazuma the Lightning, lolshtar, Nandee, NeoSoulGamer, Ghaleon, Jaiden, Obsidian Pixie, Jacob Marin, Archeia as well as everyone who has ever supported us. You all rock!