Cowpocalypse - Episode 0

I always appreciate when there is just one developer behind a video game. Mr. Hrabacsik did his best when making Cowpocalypse - a short, point-and-click adventure game about Santa, Rudolf, aliens and cows, of course. When controlling our protagonist Items can be locked at as well as used / picked-up. Holding down the left mouse button to see these two options I did not find very intuitive. But this is the biggest issue I had with this gem. Oh, and the English text could have used some proofreading. In any case, this is a great little game that can be completed in a couple of hours and it comes completely free of charge.

A fascinating low budget indie game with good puzzles and interesting story. Since it's free you should give it a try. Respect for making a game all alone.

Bottomline at the top: I very hesitantly put this as recommended as it is free and in the hopes that if some of the cons I listed below are dealt with it would vastly improve the upcoming chapters. Pros -------------------------------------------------- -I like P&C's that use a photorealistic design. This one kind of reminds me of a high def police quest 4. -As the designers description says, it does have atmospheric music. -Professional sounding voice acting. Meh. -------------------------------------------------- -No autosaves. The game warns you right in the beginning that there are no autosaves, which is good I guess. But why not just have autosaves? -Save slots ask if you want to "override this slot" with slots that have never been used. This is not really a problem but it sticks out as just not polished. -Text parser description of inventory items gives option to use an item on itself "use wrench with wrench". It doesn't do anything, but it also shows a lack of game polishing. Cons -------------------------------------------------- -First off I would like to say a few words about Visonaire Studio 4. This is the 3rd game I've played that’s utilized this engine and all three have had issues with display settings. There is no setup to alter them. Instead I had to go into the game folder on my comp and manual adjust the config file. Luckily the file very clearly states how to alter settings. Unfortunately, after fiddling around with them I still couldn't make the game work at a proper resolution. Altering my display settings and messing with the config file at best made the game fill about 75% of my screen and even that required going back and forth at different resolutions to be able to move the windowed game. Its ridiculously frustrating having a game in 2019 that requires work to make function properly and brings back flashbacks of trying to make DOS games work in the 90's. -The translations for this game are very awkward. It also has a few text misspellings. The dialogue between characters reminds me of those YouTube vids you see of two chatbots talking to each other. This game desperately needs a proofreader. -Interaction interface is frustrating. Using the scroll wheel or holding down a mouse button to engage the look/talk/interact icon is awkward. -The text parser descriptions in the lower right corner only work when combining inventory items and not when using items on anything in the environment (for instance you can use your "knife with tape" but when you go to add hazelnuts to the blender its only says "hazelnuts with" like its not even an option.) It makes things difficult because you don't know what interactions are even an option and in a game that has photorealistic backgrounds it can lead to a lot of pixel hunting. -Which brings me to pixel hunting in this game in general. It has some of the worse pixel hunting I've seen in a while. I tried to remove a painting multiple times only to discover from a walkthrough vid that you had to click on these tiny little screw pixels on the corners to make it work. Another scene had keys which were indistinguishable from the background. Combine bad pixel hunting with the lack of parser responses listed in the previous con and you have a good combo to make your player frustrated. -Using the look interaction often provides this games default response of "What should I do with it" or no response at all. Descriptions of things in game are integral to the story and often give subtle hints as to what to do next or at the very least offer a chance for humor or make the game feel more interactive. There are simply too many times when this default response is given, especially for major game events. (Like there's a drunk Santa hanging out in your back yard and you have no commentary on what he's doing there when looking at him?!?) -Sprite design is clunky. Could use more animation in main characters walk cycles. Also, there are sprite clipping problems where if you move your character to certain locations he gets stuck and you can't interact with interactable areas without moving your character directly instead of him moving himself. (Additionally, after the explosion sequence there were clipping issues where he walked out into the background and I thought I'd have to reload the game. Luckily, I was able to travel to the next room and it fixed itself upon return but due to the lack of autosaving and not having saved for a while I thought I was going to lose all my progress. Again, frustrating.) -Some crazy moon logic. Its a kind of absurdist game so some ridiculousness is to be expected. But some parts just don't make sense (For instance, you need to make a bunny leave its burrow so that you can climb into said burrow which somehow transforms into a human sized tunnel where you can knock out a beaver with a stinky sock so you can use it to talk chop down a talking tree and cross a chasm....pretty straightforward, right?) -And even though its clearly an absurdist story, the game has trouble with tone. Like is it a comedy? (then why not more use of humor in game descriptions?) Is it a horror/drama? (if not, then why was the ending dialogue intense and not lighthearted like a comedy? Phew....So after all those cons why am I still giving this a recommendation? Well for one thing this game was the work of a single developer in his free time over a period of three years. The dedication it takes to see an idea in your mind and follow through with it deserves respect. To then go and give it away for free shows that all the issues listed above were not simply ignored so as to make a buck on a game rushed out the door. To clarify, there is a good foundation here. The backgrounds and visuals were well done. Good music. Professional voice acting. I've paid money for games in which all those things were lacking. This game is not a total fail. It simply needs a lot of proofreading and "quality of life" improvements and polishing. I believe that if the developer takes some of these issues and works on them his next two chapters could be very enjoyable. I look forward to seeing what he is able to come up with!

