Bubbaruka!

Fun, cute, charming, and legitimately quite distressing at times! Bubbaruka is a game that saw what it was expected to be and went above and beyond those expectations purely for the love of telling a good story.

If you like a game that makes you feel not just dread, but the dread that its right over your shoulder and watching out of the corner of your eyes, Great game!

장점: 개성있는 그래픽, 무난한 스토리. 단점: 목적과 방향을 알려주는데에 불친절함. 여러 형식의 게임을 조합한 것은 좋으나 그 게임에 적응하는 과정은 순전히 눈치싸움으로 파악해야 함. 기반이 된 호러 게임 장르의 지식이 없으면 무한히 헤멜수도 있음. 한없이 불합리한 일부 기믹과 스테이지. 손가락 꼬고 특정 기믹을 기도해야 클리어 할 수 있는 마지막 보스. 사랑과 우정의 힘으로 쓰러지는 초월적 존재. 단점이 전부 갉아먹는 게임의 경험.

Bubbaruka is a great take on a tamagotchi horror game, and repeatedly subverted my expectations time and time again with every chapter. The story of the in-game development team was very interesting, and while its bread crumb trail told me the lore piece by piece, it simultaneously answered questions that would be difficult to explain when translated into gameplay (Such as how there is so much content for a tamagotchi game, for instance.) The gameplay is primarily simple puzzles and chases, but the devs did a great job adding just enough variation into the game so that it doesnt feel too repetitive. I think the designs for the main enemies ([spoiler]Mow, Arti, and Warn[/spoiler]) are great in both visuals, mechanics, and lore. [spoiler]The encounters at the end of each act are a great addition as well, to add a sudden change to the fairly monotone gameplay. Their use in the final boss is amazing, especially given that to attack Onaga you have to let him approach to jumpscare you[/spoiler]. The visuals and audio, while nothing to cheer about, blend in perfectly with the tamagotchi style. I really like how the aesthetic is broken more frequently as you near [spoiler]The Creature[/spoiler] at the end of the game. The only criticisms I could give on the game is that the true ending's mechanic doesn't feel used enough, and the difficulty feels very spiky. [spoiler]The true ending relies on you collecting keys to open doors between the three acts' locations so that you can collect secret items to delete The Creature's face. I feel like these could have been used much more, as you only have to enter them twice for a couple of items and keys[/spoiler]. The difficulty on the game feels less about the enemy chasing you, and more about the complexity/size of the map and puzzles. I found that a lot of my issues while playing stemmed from just losing myself in the map while being chased, rather than the chaser itself. Along with that, I don't believe that the hunger bar and food shop serve enough of a purpose. It's only really brought up one time in Act 1, and since I've started playing I had never let it fully run out a single time without even trying. Overall though, for simply 5 dollars, there is a lot of content here that I really like. I can't wait to play the postgame, and will update my review when finished. POST-GAME EDIT The post-game being more of a simple survival horror is eh. It's not as great as the main portion of the game, in my personal opinion, but an extra 4-ish hours of content for free is nothing to complain about at all. You dont need to understand the lore from the main game to get what is going on in the post-game. The primary story can take some time to understand, so a simple mostly-disconnected aftermath story is something I really appreciate. The gameplay, along with the sound and visuals, aren't anything to really hype, but still fit the tamagotchi vibe that the game wants to meet. You have to return to the main game locations and complete tasks such as cleaning up scary messages, killing corrupt enemies, etc. Flipping the too-easy difficulty of the main game, I find this part of the game to be too difficult. The clunky, orthogonal movement just simply isn't built for quick mostly-parrying combat. Rooms with multiple enemies can easily leave you overwhelmed and take a few lives to clear. The tasks are non-linear as well, so you're likely to play a good portion of the game without unlocking any helpful stores. Lastly, the final boss is a good conclusion, but it just feels kinda anticlimactic after what we experienced in the main game. It is clearly made with love though, so I believe it's still worth playing to some degree. Like I said, 3-4 hours of content for free is nothing bad.

It's great! Especially for one man dev making this on RPG Maker. Rather lengthy for only being $5, story is interesting, legit terrifying at times, and with some tinkering with the controller settings it's also playable on Steam Deck! However, it does have quite the number of bugs here and there which the dev though is at least trying to fix, even almost four years after the game initially came out, which is some real commitment there ngl. Worth the full $5 Also Tomo best Bubby.

