[quote][b][url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asset_flip]Warning: Asset Flip![/url][/b]
Trump Tariff is a Digital Homicide style asset flip, or what Valve calls a "Fake Game". The "developer" paid for/pirated a few Unreal Marketplace assets, dumped them all in a blender, and submitted it to Valve as if they're real game developers.[/quote]
Two notable criteria for what makes an asset flip instead of legitimate use of stock assets are whether those assets comprise the majority of the game, and whether the "developer" properly credited the people who created most of the assets in the game. This game fails both of those tests. The "developers" here didn't credit any of the artists and real, actual game developers who created the assets here, so this is plagiarism, as well as cash grab shovelware.
In this case, the asset flipper took a bunch of low poly assets and made a primitive third person platformer... this is nothing but another cash grab from Tero Lunkka, once more trying to get YOUR money for someone else's game assets. It's appalling this is permitted on Steam, especially considering Tero is a big, long running customer of the Russian fake/paid review farm uncovered by Sentinels of the Store. This is a scam. It has no value or merit as a real game.
Tero Lunkka/Valkeala Software 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/1776540]Lawnmower Game: Pinball[/url]" = [url=https://github.com/freezy/pinball-construction-kit]Pinball Construction Kit[/url] developed by Epic Games
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2985190]Candy Renovation[/url]" = [url=https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/renovation-simulator]Renovation Simulator[/url] developed by Manudog
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2109550]Office Racer[/url]" = [url=https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/props/interior/polygon-office-low-poly-3d-art-by-synty-159492]Polygon Office[/url] developed by Synty Studios
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/713580]Nash Racing 2[/url]" = [url=https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/advanced-tuning-cars]Advanced Tuning Cars[/url] developed by James Novih
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/3029190]Prison Puzzle[/url]" = [url=https://www.fab.com/listings/01c4e45e-93dd-4326-9811-9545b8a0bb70]Ultimate FPS Puzzle Kit[/url] developed by FirstContent
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/768060]The Warrior Of Treasures[/url]" = [url=https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/dynamic-combat-system]Dynamic Combat System[/url] developed by Grzegorz Szewczyk
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/777270]Thirsty Bubble[/url]" = [url=]Low Poly Scenario Pack+POLYGON Knights Pack+Simple Dungeons[/url] developed by
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/581200]Nash Racing[/url]" = [url=https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/advanced-tuning-cars]Advanced Tuning Cars[/url] developed by James Novih
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/3397580]Trump Cake Mania[/url]" = [url=https://www.fab.com/listings/d38cfdd2-8dcf-4dd8-b9d4-83663129bb02]POLYGON - City Pack[/url] developed by Synty Studios
[/list]
Taking this shovelware seriously as if it was a genuine attempt to make a game, it doesn't meet basic minimum requirements that most PC gamers expect as standard.
The developers didn't design the game for modern gaming PCs, as such the display resolution caps out at 1080p, a very low resolution that became mainstream back in 2006 and became obsolete when 4K entered the mainstream in 2014. The game simply won't look right on modern gaming displays due to this failure on the part of the developers.
The mismatched game assets are fairly mediocre/low quality, it's a wonder why they couldn't be bothered "borrowing" higher quality assets for this asset flip. This is a lot like going on a shoplifting spree but only stealing the cut price store brand goods. Regardless, the poor quality assets alone should be enough to deter gamers from bothering with this.
These technical defects push this game below acceptable standards for any modern PC game.
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 2 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.
[quote][b][url=https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/federal-register-notices/16-cfr-part-465-trade-regulation-rule-use-consumer-reviews-testimonials-final-rule]Warning: Review Manipulation![/url][/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, broken English or ChatGPT AI slop, 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.
Due to the 2024 FTC ruling (16 CFR Part 465), these fake reviews are a violation of US Federal Law.[/quote]
This kind of asset flipping isn't harmless. It makes it harder for gamers to find genuinely made games from ethical developers. It makes it harder for genuine indie developers, who put hard work into trying to make real games, to find an audience for their products. It gives indie developers a bad name.
So, should you buy this asset flip? Is this better than any of the 110,000+ genuinely made games on Steam? Of course not!
Trump Tariff is relatively cheap at $2 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. Remember that if you buy a game from an unethical developer, you're putting your money at risk.
[quote][url=https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/reviews]Developer Response![/url][/quote]The developer has weighed in to inform everyone they didn't read the [url=https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/reviews]Developer Usage Rules[/url] for Steam "partners", or they deliberately ignored the part where Valve says:
[quote]Though it may be tempting, not every review needs to be responded to. A developer response will frequently draw more attention than the original statement, potentially turning a small issue into a much larger community discussion. It's also not a good idea to use this feature to refute customer opinions. Your direct attention can be seen as validation or a defensive attempt to silence your customers.[/quote]
Tero admits he stole other people's assets and is trying to get paid for them, thus is not an asset flipper? BS. Look at all his asset flips above... the proof denies his false words. Tero is an asset flipper, nothing more.
So, too, the presence of fake reviews, purchased from the Russian review farm uncovered by Sentinels of the Store. Another lie; Tero often bundles his games with asset flips from other Russian scammers, you can see those bundles on the Steam store. The evidence, which anyone can see, denies Tero's lies and dishonesty.
Nothing in the developers pointless breach of Valve guidelines changes any of the objective facts of my review. My review stands unaltered. I cannot recommend this game to anyone.
