[b][quote][url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asset_flip]Warning: Asset Flip![/url][/quote][/b]
Island Treasure Chase is an asset flip, what Valve calls a "fake game". The "developer", MsGlobal/Remax42, took a basic Unity tutorial, slapped a couple of MS-paint/AI generated sprites on it, and dumped the results onto Steam as a cash grab scam.
MsGlobal/Remax42/Rawi Studio (oops he forgot to change his fake account in the Unity namespace for the manifest) has shown a repeated pattern of ripping off Unity templates and dumping them on Steam.
Don't believe me? Here's some other asset flips from exactly the same template, all shamelessly dumped on Steam as nasty cash grabs:
[list]
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/3207050]Marauder Knight[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by MsGlobal
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/3206600]Artifact Run[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by Rawi Studio
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/3207070]Richest Thief[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by MsGlobal
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/3200830]Cave Ghost[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by MsGlobal
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/3190870]Knight's Shadow[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by Rawi Studio
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/3192510]Star Runaway[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by Rawi Studio
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/3192540]Deep Sea Pursuit[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by Rawi Studio
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/3390080]City Heist[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by Rawi Studio
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/3390060]Dino Dash[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by Rawi Studio
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/3382830]Zombie Escape[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by Rawi Studio
[/list]
Look for yourself... these are all exactly the same game!
The products that result from asset flips aren't "real" games. They lack depth and content, because they're just simplistic copies of demos or tutorials. In this case, "Island Treasure Chase" is just a basic (possibly AI generated) reskin of a simple Unity game that Hede has been spamming onto Steam as more cash grab scamware, and doesn't have any merit as a proper, fully fledged PC game, so this copy+paste of it can't be recommended.
Asset flips don't involve any professional game development. Sure, sometimes they may change a few cosmetic things, swap out different assets etc, but at heart it's functionally identical to the asset they're ripping off. Asset flips are an insult to both PC gamers and to professional game developers who create genuine, high quality PC games. Asset flips like this are harmful to the gaming industry and to Steam because they reduce the visibility that sincerely made indie games should have. They make it harder for gamers to find genuine games made by honest developers.
To cement the position of this asset flip as nothing but a cash grab, it was dumped onto cheap DailyIndieGame shovelware bundles very shortly after launch. Don't reward this morally bankrupt, unethical behaviour from Rawi Studio.
Island Treasure Chase has the completely insane price of $200 USD, which is incredibly suspicious, higher than AAA pricing for an asset flip shovelware scam game. Why would the "developer" put such a high price tag on an asset flip with no true value as a game? There's no direct proof for this, but it's entirely possible this game is priced this way for money laundering or other criminal purposes. Higher prices allow more money to move with fewer transactions. Valve have previously banned developers for running money laundering scams. While there's no direct evidence in this case, it's highly suspicious and gamers should be wary. Given the defects and quality issues with the game, coupled with the unrealistic price, this is impossible to recommend.
[quote][b][url=https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/marketing/profile]Profile Features Limited![/url][/b]
Valve have marked this game as "Profile Features Limited" at the time of this review. This is usually caused by poor sales figures and low community acceptance for the game (to date). Until this status changes, this game will not give you +1 to your Game Collector badge count, appear in profile achievements or any other Steam meta-accomplishments, nor can it be displayed in some profile showcases. If these factors are important to you, it may be worth holding off before buying this game.[/quote]
