Mad YU: Rural Idle

Warning: Asset Flip!

Mad YU: Rural Idle is an asset flip, what Valve calls a "fake game". The "developer", Idle Game, took the Easy Clicker Template game assets from the real developers, Nezos Games Blue, changed the name, and dumped the result onto Steam. They're attempting to scam people into buying this, so they can get your money for someone else's work.

Also worth noting the developer had another game on Steam that was banned... it's not clear why, but it's a dire warning that we have some shady stuff going on here.

The products that result from asset flips aren't "real" games. They lack depth and content, because they're just simplistic copies of demos or tutorials. In this case, "Easy Clicker Template" is just a simple "clicker" incrementer complete game package from Unreal Marketplace, and doesn't have any merit as a proper, fully fledged PC game. It's just a minimum viable product, just enough to get through the non-existent quality control on Steam Direct. Not a real game.

Asset flips don't involve any professional game development. Sure, sometimes they may change a few cosmetic things, swap out different assets etc, but at heart it's functionally identical to the asset they're ripping off.

Asset flips like this are harmful to the gaming industry and to Steam because they reduce the visibility that sincerely made indie games should have, and make it harder for gamers to find real games from genuine developers.

Warning: Review Manipulation!

This game features a number of fake positive reviews from accounts known to be in the business of review manipulation/paid reviews. They're all written in either ChatGPT style Chinese, appear at almost exactly the same time, very shortly after the game launched on Steam, all have a direct Steam purchase of the game, and the accounts are used consistently to write fake reviews for asset flips and other cash grabs/scams. The "Positive" review score on this game should be disregarded due to this blatant, unethical review manipulation. This is done to deceive and scam gamers into paying for a bad product.

Due to the 2024 FTC ruling (16 CFR Part 465), these fake reviews are a violation of US Federal Law.

Let's talk about price and the value this represents for us gamers. Should you buy this game? Is it among the best the Steam catalogue has to offer?

Mad YU: Rural Idle has the preposterous price of around $10 USD, it's not worth it given the defects and shortcomings with the product, especially considering the unethical nature of the developer.

For comparison, the $10 asking price for this game could get you games like "Far Cry 5", "Subnautica" or "Prey". Quality, professionally made games like those are frequently on sale cheaper than this.

The poor quality of this game is reflected by how many people spent time with it. At the time of this review, SteamDB shows the all-time peak player number was only 13 players, and the worst part is these weren't genuine players, these were the Chinese fake review accounts that the developer paid to make the fake reviews. Since the fake reviews are all done, now the only player activity occurs once or twice a month, presumably someone loading it up to see what it is then quickly uninstalling it. Considering there's over 130 million gamers on Steam and well over 140,000 games for gamers to choose from, the overwhelming lack of interest in this low quality game is to be expected.

Given the defects and quality issues with the game, coupled with the unrealistic price, and the questionable ethical nature of the developer and/or their associates (as outlined above), this is impossible to recommend. Because this is just a fake game/cash grab scam, and due to the sheer unethical nature of the developer, you should avoid this completely. Don't reward this morally bankrupt, unethical behaviour from Idle game.

Profile Features Limited!
Valve have marked this game as "Profile Features Limited" at the time of this review. This is usually caused by poor sales figures and low community acceptance for the game (to date). Until this status changes, this game will not give you +1 to your Game Collector badge count, appear in profile achievements or any other Steam meta-accomplishments, nor can it be displayed in some profile showcases. If these factors are important to you, it may be worth holding off before buying this game.