Pretty Cool FREE Point & Click Game. 2 more Episodes to come for a total of 3 Episodes. Took me around 1.5hrs to finish.

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[h1]It's the end of the world as we k[strike]n[/strike]ow it![/h1] [i]Cowpocalypse - Episode 1[/i] is a free adventure point-and-click game focusing on a teenage farm boy who has strange events happen on his farm...raindeer's butt above his bed, a burning field, drunk santa in his backyard, a talking tree in the forest near his house, and even a possessed car...that talks like the girlfriend you probably want...all while looking for your missing cows. The twists are humorous and the artwork is well done...and all with a creepy (but not scary) vibe. If any complaints come to mind, the point-and-click implementation is wonky most of the times...you can't just click something that's outside of your reach and expect the protagonist to walk to it, you have to have him walk to a nearer point before proceeding. There are also quite a few typos and the logic of the final part doesn't quite make sense...especially with hard-to-find objects (and I try not to use walkthroughs on this sort of thing...though a guide does exist along with a video playthrough option in-game). So, is [i]Cowpocalypse - Episode 1[/i] worth your time? Sure thing! It's the same vein as the game [i]The Culling of the Cows[/i], but has some nice humor and a great ending! It will only take about an hour of your time and has achievements...none of which are hidden. Definitely worth an hour of your time! 8/10 Don't let this apocalypse ruin your day! Play today!

[h1]"Cowpocalypse" ou l'apocalypse des vaches ? Un curieux titre qui donne envie d'aller découvrir ce qui ce cache dans ce "point and clic" peu commun.[/h1] [h1]SYNOPSIS[/h1] L'aventure débute en pleine nuit où vous (fils de parents fermiers) êtes réveillé en sursaut par un accident qui semble totalement irréel, et pour cause vous vous apercevez que le toit de votre chambre vient d'être transpercé par... un renne, oui un renne et pas n'importe lequel ! Celui du père noël répondant au prénom de Rudolf, Coincé là dans ce trou béant, au beau milieu de votre toiture ! Et un problème en amenant un autre, la porte de votre chambre est fermée à clé, en jetant un oeil par la fenêtre vous allez de surprises en surprises en constatant qu'à l'extérieur la clôture est en feu ! Oh misère : Vos vaches sont en péril !! Vite il vous faut trouver un moyen de sortir pour éteindre l'incendie et mener de plus amples investigations quand à cette catastrophe qui semble être un mauvais rêve. Je ne m'attarderais pas d'avantage sur les détails de l'histoire car le jeu est très court, il ne s'agit ici que le tout premier épisode ou prologue d'une série de deux qui étaient ou sont sensés sortir plus tard. Vu que le développeur est seul à travailler sur le projet et que la réalisation de cet épisode zéro a duré 3 ans, il ne nous restera qu'à prendre notre mal en patience en attendant une éventuelle suite. [h1]CARACTERISTIQUES[/h1] Bien que la durée n'atteindra pas les 10 heures, comptez moins de 2 heures (si vous vous aidez d'un guide dans le hub de la communauté, ou celui présent dans le jeu) mais attendez-vous à cogiter un peu plus longtemps si vous tentez de tout résoudre par la seule force de votre cerveau, car le jeu n'est pas si simple qu'il n'y paraît. En effet, comme l'atmosphère générale penche vers le fantasmagorique et l'absurde, il se peut que certaines actions à réaliser ne vous viennent pas forcément à l'esprit et certaines énigmes pourraient vous laisser réfléchir un bon moment. En dehors de l'histoire qui semble farfelue au possible mais non dépourvue d'intérêt, le jeu se distingue également par ses graphismes au design photoréaliste qui conviennent très bien au titre, ainsi que des dialogues entièrement doublés par des voix off professionnelles et une musique d'ambiance de qualité. [h1]CONCLUSION[/h1] L'épisode zéro de "Cowpocalypse" nous dévoile une histoire intrigante par le biais d'énigmes plus ou moins bizarres et compliquées, sa réalisation est de bonne facture, et nous somme face aux prémices d'une aventure bien prometteuse, en espérant que le développement soit toujours d'actualité et finisse par aboutir. [code]Si vous êtes fans de jeux d'aventures et avez apprécié cette critique, retrouvez mes autres avis sur la page de curation [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/39126590/][b]ClicK Story[/b][/url][/code]

