Sorbetta: Gravely in Debt

The intent behind this game was to create a quick, lighthearted, entertaining, and well-written game using mostly default RPG Maker assets. I think it largely succeeded in that goal, which is why I recommend it. The pros are many: -Writing The developer is a talented author, and the writing really shines as the main draw. The story is linear without being dull. There are enough surprises and variations of the general RPG theme to keep the story refreshing and always full of surprises. I found myself looking forward to what the dev would do with each quest, knowing that it would contain something worthwhile.  -Laugh out loud humor Consisting largely of puns, clever innuendo, and general goofiness, I considered the humor quite well done, and worth a few laughs out loud. Certainly subjective, and not for everyone, but such is always the case with humor.  -Immense flavor Each character has personality which comes through in their actions and the dialog. Every item has (sometimes hilarious) flavor text, all worth reading. Objects in the environment provide tidbits of humor when interacted with. Every attack is unique, more than just basic attacks, fire, thunder, etc. This all comes together to provide a depth that makes it rewarding to explore every corner. So if we accept this for what it is, an RPG Maker game done well, I think it is certainly worthwhile. If you don't like RPG maker games, its not for you. If you don't like puns or innuendo, its not for you either. There are a few potential cons as well even after we acknowledge its RPG Maker heritage: -Battles and balancing There are no levels, no equipment to purchase. The only way to advance is via found equipment, either from treasures, story, or enemy drops. Given this fact, one would think balancing would be a breeze. And yet I found battles to be just about jamming the space bar. Early on, even without finding secret armor or any special equipment, enemies were doing 0 damage to me. I was able to one-shot bosses. The final battle is an exception, and appears to have a reasonable balance, but overall, the battle system required no tactics aside from healing when weak.  -Length: don't mind this. . . in fact it is a pro for me, but the game itself is probable 1-2 hours, even if you need to play through twice for all achievements. Worth considering if you are looking for a high hour to $ ratio.   I would strongly suggest this game to anyone who wants to see the potential of RPG Maker, without forcing 100 plugins, custom art, or 100 hour length. It is totally possible to complete an entertaining and wildly creative story using just the basics, and this game is a great lesson in how to do that. 

