Boklin is actually quite good but the particular very low poly art style seen in the main promo image and the game itself is likely a promotional problem. Add to that the lack of side images on the game listing and the entire opinion of potential players boils down to the single low poly looking header image.
It just doesn't look anywhere near as detailed as some other more popular examples of the adventure genre by other Icehouse creators and others in the specific category on itch such as colorbomb, much less the work of bigger puzzle adventure developers.
But even if you did manage to improve on detailing of graphics, it is admittedly just a niche genre these days and will likely never have a huge audience again even if done really well. Cyan has 93% positive user reviews on their VR remake of Riven, and 88% metacritic and even then that game, though a triumph in the category and the best work Cyan's done in years, and maybe ever, is still struggling to reach the break even mark as the remaining adventure genre audience is just... small.
I worry about this myself on my own projects. My upcoming title 'Miniature Multiverse' now is a $1500+ production and 75% of the cost is raw materials. I have a TON of cardboard, chipboard, cardstock, sculpting tools, paints and clay and mini supplies and so many types of materials meticulously being built into over a dozen sprawling mini worlds.
Other costs include $200 for the Steam and Epic release fees, and a $150 ad spend going into launch when the time comes. It all is dwarfed by the personal cost of nearly a year of work altogether.
And I cannot help wondering if it has even a chance of making back the production cost. Much less justifying the time put in.
My goal with game dev assest packs here is to diversify, to have a fallback funding source in the event none of the indie game release coming up go well. I haven't seen that fallback go amazingly well itself either but it has raised a few hundred ($) by now which is more than many itch creators can claim.
For a long time the fallback had been Etsy and it was most of my focus past three years but that did as much as it needed to, it is now on hold having raised a total of thousands in cash, and I am genuinely hoping I can keep things moving and make itch viable the next few months without that, focusing directly on going all in on game dev and asset creation, not printing services. It is a gamble and may not work out but I hope it does. This is what I want to be doing.
Matthew Hornbostel,