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[h1]В поисках коров.[/h1] [code]Пейте дети молоко – будете здоровы! Но это не факт…[/code] [b] ОБЗОР СОДЕРЖИТ СПОЙЛЕРЫ! ЧИТАЙТЕ НА СВОЙ СТРАХ И РИСК!!! ПРЕДУПРЕЖДЁН, ЗНАЧИТ, ВООРУЖЁН Я ПРЕДУПРЕДИЛ? ВЫ ВООРУЖЕНЫ! [/b] Я увидел начало прохождения игры у одного человека на Youtube довольно давно, но пересматривая его в очередной раз, решил поставить точку и пройти самому её до конца. На данный момент у игры всего один эпизод, но так как это квест, то соки подсосёт из игрока точно. Иногда встречаются моменты, до которых догадаться весьма и весьма трудно, но всё же возможно. Каких-то багов не было встречено, но подсказки к третьей части эпизода внутри игры остаются заблокированы, несмотря на то, что уже в этом третьем «акте» и находишься. Благо есть добрые люди, которые написали руководства по прохождению. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3707468503 Играем мы за парня Брэна, который живёт с родителями в доме в лесу с собственным хозяйством в виде коров, хотя, как мне кажется, это всё же бычки. Очнувшись после странного сна, паренёк видит жoпy оленя, который каким-то страннейшим образом пробил его крышу. Немного офигев он решает спуститься вниз, но кто-то запер его в комнате и, выйдя на балкончик, мы наблюдаем пожар в коровьем загоне, который оказался пустым. Коровы куда-то пропали! Куда? А это нам и предстоит решить! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3707468941 На полуслепое прохождение у меня ушло меньше двух часов, притом, под конец, не зная что делать, я всё же обратился к подсказкам. По началу всё понятно, но как и бывает во многих квестах нужно постоянно разговаривать с персонажами после осмотра любой незначительной детали, иначе скрипт не сработает и история не пойдёт дальше. К тому же я прекрасно понял, что у Фреда нужно отломить палку, но не понял где, а после пошёл заниматься другими делами и совершенно забыл про это. В итоге, палка оказалась практически рядом с остатками моста и я её не заметил. После немного нелогичная штука с баллончиком и химикатами... Ну, наверно, я немного глуповат. В любом случае, квест неплохой и загадка тут имеется: кто украл коров и что вообще здесь происходит? https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3707495347 Немного не понимаю тех людей, которые в отзывах или под своими скринами пишут о том, что не купили бы эту игру ни в коем случае, если бы она продавалась. Однако, если посмотреть на их статистику, то пройдена она до конца. Разумеется, на халяву и хлорка будет творогом. Лично я бы за эту игру заплатил, но на уровне 200 рублей, не больше. Разумеется, за все эпизоды, которые вышли, а не по отдельности. Поддержки разработчик точно заслуживает, но не только словесной, а ещё и финансовой. К тому же, что-то ждёт людей в сентябре 2026 года, если мы доживём до него и Cowpocalypse не наступит раньше.