If the game was a little longer it would be easier to recommend, but it's only 25 minutes, not 1 hour that the store page suggested (half of my time was making tea, not playing). The thing is, I don't really care if the game is $2~5, I am just saying it's important to have enough runtime so the players have a lasting impression of the experience, otherwise it's very easy to just beat the game, and never think about it again. To reference a developer that makes similar games, Madison Karrh started making 30 minute games, and eventually made a 2 hour game that found a lot of fans, you don't need to make a huge game, but you want it to be at least long enough so you have some attachment to the experience, and when I finished this game, I wanted more, I wanted maybe a few background changes, a few puzzles, and maybe a little more of that inside look at the family.
I mean this is okay if this is your first project, I thought the experience overall was enjoyable, there are many similar games on steam that have a consistent audience, but with more content. Initially I assumed that the greenhouse was just the first location, generally when you play similar games they will have maybe 3 to 10 separate sections like these, each with a set of puzzles that are themed to that location, and the devs would adjust the price accordingly, depending on how many locations they made or how much work it took them to make it.
Most of puzzles the are just moving objects into place, nothing difficult, overall just a chill experience, for example moving the dry flowers into the book slots. I had a few small issues actually finding the puzzle locations, it's not a big deal, but I think these games normally would highlight those areas in some way so you not brute forcing the background. Another game design trick you could use is just adding some optional interactions that would trigger some animations around the greenhouse, you will see a lot of that from Cotton Game developer, if you want a reference. These background interaction games are relatively simple with the gameplay, so you want to make up for it by making the player explore the background and click on curious things, and reward them for doing so with animations.
[h1]Pros:[/h1]
(+) Just a nice relaxing experience, enjoyable vibes, easy puzzles. Nothing wrong with that, just a very short game so.
(+) I did enjoy the illustrations and the coloring, I just wish you had more of them.
[h1]Feedback: [/h1]
[u]Content Expectations/Making a lasting experience:[/u]
- it's not so much $/hour, more so that I want you to give me enough time to enjoy the experience, and 25 minutes is not enough to do that no matter how nice the game is. You should aim for at least 3 locations with a set of puzzles each, so right now you have 1, greenhouse, so like a 1-1.5 hour is more of a baseline for these games.
- try to add a few achievements next time, or some interaction/optional achievements with the backgrounds
- you could maybe highlight the puzzle areas a little better, it was a bit awkward to find them in the background
[b]Overall Thoughts: 6/10 [/b]
There are many devs on steam that just make similar cute puzzle games over and over and it works very well for them, but if you don't aim for at least 1.5 hours, I think you will have a hard time making a lasting impression. I think 3-5 puzzle sections is more acceptable, 25 minutes is not enough for any game. You not doing anything wrong, but this game should have been 3 times longer on average, that is vey much a baseline in this price range and the medium.
[code]Niche, obscure and underrated games: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]
