[h2]Preface[/h2]
I have very mixed feeling writing review for Sydney's World. As educational game (also called DGBL/Digital Game Based Learning by the developer), it lean on good side. But as RPGMaker game, unfortunately it doesn't lean on good side even considering the developer primarily target younger audience. Valve really should let game owner choose "Neutral" or "Informational" when curators already given "Informational" option.
[h2]Story[/h2]
Overall the story is great, while considering it primarily target younger audience. It has some good moral message, choice which could invoke critical thinking and some fun cast/character. But for older audience, you might find the story/character is shallow/not deep enough. Even though the developer attempt to mitigate that by including selected philosophy quote/text on bookshelf, personally i find it's boring. If you're looking for something casual with teen/all ages age rating which could spark one's curiosity about philosophy, you might want to check Girls Last Tour (anime/TV series version) instead.
Unfortunately the story has few serious flaws. The beginning part of story is weakest part where the pacing is very fast, many character shown with little introduction and there's no room for breathe needed by player to figure what's going on. While it gets better latter, i find there are so many characters with little appearance time. Even for child story, IMO fewer character with more appearance time would be better option.
[h2]Gameplay[/h2]
While many RPGMaker game (even few RPGMaker game which cost higher than 5 USD) suffer from mediocre combat where decent amount of grinding is required and player only spam attack/skill with biggest MP cost, fortunately Sydney's World does better than that. Some strategy is needed to win in a fight where it's not hard to find optimal strategy. Grinding is optional and there's no random encounter, although i find combat on last part of story/area is rather difficult since i always try to avoid combat. Character on your party sometimes changes following flow the story. While it add variant to gameplay and strategy planning to keep you engaged, unfortunately some character has very low level when they join the party which makes that character die quickly in combat.
Aside from combat, there's fair amount of puzzle and maze. The difficulty is just what i expected from RPGMaker game, but many of them require trial-and-error which isn't really fun. Halfway the game, the maze become more difficult. While the game let you skip maze by then, i expect younger and impatient player would feel frustrated if they decide not to skip the maze.
[h2]Player friendliness[/h2]
The game offer so many tutorial/advice without shoving it to player face, which can be found through interacting with the puppy. RPGMaker veteran wouldn't value it much, but IMO it's very helpful for everyone else especially those who're not familiar with RPG game. But on the other hand, this game lack auto-save feature which is very odd choice considering some choice you made could lead to sudden game over or teleport you to entry/spawn point of a level.
[h2]Visual[/h2]
Overall the visual is mediocre, where it use generic/stock-looking asset. Although i have no problem with mismatch artstyle. The game CG is nice though.
[h2]Audio[/h2]
This game surprise me since voice acting is rarely used feature on RPGMaker game, even for top-rated or popular RPGMaker I've played so far. The voice acting for Sydney (the main character) is great and greatly enhance story immersion. But voice acting for other characters is mixed bags which varied from improving immersion, just exist or even break the immersion. As for soundtrack and sound effect, i find it's mediocre. But it's probably because i have expectation RPGMaker game should have great soundtrack/SFX.
[h2]Conclusion[/h2]
Sydney's World is great educational game. It manages to escape major pitfall/flaws which usually exist on educational game, such as gaining player interest first. However as RPGMaker game, it has few major flaws which ultimately made me choose not to recommend this game. Unless you're parent looking for fun-and-educational game or huge RPGMaker enthusiast, you should look for different game.
[h2]Reference[/h2]
Before writing this review, i checked developers website and read few article about educational game. Take note few links are also mentioned on developer's website. If you seriously consider buying this game, these link dump might be helpful for you.
[list]
[*]Developer's website which can be accessed by clicking "Visit the website" on this game's store page.
[*]https://districtadministration.com/reading-as-an-adventure/
[*]https://web.archive.org/web/20191214113551/https://www.njea.org/digital-game-based-learning-enhances-literacy/
[*]https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-08-09-how-video-games-can-teach-reading-just-as-well-as-books
[*]https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yhTiVbKpP8fapz1Gjldbwgcz18wYoUor/view
[*]https://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/113783/how-do-i-make-educational-games-engaging-not-boring
[/list]
