A Comfortable Burden

[h1]Major Pros:[/h1] [list] [*]I identify with this story [/list] [b]Minor Pros:[/b] [list] [*]Cute graphics [/list] [h1]Major Cons:[/h1] [list] [*]I struggled with the controls and couldn't rebind them [/list] [b]Minor Cons:[/b] [list] [*]Short [/list] [h1]Quick Recommendation[/h1] I enjoyed A Comfortable Burden, mostly for the story and message it offered. I wish I could have some of my household members play it, but I'm not sure it would be as impactful for someone who hasn't experienced the same sort of situation. The gameplay itself was fun, though I struggled with the controls and the game is pretty short. Regardless, I recommend A Comfortable Burden for players that can sympathize with the burden of imbalance responsibilities. [url=https://cthulhuscritiques.com/]Website[/url] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33596395-Cthulhu%2527s-Critiques/]Steam Curator[/url] [url=https://twitter.com/CthulhusCritiq1]Twitter[/url] [url=https://www.facebook.com/Cthulhus-Critiques-726185434394773/]Facebook[/url] [h1]In-depth Review[/h1] A Comfortable Burden is a short time-management game. It features cute graphics of two otters moving around their house to complete chores. Players will navigate the otters through timed levels, either with a set list of chores to accomplish or trying to discover everything that needs doing as they go. The game can be easily completed in less than 30 minutes. The story in A Comfortable Burden focuses on an imbalance of responsibility between the two otters. In the beginning, one otter always has a set list of chores while the other has to do everything else that requires doing. Unsurprisingly, this imbalance eventually topples down and the two otters must learn to share responsibilities more evenly. As the "responsible one" in my household, I very much identify with this story and the stress of trying to manage things when every new issue that comes up is automatically assigned to you. I had some difficulty with the controls in A Comfortable Burden. To navigate the characters around, players use the arrow keys to move around the isometric grid. This, unfortunately, didn't work well for me as the mapping of arrow keys to the isometric grid was 90 degrees off from what my brain wanted, causing me to frequently run off in the wrong direction after finishing a task. This frustration was further exacerbated by the time pressure on each level. I found myself often internally repeating which key I needed to press to go the right way when I finished a task. As far as I could tell, there was no way to rebind the keys.

Sorry for the devs cause i think it was nice to create a game on that theme, but for me the controls are not acceptable. You're supposed to do tasks in a limited time but you cannot move and approach objects correctly. The animation makes you slide before stopping, and facing an object that is in a corner (like a shower) is hell, you have to try a lot to find the right positioning that will let you do the task... I hope it gets improved, i might give it another try if it does, but for now i cannot recommend.

I'm leaving a positive review as an incentive for the developers to make a better effort on their next games. Long story short - I've seen the whole game in 30 minutes, including replays of some harder levels. This game is super cute and to sum it up I'd say it's "House cleaning simulator" starring two antropomorphic otters. You take each level in 2 turns, one for each character, and you get a 40 second time limit each to complete your tasks. On your first play through the levels, the first otter gets a checklist of 4 things to do (and it's always the same list for all levels), after which the second otter is supposed to finish up the cleaning job, but here our character is supposed to find all the stuff to do without a list. Things that need to be taken care of are highlighted by color, but it only appears when we're close to that item. No matter how hard I tried, I wasn't able to finish things up within the time limit with the second otter by the 4th or 5th level. After 2 failed retries, I got introduced to a cutscene with the overworked otters and then the game restarted from the first level, but this time it changed gears. On the second playthrough, there's no task list and each otter has to find and fix each issue, in the order of your choosing. So essentially the gameplay doubles the mechanis of the second otter from the first play through. The time limit is the same, so it's actually easier to finish it this way as you're not limited to what the first otter can do. That's it. Visually - great! Controls - kinda wonky. Sounds - SFX were OK, music - you get bored fast from the one track that's used everywhere. Gameplay - OK for a short casual game. Replayability - none. Overall: I wouldn't say the game is worth the $2.99 price point. Also: if there were any LGBT or inclusivity themes included in here, they flew completely over my head, not including the "message" that we are rewarded with for finishing the game.

Une expérience enrichissante qui vaut le coup d'être vécue. Le thème est bien traité, on comprend très bien l'idée transmise. En terme de jeu c'est assez pauvre, et j'ai trouvé que les contrôles laissaient parfois à désirer. Toutefois, j'ai le sentiment que le but n'est pas en priorité de s'amuser mais de comprendre une thématique sociale importante. En ça, je conseille vivement ACB qui vaut le coup qu'on s'y penche si on n'est pas déjà familier du sujet traité.

Quand la nuit approche et qu'on panique doucement parce qu'on aura jamais le temps de finir tout ce qu'on a à faire ET de profiter un peu de la soirée... Ce jeu touche bcp trop juste TT Pareil quand on passe de la journée de la femme à celle de l'homme. J'ai eu de sacrées envies de hurler à l'injustice tellement il s'en sort bien. Tellement ils s'en sortent bien en général. Merci pour cette expérience et le message qu'elle porte. C'est pas assez souvent qu'on trouve des jeux vidéo avec ce type de message :)

Très mignon, ce qui contraste beaucoup avec le sujet abordé. On comprend très bien quel est le message, et on a envie de le faire jouer à tous les hommes de notre connaissance, histoire de leur faire un peu bouger les fesses. Les contrôles sont un peu compliqués.

Très bon jeu, le propos est très bien amené. On ressent vraiment la prise de tête que c'est de devoir penser à toute les choses à faire, et le sentiment d'écrasement que provoque l'amoncellement, petit à petit, des tâches qui s'additionnent.

Le jeu est chouette et mignon, la DA est très sympa ! La musique est super et bien adaptée à l'ambiance du jeu. Le jeu est plutôt minimaliste mais ça lui va bien, c'est cool et assez rapide ! Les contrôles sont un peu laborieux mais on s'y fait. Le message est vraiment intéressant et mérite d'être pris en compte.

J'ai trouvé ce petit jeu vraiment bien pensé ! Et ce petit retournement de situation, vraiment, j'ai adoré ! Bon, j'ai cru que j'allais rage quite à cause du premier personnage qui n'en touche pas une (et des contrôles que je trouve assez contre-intuitifs) mais franchement je n'ai pas regretté de m'accrocher un peu plus <3

Short, cute and clever. A Comfortable Burden is not perfect but it deals cleverly with the serious and painful subject of mental load. I do recommend it to support an ethical studio and see how real-life challenges can inspire video games.