[b]this game is for[/b] people interested in dark, crass humor.
[*][i]shouldn't laugh at that i guess[/i] - the determining point of your enjoyment of this game is whether or not you enjoy the dev's style of humor, which explores dark and serious subjects. if you like the trailer, you will probably like the story and humor delivery of the game just fine.
[hr][/hr]
[b]this game isn't for[/b] people looking for horror, environmental storytelling, or deeper social commentary.
[*][i]who's afraid of the big bad spoon ?[/i] - there is nothing scary to this game, and while there was plenty of opportunity to put horror into it, there simply isn't any. i found this very disappointing, and would have probably liked the game a bit better if i didn't go into it anticipating some degree of horror. there is some mild gore and disturbing subject matter, but it never feels serious in any way due to the abundance of humor.
[*][i]i've seen that before[/i] - a key selling factor of this game is its bizarre and humorous art. unfortunately, the same 3 pieces are repeated for almost the entirety of the work. there is a 'humorous' memo explaining why, but it ultimately feels like an excuse to not have delivered a better experience. had the dev put more of these art pieces throughout the game or done something meaningful with the other decorations instead of including the tedious puzzle elements, the game would be significantly better.
[*][i]can i interest you in a minigame ?[/i] - there are a few minigames and puzzles to this. unfortunately, they are all absurdly easy time-wasters that have nothing whatsoever to do with the plot. the first puzzle with the [spoiler]phone[/spoiler] is the most fun to solve and delivers a solid [spoiler]jump scare[/spoiler] in the process. sadly, this is the peak of the game's adventure.
[hr][/hr]
[u][i]how did i like it ?[/i][/u]
i don't like to leave negative reviews on indie games, but i can't say i enjoyed my time in bucket detective. the dev has a fine sense of humor (mostly), but when it comes to creating puzzles, alternate endings, or even simply populating the game with the art you expect from the teasers, the effort just wasn't put in. despite multiple endings, there are really only 3 core variants, and i wasn't impressed with any of them. i'd have rather the art time put into the alternate endings fit into the picture frames that were showing me the same illustrations a dozen times, or even just added to the labels of more offensively-titled books. the minigame padding was also rather unfortunate. i think this dev has potential, but it wasn't realized in this title.
