"The path to domination" is yet another construction kit template copy+paste from serial shovelware pushers, Seaborgium Entertainment/khukhrovr. These guys do nothing but copy premade game templates and game tutorials, fill out a few things/stamp out basic levels using the construction kit templates, slap on an asset flipped set of sprites/assets, and dump them on Steam and into cheap nasty shovelware game bundles as cash grabs. Trying to get paid for someone else's game templates, assets... at best, this is shovelware, at worst, it's a scam/cash grab.
This time the Russians behind khukhrovr made a low effort retro-pixel RPG Maker asset/construction kit flip, one of literally hundreds spamming the Steam catalog, made with the RPG Maker video game construction kit... in their own words, "Our easy to use tools are simple enough for a child." Like all RPG Maker "games", this is essentially a bunch of low quality/canned assets from RPG Maker coupled with a cringeworthy high school anime club fan fiction.
The only notable point of interest with this asset flip is the "developer" asset flipped a different asset pack from the usual stock RPG Maker asset flips to make it look more western. It's still garbage, but check out this asset flip scammers rap sheet below.
As with all RPG Maker games, the poor quality engine displays badly in fullscreen and doesn't have full HD support or any graphics tweaking options, making this unacceptable for any dedicated modern PC gamer. The point can be made that the intention of RPG Maker is to make demos and small games to pass around friends, and shouldn't be used for "professional" game development.
Like most RPG Maker shovelware and asset flips, the game features extremely low quality copy + pasted 2D retro pixel art, looks awful, and has even worse gameplay. RPG Maker is an absolutely terrible construction kit, and never results in games of any reasonable quality or value to gamers.
khukhrovr/Seaborgium Entertainment have shown a repeat pattern of unethically dumping other people's work onto Steam as a cheap, nasty cash grab, through this account or through closely linked/alt accounts. Here's some examples so you can see for yourself:
[list]
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1682610]Tank Zombie Smasher[/url]" = [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwtm_eZLzKo]Unity 3D Tutorial Create An Infinite Runner Game (With Zombies)[/url] developed by AwesomeTuts (as SimpleSoft)
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1682600]Rolling Car[/url]" = [url=https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/templates/packs/circle-crash-88702]Circle Crash[/url] developed by SgLib Games (as SimpleSoft)
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1686340]AirFighter[/url]" = [url=https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/templates/systems/air-strike-starter-kit-13421]Air Strike Starter Kit[/url] developed by Hardworker Studio
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1834470]Horny Pixels[/url]" = [url=https://marketplace.yoyogames.com/assets/9350/onet-game-engine]Onet Game Engine[/url] developed by Jamie Ford
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1832680]Lovely Anna[/url]" = [url=https://marketplace.yoyogames.com/assets/9350/onet-game-engine]Onet Game Engine[/url] developed by Jamie Ford
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1689980]Yummy Mahjong[/url]" = [url=https://marketplace.yoyogames.com/assets/9350/onet-game-engine]Onet Game Engine[/url] developed by Jamie Ford (as JapanSSJ)
[/list]
The poor quality of this game is reflected by how many people spent time with it. At the time of this review, SteamDB shows the all-time peak player number was only 3 players, and the worst part is these weren't genuine players, these were the Russian fake review accounts that the developer paid to make the fake reviews. Since the fake reviews are all done, now the only player activity occurs once or twice a month, presumably someone loading it up to see what it is then quickly uninstalling it. Considering there's over 120 million gamers on Steam and well over 50,000 games for gamers to choose from (over 9,000 completely free titles), the overwhelming lack of interest in this low quality game is to be expected.
It's also important to note the "developer" here has connections to a number of shady Russian asset flippers and review manipulators who show an organised pattern to scam and defraud gamers with fake reviews and asset flipping the work of others for profit. While reviews are about the games, gamers should be informed when developers act unethically. Whether these connections are the same developer using multiple accounts, or just working closely with other unethical developers, gamers should be warned about the harm to gamers by this developer and their associates. Buying games from unethical developers puts your money at risk.
[b][quote][url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2017/01/18/steam-takes-down-art-of-stealth-after-developer-posts-fake-reviews/?sh=750e13e12354]Warning: Review Manipulation![/url][/quote][/b]This game features a number of fake positive reviews from accounts known to be in the business of review manipulation/paid reviews. They're all written in either Russian or broken English, appear at almost exactly the same time, very shortly after the game launched on Steam, all have a direct Steam purchase of the game, and the accounts are used consistently to write fake reviews for asset flips and other cash grabs/scams. The "Positive" review score on this game should be disregarded due to this blatant, unethical review manipulation. This is done to deceive and scam gamers into paying for a bad product.
"The path to domination" is relatively cheap at $1 USD, but it's not worth it. Given the defects and quality issues with the game, coupled with the unrealistic price, and the questionable ethical nature of the developer and/or their associates (as outlined above), this is impossible to recommend. Gamers who want a good retro JRPG experience would be better off playing the originals, like Final Fantasy, Star Ocean or Chrono Trigger.
[b][quote][url=https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/marketing/profile]Profile Features Limited![/url][/quote][/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.