[b]Full Disclosure:[/b] We are friends with the developer and received this title for free. However, we maintain objectivity with every review we do. [h1]Summary[/h1] [b]Sorbetta: Gravely in Debt[/b] is a short indie game created in the RPG Maker MV engine. What sets it apart from many others of that type is that it was created as a community. The main developer, HawkZombie of Undead Avian Publishing, is not a developer by trade. Instead, he is a published author who live streams on Twitch. The creation of this game is the result of a bet from another developer that Hawk, even with help, couldn't make an interesting game. I say all of this because the context is important in order to understand both the pros and cons. In some areas of game design, Hawk fails, while in other aspects, he exceeds all expectations. We'll go over each of them in hope that you understand why we recommend the game, but also where we feel the developer needs to improve in future projects. [h1]Premise[/h1] In [b]Sorbetta: Gravely in Debt[/b], you take on the persona of Sorbetta, an odd-looking necromancer with a crippling gambling addiction. Her problems saw her borrow money from her cousin Sherberta, who happens to be a ruthless loan shark and remorseless bully. After deciding to conquer her addiction, Sorbetta runs into Sherberta after an AA meeting, wherein her cousin threatens to "break all her limbs" should the money not be produced. To save herself, Sorbetta must earn 100k Gold and find four Special Treasures. It all goes about as well as you think. [h1]Execution of Narrative[/h1] Although wrought with many "first game" narrative mistakes (expedited character development, character inconsistency, too-little then too-much, etc.) the execution of the game's main narrative is done surprisingly well. Sorbetta has a goal, and through a Quest-giver NPC, she is directed towards that goal. The player needs only play the game to succeed, and the game gives just enough handholding on moments that can be missed and decisions that can affect the ending that you feel smart for "figuring it out." Where [b]Sorbetta: Gravely in Debt[/b] does not do well, however, is the scope of the story. There are four treasures, and for the first two, the game is extremely linear. When the inclusion of the "drink recipe" portion of the game is introduced, the entire world opens to exploration, along with backtracking. So, the scope goes from extremely narrow to wide open in a very short time. It's uncomfortably jarring. [h1]Gameplay Loop[/h1] The game sets out to accomplish something here, and it does just that. It wants to be a gear-based progression game? It is. Does it want to have simplified RPG Maker combat? It does. Does it want to focus more on the player enjoying the story than worrying about the gameplay? It accomplishes that. And does it want to challenge you with the endgame content? It succeeds completely. [b]Sorbetta: Gravely in Debt[/b] does not pretend to be anything more than an RPG Maker game, so it must be judged by those standards. And insofar as RPG Maker games go, this one is just fine. When you can balance out your RPG Maker project to where RPG Maker's awful RNG doesn't work against you, that is a win in my book. [h1]Story and Writing[/h1] This is where [b]Sorbetta: Gravely in Debt[/b] shines above all else. Hawk is a published author and it shows from start to finish. Between all the irreverent humor and the well-paced dialogue, along with each character having its own unique voice, the game is a pleasure to read. From the zombie shopkeeper to the over-sexed bartender to the wise-cracking piano mimic, there are very few characters that are uninteresting. Sorbetta herself has a positive emotional journey, going from [spoiler]someone her cousin kicked around to standing up for herself[/spoiler]. There are only three dings against the writing that need to be mentioned. First, the two mimics are based on the same real-life person, even starting with the same catchphrase ("Sup, Nerd!") wouldn't it make more sense to give each mimic a unique voice? Second, the main antagonist of Sherberta doesn't have any positive traits other than "caring about family", [spoiler]but you only see that if you achieve the true ending[/spoiler]. Otherwise, she is just flat and a bully, with one throw-away line stating that she and Sorbetta used to be close, but without any mention as to why they drifted apart. Third, the scene of Sorbetta snapping at Key-Anu comes too far out of left field, and while the dialogue that comes after explains everything, the jarring moment pulls you right out of the story. But these are minor and fixable, and the overall writing is very, very good. [h1]Art and Style[/h1] The artist for [b]Sorbetta: Gravely in Debt[/b] did a great service in really making the characters look good. As the game was developed solely with the RTP, it has a very stylized look. As the map is done well enough for a first game, there is no complaint. For the menus and icons, it was nothing fresh and new, nor anything overdone and boring. It simply was something. [h1]Audience Appeal[/h1] This is the gravest negative against [b]Sorbetta: Gravely in Debt[/b]. The game is almost exclusively one big community in-joke. While most of the humor is accessible to all, and the writing makes up for most of its shortcomings, there are too many "Hur hur, that's this dude and that's funny" moments to take the game's overall narrative approach seriously. Fans of RPG Maker games may like it, but unless you are a part of the HawkZombie/Studio Blue/Driftwood Gaming community, or follow any of those people on YouTube, about half of the jokes won't make any sense because you'll have no context. [h1]Final Verdict[/h1] Despite the flaws, I do endorse and recommend playing [b]Sorbetta: Gravely in Debt[/b], as the passion for the project shows. Yes, it's an RPG Maker game. Yes, it's the developer's first game. And yes, it was meant more for the community that developed it than the average consumer. However, you can see that the love put into it, and that, I believe, really raises the bar. [h1]Our Let's Play Video[/h1] https://youtu.be/q1ti9obcvwE (Please watch and consider subscribing!) [h1]Our Steam Curation Page[/h1] https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34626506-Studio-Blue/ (Please consider following us!)

Мужики, спасайте, если наберём 10 лайков и 5 наград, то жена подарит ящик пива

Disclosure: I was one of the testers for the game and I've known the creator for damn near 20 years. But I'm also insufferable so it evens out. Sorbetta is a short, linear but fairly enjoyable romp that'll burn a few hours of your otherwise miserable life. There's not a whole lot of 'game' here, relying on its writing more than anything else. But it's his first game and outside of some iffy websites, his first real experience doing anything technical. I was impressed by it anyway. As other reviews have stated, it's full of in-jokes as it was mostly made on his Twitch channel with an audience. That said they never actually get in the way of the plot so it never becomes a problem. Ultimately it comes down to price and the game is so damn cheap it's easy to justify a thumbs up.

