[h1][b]From the time the developer (or publisher) has responded, the review has been updated accordingly.[/b][/h1]
[h1]Overview:[/h1]
'[i]Dash Dash Delivery[/i]' is a third person delivery game where you play as a worker employed by an unnamed company delivering packages to different locations within a mall in the allotted time. While you do this, you have to keep an eye on your hunger and thirst since you as a human, must eat and drink! However, there's a catch when it comes to these deliveries but the game doesn't tell you about it whatsoever and I'll get to that later.
'[i]Dash Dash Delivery[/i]' is a strange case because apparently it was targeted for middle-aged autistic students and posed as a learning tool to teach them about finances and time management. It was, to quote the developer: "[i]built specifically to address concerns facing autistic students in education[/i]" which I assume means the problems autistic students have to face when they're in school. Although the purpose is very wholesome and something I commemorate the creators for, it doesn't change the fact that the structure and the game itself isn't good.
The video preview on the store page explains everything in the game but tells you nothing about how to actually [i][b]do[/b][/i] your job or how it works. They don't demonstrate it such as showing an example of one of the tasks being done so figuring out how to actually [i]play[/i] the game is way harder than it should be. Do I press "[b]E[/b]" at the counter to have something appear? Do I press "[b]K[/b]" here? Do I right click there? Where are the controls? They did such a bang up job on explaining every other aspect of the game that they failed to include a simple tutorial explaining how to play the game. Where are the control settings?
The mall itself is also rather small and devoid of human presence aside from yourself which sort of makes your job well, pointless. What's the point of delivering packages if no one even shops here? It's filled with plenty of colorful stores and items referencing well known shows and games among other things so why is it empty?
[h1]Gameplay:[/h1]
As I mentioned, there was a catch when it came to delivering packages right? Well initially, I was lead to believe that there wasn't a way to play the game properly because packages were no where to be found despite my tasks telling me I had things to distribute. Well according to the developers, packages don't [i]actually[/i] appear until 30 in game minutes before the delivery is due. Supposedly the purpose of this strange feature is to prevent players from rushing through the tasks given and finishing them quicker than the day can end thus making them bored long before the day is over.
Okay, I understand that but if that was such a concern then why not acknowledge the fact that the player can't do the tasks until 30 minutes before said task is due? There are no indicators that signal the player that they can't do their job until the task is almost due. The objectives are laid out as if you can do whichever one you want at any given time. They programmed this odd feature in as a way to prevent boredom later on in the game but ironically made the game boring from the start because you can't do anything.
They state that there are fun activities that the player can engage in while waiting but these activities get old and tired quickly and more often than not will make players wonder what any of it has to do with delivering stuff. I suppose it would be different from an autistic individual's point of view but I'm confident most people playing this on [i]Steam[/i] aren't autistic. One of the most important and cryptic mechanics isn't even explained and players are bound to quit long before they even figure out that they actually have to wait until the task is almost due before they can actually start to play properly.
You're also given the most annoying phone on the planet that can display your vitals such as hunger and thirst, tasks that you have to complete and bills that you must pay once they're due. Almost everything you do causes it to ring obnoxiously and there's no way to stop it manually, you just have to let it vibrate until it decides it's had enough. Allegedly the chime was emphasised to create a memorable cue of urgency and to minimize UI features on the screen as too much information being presented at once could have adverse affects on autistic students. A valid point so that's something that you're just going to have to get used to.
[h1]Controls:[/h1]
Believe it or not, they chose one of the worst formats when it comes to controls for a game like this: Tank controls. You can't move sideways, only forward and backward. There are two speeds, slow as ass and fast as ♥♥♥♥. It feels stiff to move despite how fast you go and the whole control scheme just makes you wonder why the developers didn't just go with traditional third/first person controls. This was because they wanted to make the control scheme simple for autistic students to prevent any frustration. Also something I can understand but again, it doesn't change the fact that it isn't a great configuration.
[h1]Graphics:[/h1]
Not so pretty to say the least. Your character's proportions are all over the place and the models, textures and lighting is much of the same. Although I can safely say there are worse, this game is barely making the cut. Certain areas emit an odd blue outline around objects and the overall look of the game is not appealing to the eye at all. Their justification was that the visuals are the way they are because the people behind '[i]Dash Dash Delivery[/i]' were not experienced (if at all) at making games. To be fair, there was no way I was going to know that before hand since no where was it mentioned that '[i]Dash Dash Delivery[/i]' was created by inexperienced individuals. Nonetheless, I can appreciate the graphics not for the way they look but for the people behind it.
[h1]Audio:[/h1]
I can accept music, I can accept multiple tracks, I can even accept bad music but '[i]Dash Dash Delivery[/i]' takes it [i]way[/i] too far when it comes to this. Almost every room has its own music which you would think is good, but they sound just as obnoxious as the constant phone ringing and vibrating you get every 3 minutes and makes you want to mute the game faster than [i]Rockstar[/i] can shove micro-transactions down your throat. Quality over quantity, that's the best way to put it. However, having lots of different upbeat music could have positive reactions from autistic students.
[h1]Conclusion/TL;DR:[/h1]
'[i]Dash Dash Delivery[/i]' is a third person delivery game intended as a learning tool for autistic students. The game has [b]many[/b] flaws such as a terrible control scheme where you can't move left and right, annoyingly loud audio and unclear/missing instructions to name a few but these flaws are present in the game due to it's main target audience being autistic students. There's a completely valid reason for the game not being so great and I do feel bad for leaving a negative review on a game not necessarily meant for typical gamers but if a game isn't great, it isn't great no matter how good the cause is.
