[quote]A review copy was provided by the developer.[/quote]
[quote]Follow my Curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41363546-Fruit-N-Doggie-Reviews/]Fruit N Doggie Reviews,[/url] so you can be updated whenever I post a new review.[/quote]
[h1]Overall Rating - Mediocre ★★★☆☆[/h1]
[h1]First Impressions[/h1]
Perfect Inventory (PI) theoretically takes one of the less enjoyable aspects of certain games. Going through your inventory and setting it all up just so, in order to carry the equipment you'll want to hold onto. Except sorting the inventory is the entire game, as you won't go forth and engage in any other forms of gameplay. It's kind of an odd premise, but in real-life I find organizing items around the house relaxing, and is something I do fairly often. Why not try it in the form of a game?
[h1]Gameplay[/h1]
Each puzzle has a grid-style board, with somewhere between 5-24 items strewn about. Every item takes up a different amount of space, and can come in a variety of shapes, some easier to work with than others. In order to set up your inventory properly, you'll have to place each one just so, sometimes twisting and turning them so they face the right way. A few of them can be mixed together to form combined items. For instance, two or three books can be combined to make a stack of books next to each other. Honestly, I find that a little silly. The other mechanic involves placing a box or case inside the inventory, which has its own storage space as well, though you can't put one storage container within another.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2884008620
[h1]Controls[/h1]
This is a fairly straightforward puzzle game, so for the most part, it functioned well with the use of a mouse. However, something I disliked about the controls was having to hold onto an item with the left cursor in order to rotate it with the right one. Since opening certain items for more storage used the right cursor, that wasn't available anymore. With how often you'll rotate items, this is a consistent annoyance throughout, so why not prioritize that function over the other? It comes up much more often.
[h1]Story[/h1]
I suppose to explain why you yourself aren't taking these items out to the front lines to engage in other kinds of gameplay, you play the part of a basic attendant. People hand you an inventory and items they need to take with them, and it's up to you to cram it all in there, by hook or by crook. Calling it a story would be a stretch though. It's more that at the start of each group of puzzles, you're told their name, job, and a succinct summary of what their objective is before dealing with a set of appropriate items. For instance, switching from metal implements for the blacksmith to outfits and yarn for the tailor.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2884008777
[h1]Visuals[/h1]
When there isn't other content aside from the puzzles, games like PI have little to present visually. There's a handful of different gear and items you'll sort through, with their designs most likely resembling stereotypes you'd have in mind. For example, magical robes were colored purple, which seems like a suitable mage color to me. The items themselves looked alright, but I thought the inventory grid and background was kind of shabby. Plus, you never even get to see what the NPCs you're working for look like. It wouldn't have galvanized the game or anything, but it comes across like they were trying to get away with doing everything as simply as possible. Why expend any effort more than is necessary?
[h1]Sound Design[/h1]
By default, the music was definitely on the loud side, so I had to reduce it. Otherwise, it's a fairly basic tune, which played the entire time I was in the game, regardless of the person I was working for. It was inoffensive, though having something to change it up at some point would have been nice. There was also no sound effects due to how PI functions.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2884008901
[h1]Pros[/h1]
🌟 The problem with the glitch occurred only once, so it seems to have been an anomaly. If I had to guess, a smaller screen might cause the problem as it'd be more likely to get too crowded.
🌟 It's an uncommon puzzle type, so it fills a niche.
[h1]Cons[/h1]
❌ Even though there are situations where you can organize the inventory so there'd be spare space, the game doesn't recognize this as a solution. That goes against the stated purpose of your task, to organize items for skilled laborers. They'd probably appreciate extra room in case they needed it, and would consider that a bonus.
❌ You have to play through the game linearly. So, if you get stuck on a puzzle, you can't skip around or go further ahead. Just keep trying until you eventually figure it out.
[h1]Tips[/h1]
🔍 You'll want to place as many items as you can within the board, but when you have parts that can be combined together, don't get too particular about the arrangement yet. In order to solve the puzzle, you'll need to figure out if you have the right amount of pieces, and combining items together changes that amount. Unfortunately, PI doesn't provide you with that information, so you have to check and figure it out on your own.
🔍 Even if you have the right number of items paired together, you might have the combination wrong. For instance, the hat needs to be by itself, while you mix the robe and shoes together, but as of right now you have it the other way around. Again, you'll have to figure it out for yourself.
🔍 Try to work with the more obnoxious and difficult items first. Smaller ones will be used to fill in the gaps.
[h1]Final Thoughts[/h1]
I was fairly interested in the idea for PI when I checked it out, but after experiencing it and the lackluster presentation, I'm rather disappointed. The gameplay is conceivably sound and functional, but it takes more than that to create a game that's actually fun to play. While PI didn't do anything too egregious, it certainly did nothing to stand out or make a good impression on the player. It lacked anything one could point out as a real highlight or indication this was a gem they wanted to polish and show off. I was underwhelmed and unimpressed with the game, so I wouldn't recommend it.
[quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]Follow our curator page: [b]IndieGems[/b] if you like and want to see more reviews like this one.[/url][/quote]
[table]
[tr]
[th]PC Specs[/th]
[th]Performance[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Ryzen 2700
RTX 2070
16GB RAM
ADATA SSD
1920x1080
[/td]
[td]On later puzzles, which were full of items, I encountered a glitch where one in the upper middle of the screen became unselectable. So I had to restart the puzzle.
💖 - PI is healthy
[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