Love the game despite any bugs I may come across. Looking forward to speed running it.

‎

Sorbetta is a short quirky RPGMaker game that has pros and cons. To me the pros outweigh the cons so I would recommend it. Pros: -Quirky, funny story. That could be a con to some, so make sure you know that you are getting a game that is not meant to be taken too seriously. -Stable. I had no crash bugs at all. -Pretty good balancing. Too many RPGMaker games have poor to non-extant balancing which requires you to read the devs mind, and this game avoids that problem for the most part. -There is a guide made by the dev themselves if you get stuck. Cons: -Maybe too short for some. -You will be forced to stop and grind for money at some point to get the needed cash for the main quest. Overall it is a good first entry by a new dev, and hopefully we'll see more games from them in the future!

That certainly was A Game I'm not gonna be too nice here because I'm tired and my thoughts are very fresh in my head instead of getting to stew abit in the back of my brain for half a day. So, sorry for The Bitchyness of it all. SO. I got the bad ending even though I'm preeeetty sure I had all the right gear? And honestly I dont care enough to go back and figure it out. Honestly having a bad ending that won't even let me TRY to beat the everloving ♥♥♥♥ out of my ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ of a cousin is really, REALLY lame. If the whole "family" thing is supposed to be a joke, it landed terribly. It's lighthearted enough, but at some points feels like it actually wants me to give half a ♥♥♥♥, but the comedy around it doesnt add to the characters to the point it is completely Impossible to care. It seems like it vaguely tries to give characters their own character Voices, (eg. cousin seeming to have a mobster-y vibe) but quickly just Gives Up. And even is bad about using random turns of phrase that don't fit previous parts of the character (like one saying "ya" instead of "you" or Key-Neau called Sorbetta "kid" precisely Once towards the end No character has their own voice. It's generic. I got numb to it but the total lack of characters feeling like unique or actually interesting people made it even harder to Care. Which, if the game didnt want me to, then fine. Sure. Make that kinda game. No skin off my nose. But when you have scenes and interactions that have actual Crumbs of a decent idea of character dynamics ect. it just pisses me off. Also the "lewd" Jokes got old and stale stupidly fast. I'm fine with sexual humor. I'll laugh at a bad joke. But the consistency was nauseating. Also some of the references are so dated. This is why, unless you can actually work it in where it doesn't sound out of place without context, just don't. Maps were fine enough. I never got lost and I appreciated nuking the maze. Game suffered from being ugly as hell because of the default assets, which I guess is fair enough. would have atleast appreciated alittle effort changing some colors or Something to make it stand out. Speaking of which: Sorbetta and her cousin look like you hit "random" on the face generator and called it a day. Which you know. Like I said, fine enough for a free meme game. Though the fact there's fancy art to catfish people into looking at this thing and wallpapers tells me at least SOMEONE thinks this isn't the worst character design ever seen which baffles me. Same with her ugly cousin with an eye patch, hair over her other eye, and sunglasses. Once again, I assume trying to be funny. It really isn't. It's just ugly. and I'm bored to tears. The "OwO" joke also was overused. If I see one more "teehee, it's funny because it's sexual!!" joke I'm committing to a life of celibacy. TL;DR: Sex jokes aplenty if that's something you like. Characters are bland cardboard cutouts to dispense jokes, and that's it. Occasionally seems like it wants you to care, but is bad at doing that at even the most basic level. Characters are ugly. Key-Neau is the only valid character here. Tried to have something or other about "family" right at the end and it was lame. Glad this was free.

Sorbetta'nın kuzeni Sherberta'ya yüklü miktarda borcu olduğunda elinde tek bir seçenek vardır: taklitçi arkadaşı Key-Anu'nun tavsiyesine uymak ve dört nadir ve değerli hazineyi bulmak. Bu komedi RPG'sinde onun maceralarını takip edin!