哇多么好的游戏啊

love it so much tbh idk what else to say but its a must play

I didn't want to leave a review for Bubbaruka until i had experienced the post-game, as i felt i had nothing to add which had already been stated by other reviews. But, to reiterate, Bubbaruka is a fantastically atmospheric game. The puzzles are consistently varied, each of the game's three areas feel distinct, and all the graphics and interfaces you'll see were custom-made the the creator. This helps greatly to create a wonderfully immersive experience, with no default-engine assets (also considering at heart this is an RPG-maker title makes it worthy of massive props). You can really tell the effort and passion the creator has put into the game. I discovered Bubbaruka through ManlyBadassHero's playthrough of the demo, and later found out the game had been in development since 2017/18? Even since that video earlier this year, so much refinement has gone into the game's area layout, assets, GUI and pacing. I would like to add that Bubbaruka knows it doesn't need to be "breaking new ground" in the terms of video games to be great, it provides its concepts and then puts them together in ways that break up and keep playing interesting, as well as making sense within the story, and are just so entertaining. Like [spoiler] the brown note entity 'creature' getting mad in the true ending when you delete the image of their face, and causing the entire game window to pulse? Not only is it a fascinating and creative use of a seemingly redundant engine feature, it fits so well within the universe of the game. [/spoiler] Without spoiling the story of the game, Bubbaruka's is captivating and presented in a way which draws you deeper into it. I have already touched on pacing, but it really is well done. There are three main gameplay segments in the game, accompanied by the three 'Bubbies' who you guide through them. [spoiler] The first, Tomo's, keeps the feel of a seemingly unfinished children's game while sowing the seed of another presence and introducing the existence of the in-universe creators of Bubbaruka, including some the key employees of Kodemu and the sense that something is wrong beyond conflict between colleagues. The second area, Miboo's provides more information about Kodemu and the events which occurred surrounding the release of Bubbaruka, while steadily building the horror of an entity which is actively tormenting the trapped characters of the game who have been brought to life by its presence, as well as warping the minds and bodies of the real people unfortunate enough to see its face. The final area of the game, Flou's, brings home the creature's presence of fear and provides the story of Onaga, who was first afflicted. This builds to the final climax of creature's reveal, and the final battle with a distorted Onaga, who assumedly by creatures own eldritch power has been woven into the game. You then get either the good or bad ending depending on whether you unlocked the vaults and backtracked to delete creature's face. The use of the flesh material that makes creature only in the final sequence really adds to setting it apart from the main spooks throughout the game, helping to place it on a whole other level to the rest of the entities and really selling it as 'the big bad'. Also in relation to story, i do appreciate that Bubbaruka knows what it is, eventually providing answers to its main questions to give a highly satisfying conclusion, leaving just a little amount unknown to keep you interested afterwards in the back of your mind. The fate of Akarai? How did the picture get in Onaga's book? Questions which don't have especially much relevance to the core plot, but are fun to consider as fans. There is mystery, but its not frustrating or poorly thought out. Its also nice that in-game and real world explanations mesh in a way which works. The game paces itself and lures you deeper because, its a game, and the game paces itself and lures you deeper because, creature wants you interested so it can show you its face and continue to spread. The general idea can be placed under the 'possessed game' genre, but like i said, Bubbaruka knows that providing concepts well with great execution is what makes a good game, not just providing new concepts. [/spoiler] For final thoughts, the sound design is also nice and helps keep with the theme, and the post-game update provides more content for you to explore and create a happier ending if you want to. Its nice that the game could easily end when it does, and that the post-game doesn't feel out of place either. In terms of length, while checking every note and exploring every area, playing through and getting both the bad then the good ending takes around 7-9 hours. Its a short game, so its nice that the post game content is there for those who want more. In regards to the developer, the whole thing was made by a one-person studio, and the developer is very helpful at quickly responding to bug reports and fixing errors. Its $4.99/£3.99, and you could get it on sale, but its full of heart and is a wonderful game which you won't soon forget.

Really good game, fun and creepy it also has a good story

bom demais e bem feito