Chonkers

Initially the negative reviews had discouraged me from giving this game a try. "Not a real idle game" this and "The devs just want your money" that. Mind you, I had this game gifted to me but I was hesitant to get invested in something disappointing. It was after seeing some helpful positive reviews giving tips on how to comfortably get started that I finally took the plunge.

And I'm glad I did. I'm a big enjoyer of idle/chill games that I can leave running whilst I work on other things. I have a lot of patience, and even then I have an auto clicker if I get too lazy to butterfly tap my mouse or drawing tablet. For the people complaining that it takes too long to level up some of the later cats, there's no shame in getting an auto clicker too. Of course, they are a sin in competitive settings but we're not against each other here. We're just admiring cats!

Forwarding some of the tips I gathered from other reviews, as well as some of my own experiences:
- Generally sell all cats at Level 1, but keep them if they bring in a lot of passive income. Especially chonkers/purple-quality.
- Your daily tasks won't take long, just leave the game running for the 1 hour task. The EXP boosts you'll get aren't much of a benefit but still make a difference if you're dealing with high-requirement cats.
- Need money? Set Distractions to 'Intense', turn on 'Outline', put on 'Chill Mode' and go crazy. If you have a drawing tablet like me this'll be much easier, and can actually be kinda therapeutic.
- Make sure to check 'Toggle Toy'. Then, you only need to right click once. And if you wanna go crazier, butterfly tap the right mouse button or set your auto clicker. Tapping PLUS your toggle actually adds a little extra (at least I think so).
- If you're able to buy from the next collection, do so ASAP. Those cats will rake in DOSH, even the most common kind. Selling just one of those Lvl 1 cats will give you like 2x/3x the amount you spent on the ticket. And farm common, low-requirement cats. For example, the lowest tier cats in 'Special Snugglers' only require about 4k points to level up and will net you like $700M. EASY RICHES!

I find it important to give a game like this a proper review, since it's a small indie project. And I want others who may have found themselves in a predicament similar to mine to realise hey, this game is actually pretty sweet! Of course, it's not for everyone. But if you like cute little pixel cats and have a little bit of patience to see your em-paw-ire grow, this is a game for you!

This is one of the most deceiving cash grabs games out there. Yall's preying on crazy cat ladies and you know it >_< FOR SHAME!!

There is quite literally nothing to do in this game. Even for an idler. And I love me a good idler. I am the type of person who usually leaves an idle game running in the background as I go about my day. I like having music playing, a nice backdrop to look at as I pass my computer and a couple clicks here and there in between daily tasks. I am patient. I can be very patient, esp when cuties are involved ;)

I was so excited based off of the trailers for this game but I am disappointed. I feel like the trailers and pictures are very misleading (?). Something just isn't adding up. For starters, there is NOTHING engaging to do or even look at to start. Which to a degree, I understand. But there is nothing to even do to make me want to come back and play and build up to more. Not even the cats. AND I F***** LOVE MY CHONKY CATS. Because quite frankly, the cats don't even do anything in this game and they don't even look all that cute. There I said it. Half the time you cannot even see their adorable little faces and whiskers and paws. I feel like there is absolutely no effort put into the animations.

Other than the zen music, there is nothing to enjoy. No cuteness factor, the environment is lack lustre. Money making is a joke. All there is to do is to click on some annoying petals for income and wave around a dirty sock for 2 exp. You are telling me I have a room filled with cats and you want me to CLICK PETALS?! Weak AF. And lame. You can do better. And sit around and click petals for what? Nothing even looks remotely worth buying. Just feels very low effort. I have played free games that are more engaging and rewarding.

I am going to keep this game up and running a bit longer to see if it has potential but right now, I am just feeling a bit lead on. Great game in theory, poor execution. There is better out there, fellow cat ladies and lads. And this isn't it.

I bought the game, expecting cute idle fun, only to discover it has "micro"transactions as expensive as the game itself, with insanely high expectations of interactions for an "idle" game. There's not really any progress to be made while idling, and the cat EXP demands are crazy high. Meanwhile, you barely make any money from your cats unless you spend the hour needed to get EXP for them and sell them. I thought that was just how the demo played and was incredibly disappointed to find that the bought game is identical.

Of course, you can also pay to """support the devs ♥""" and get XP boosts or guarantee a cat for your collection. Seems like the lack of progress is intentional... Not very cozy, if you ask me, even if the art is cute. Don't recommend.


UPDATE:
Recording dev response below,

"Thanks for your feedback. I just want to make clear that monetizing through microtransactions was never our intent. The items you have found in the item store are all obtainable for free as rewards for daily and weekly tasks.
Unfortunately, we're experiencing issues with the item drops. We have decided to take down the item shop until the issue has been resolved
Our hope lies in a thriving marketplace with players purchasing EXP Boosters and Premium Rolls from other players, while giving the fans a chance to support us after purchasing Chonkers, like you'd see on Patreon.
In any case, sorry if you hadn't a great experience with Chonkers. Hopefully, one day you'll give our little game a second chance.
Cheers!

Small edit: The Item Store has been permanently removed. Again, sorry for any confusion it might have caused."

The line "all obtainable for free" is bolded for emphasis and "until the issue has been resolved" is struck through post edit.



The thing is, removing the item market doesn't help when you're actively encouraging players to purchase from eachother. How does this work, is there any regulation? What prevents rich players from buying up all the listings and then returning them to the store at higher price, if anything? Do the devs receive a kickback from each trade?

It's also still not solving the issue of the incredibly long wait times and pushing players towards paying more to make things shorter, to give themselves more luck.

As it stands, the paid version of Chonkers isn't a full game— the demo is the "f2p" version you'd find on the play store, and paying for the game is effectively buying a pass. It unlocks the ability to unlock items, but these will take forever to get regardless. Regardless of the dev's intent, the presentation of this + the boost items reeks of mobile game mechanics, and trying to bring that to the PC is shameful. Again, regardless of the dev's intent, it also reeks of cashgrab tactics intended to get cozy cat lovers hooked with cute art, the promise of a relaxed playstyle, and then get them desperate for literally any drop of progress. It's shady and leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

In the future, I hope the devs fix these issues and continue to do better in future games.