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(-2)

This review will be harsh. I leave this warning here because while I don't mean it in any sort of mean spirit, I feel you may be able to wring this into something excellent if reworked. Still, some do not cotton to in-depth criticism, so if that may hurt you, I suggest you not read my words. This is meant in earnest.





to be frank, this feels underbaked. The moral lesson being taught is both fortune-cookie level wisdom, and the struggle to get there isn't so much that it even clicks.


Further, the scenario puts the child in the right to call Maddi a fraud. BECAUSE the lesson is so low-value, it comes off as a cheap excuse, and perhaps malicious in nature. For all I know, I just foolishly helped a god undo the arcane trappings of some curse laid upon her, freeing all manner of awfulness.

To solve this, you could tie the lore into the cards themselves, have each pathway brimming with stories to complete. This could also tie into gameplay in some way, making the theme of goal-building more interesting. To illustrate, say you have a story of someone forming a bakery.

One path tile details their dream, their efforts to learn to cook, the next their efforts to build funding, to get approval for their business, the pitfalls they fall into (fires, food spoilage, etc) for the negative tiles... building on the theme and making the lesson more clear, perhaps even tying into the gameplay management by encouraging players to MAKE these stories.

As for the gameplay, it really feels like it's lacking features. The music quickly gets grating, the entire loop is just about playing a slightly less interesting version of Pipe Dream, and there's a shocking lack of real obstacles and hazards that I came across in my playthrough. why not have tiles that change the direction of other tiles, or move in sequence with your pathing, or are unstable and disappear after a while? To say nothing of enemies, of having to find alternate paths because an ogre blocked your thoroughfare to your next flower. 


There's POTENTIAL in this concept, but as it stands it's not THERE yet. It lacks crucial fun-factor and has some elements that outright discourage playing more than one game, which feels at odds with the moral being taught.

Hey! Thank you for your comment.


We made this game in under a week for a game jam, it was our first time working together and the first time making a game for most of us. 


We have grown as game makers since then and, if we remade it, of course we would modify and change most of the things on its core. 


We were just trying new things, we really didn't know what we were doing so we never expected the game to be perfect. Or viable.


Thank you for playing it and giving your opinion. I reallly appreciate it!

ahhh, that tracks! g happy to hear you kept with it!