Joyville strips away the obtuse puzzle design common in mascot horror games, delivering clear mechanical introductions as you navigate an abandoned children's camp filled with environmental puzzles and survival elements. It borrows the atmospheric dread formula of similar titles but refines the onboarding, though players suggest the limited playtime may not justify its asking price.
About this game
Joyville is a horror-puzzle adventure game set in an abandoned children's camp. Brace yourself for a gripping journey through the shadows, solving puzzles, and trying to survive amidst the hidden horrors that await you.
What players are saying
▲ Recommended2 hrs
I thought it was going to be a cheap knock off of poppy playtime, but I actually enjoyed it a lot more. Also no NFTS in this one so thats a plus.
I'd rate this an 8/10 if it wasn't $10. This game is unfortunately worth half at best for such limited runtime. But it has decent potential!
Positives:
- The game makes sure you know exactly what to do regarding introducing mechanics and puzzles. Few mascot horrors do this. It is instantly better than Hello Neighbor. - Chase scenes are nice. - Puzzles are, for the most part, pretty decent! Not hard at all, but perfect for its general audience. - Production value is at an all-time high for the genre here for a first outing. This is by far the strongest draw of the game. - Soundtrack carries the tension just as it should! Especially impressive for a first attempt at the genre! - Not Game Theory bait with a crazy amount of unanswered story-beats. This is refreshing compared to all the other attempts in the genre I've played. - Surprisingly decent VA work, just needs a little more direction.
Negatives:
- The game has an immediate advertising issue. This is an episodic game. This should have been advertised from the get-go. You pay $10 for Episode 1, which is roughly 50 minutes max. This is by far the biggest issue with the game. - 2 minor puzzles and 2 major puzzles maximum for its runtime. Its so light I'd almost call it a Walking Sim. Which isn't bad, but once again not as advertised. - Teddy Bear is a cool mechanic, but is incredibly limited at-the-moment. I am certain it will be developed upon later, but its just a glorified key-card at time of review. Super cute though! - Mascot design really hurts immersion. Wooly's massive orifice doesn't scream "daycare" material lol
I am excited to see what this dev team has to offer next, but the pricing is unfortunately a major deal-breaker for me on recommending this. And to be clear, my score doesn't mean abysmal! For instance, I see 5/10 as a 50/50 of good and underwhelming. Underwhelming is just slightly heavier on this first outing. I am keeping this game on my radar, despite this negative review because there is clearly potential yet to be fully explored by the team.
Hey everyone! Joyville 2 is officially announced! The teaser trailer is up on our YouTube channel, and you can watch it right here: https://youtu.be/Kn9kawLzOMo To celebrate, we're kicking off a massive sale for Joyville on Steam! From December 8th to December 22nd, snag the game at a sweet 50% off. Don't miss out! Also, we've added 8 languages to the game, so folks from all over the world can enjoy playing in their own language. Cool, right? Thank you for being with us. Don't forget that we have a Discord server where you can chat with our community and be the first to know about all the news! https://discord.gg/BMSYG8yrS5 Yours, KudPlay Games.
We're thrilled to let you know that Joyville is now available in 9 languages: English, German, French, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Simplified Chinese, Portuguese, and Japanese! Now most of you can enjoy the game in your native language! Thanks for sticking with us! Join our Discord server to stay updated on all the important stuff: https://discord.gg/BMSYG8yrS5
Fixed bug that was causing the drawings to be not clearly visible. Fixed objects falling through textures. Fixed objects collisions. Textures have been added to the railings. Fixed textual errors in the hints. Added social media links to the game menu.
Posts come from Steam's official announcements feed.
