[b]I have received this game for free from the developer, but this doesn't effect my expressed opinion of it.[/b]
[h1]The Review[/h1]
My giving this game a thumbs up is a [b]NOT[/b] a general recommendation. Lincoln Green, if compared to other 2D fighting games on Steam, isn't really a good fighting game, mainly because of a clear lack of polish:
- unclear button prompts (like ''Press button 4''),
- when using a keyboard - instead of ''Enter'' you sometimes need to press ''T'' to confirm a choice in the game (like when choosing a character) and instead of ''Escape'' you sometimes need to press ''G'',
- no pause button while fighting,
- no way to exit a fight - you need to lose the fight to get back to the main menu,
- no special animation when a character is defeated,
- characters don't automatically face you when you jump behind them,
- in ''Practice mode'' the second player has to use a keyboard in the character select screen even when 2 controllers are connected (this doesn't happen in the PvP ''Versus mode''),
- childish story with grammatical errors,
- simple cartoony graphics with simple animations,
- few bugs like characters sometimes turned the opposite direction at the start of a fight,
- a somewhat small roster of fighters,
- bad AI,
- simple moves that are boring for experienced players,
- some moves can be spammed to easily win,
etc.
The game simply can't compare even to the average fighting games on Steam in graphics, gameplay and general user experience. It is clearly a somewhat below average fighting game. Therefore, I definitely wouldn't recommend this game to adult gamers in general, especially not to the fighting game enthusiasts. This gamer demographic has countless better choices on Steam.
[b]So why am I still giving it a thumbs up?[/b]
While this game might not be very fun and exciting for adults, IMO it is well suited for kids 7-10 years of age, and as such it is special in it's own right. I therefore recommend this game to parents of 7-10 year old kids, if they want to introduce their kids to fighting games, and are searching for a fighting game that isn't explicitly violent and realistic.
Sure, there is fighting in this game, but the graphics are very cartoony and childlike. There is no blood, gore or expressions of pain - like you see in most fighting games. Instead when you hit an opponent you sometimes see a text like ''POW'', ''WHAM'' and ''SMASH'', just like you would in comic books when a hero hits a villain. So for a kids ''My first fighting game'', this game is IMO the best choice on Steam and has great potential to improve. It is a family friendly fighting game, that could use a bit more polish.
I would therefore like to encourage the developer to invest more time in polishing this game, to try to bring out its true potential. You already made the only family friendly 2D fighting game on Steam (as far as I know), now please polish it and make it shine. I'm sure there are many parents that would love to sit down and play a game like this with their kids.
So if I now look at this game as a special kid friendly fighting game, instead of comparing it to other fighting games for more mature audiences, I suddenly find myself with a much more positive review:
+ It is cheap (as it should be).
+ Runs on a lo-spec potato.
+ Has audio and control settings.
+ Playable with a keyboard and both of my PlayStation Dualshock 4 controllers work when connected - so it can be played on the couch with another person using 1 controller and keyboard, or simply with 2 controllers.
+ Simple, beginner friendly fighting moves.
+ Game has much potential to become a good and fun family friendly fighting game, that you can play with your kids.
