Joyville

[h1]TL;DR - Decent Game, but Not Worth its Price.[/h1] 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! [hr][/hr][h1]Positives:[/h1] - The game makes sure you know exactly what to do regarding introducing mechanics and puzzles. Few mascot horrors do this. [strike]It is instantly better than Hello Neighbor.[/strike] - 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. [hr][/hr] [h1]Negatives:[/h1] - The game has an immediate advertising issue. [b]This is an episodic game.[/b] This should have been advertised from the get-go. You pay $10 for Episode 1, which is roughly [u]50 minutes max[/u]. 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 [i]isn't bad[/i], 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. [b]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.[/b] [h1]Current state 8/27/23: 4/10, waiting for updates.[/h1]

This game is basically poppy playtime with new mechanics, which is fine, but definitely not worth the price tag.

Actual cash-grab mascot horror slop that asks for money for ~30 minutes of gameplay.