(Note: I didn't log this one, but I've been playing it on and off) Eco-Creatures is a game that I personally could not get into. However, don't get me wrong, I recognize what it's trying to do and respect it for that.
My first issue, before talking about the gameplay, was about how the game is handling the topic of environmental degradation. It's handled in a way that tries to make it kid-friendly, but much of it is cliche even for kids. When I first played this, I was trying to see if it was some sort of commentary on our climate crisis, etc., and I went in expecting something serious. Either that, or a fun whimsical game. However, serious topics with a whimsical theme, doesn't always mesh well. At least at the outset, I found something very trite, and that seemed to not handle it's topics very well.
It's really the paradox of trying to make a game that encourages children to care for the environment and nature: make it too cliche, no one will take it seriously, make it too serious and it will diverge from it's kid-friendly aspect. The game is brave and trying something difficult here: which I have respect for.
This game tries an impossible balancing act, in that regard. The plot up to where I am at, is basically that this kingdom is industrializing, with these robots coming in to deforest the woods and the inhabitants of it. This could be riveting if it was handled with a bit of kid-friendly seriousness (see Pokemon Mystery Dungeon), but it ends up being a little too whimsical for it's own good, at least at the start. The exposition almost happened too fast, with us getting little information other than this simply titled "kingdom" coming to deforest everything and exhume smoke for literally who knows what reason. Then there were these carefree forest spirits that didn't have a care at all until these guys started attacking.
Unlike the Lorax, which I think also embodies the predicament of trying to teach environmental messages to kids, the game gives us very little on the motivations of the kingdom in deforesting at the beginning. It's far from nuanced. I found there was almost nothing at stake in the game other than saving the forest, which isn't a very good motivation. People need to feel somewhat emotionally attached, in order to care about the messages. The enemy and the hero's motivations, as far as I played, are too nebulous for people to be invested.
The story isn't the main part of the game however, and I was able to turn my mind off an experience the gameplay. I personally was not a fan. For one, the squirrel like creatures you summon have pretty terrible AI. They will do whatever-the-hell, even if you command them. It was like herding cats, basically. Many of the missions are rather tough, but not for good reason. It's made tough because, at the beginning, your character only has one attack that is hard to summon because of the UI. You have to switch "modes", between commanding the squirrel people and commanding your character, and it is really unwieldly to control. Also, your character has a really low health bar to start with, so you're going to keep dying and respawning at the start of the map. It adds to the difficulty of the game, which is a good thing, though. However, it feels unfairly so.
I'm really trying with this one.
Paradoxically, whenever I play a game, and am trying to really have fun with it, I find I end up looking way too hard for some sort of really fun mechanic that I'm missing, or how the game is actually doing something really mature or clever. This state of looking and concentrating really hard on a game, so you can isolate exactly what you like and don't like about it, is the trait of the critic and reviewer. It's definitely not a bad trait to have.
However, I went into this expecting something either whimsical or serious, when this game is trying to handle serious topics with a too whimsical attitude. It created a kind of cognitive dissonance as I was experiencing at least the beginning part of the story. I was trying to have fun, but I felt an obligation to take the environmental message seriously, and the game was trying to be whimsical, confusing me more. It doesn't have to be a mature war movie, but I think it should deal with it's topics with emotional weight from the outset. It shouldn't spoil anything, but it should also have some sort of stage-setting.
I have it as shelved, because I'm going to give it another chance. I'm also interested in it's sequel. I want to see how this game evolves from one installment to the next, there was simply a lot of things that made it unfun for me.
My first issue, before talking about the gameplay, was about how the game is handling the topic of environmental degradation. It's handled in a way that tries to make it kid-friendly, but much of it is cliche even for kids. When I first played this, I was trying to see if it was some sort of commentary on our climate crisis, etc., and I went in expecting something serious. Either that, or a fun whimsical game. However, serious topics with a whimsical theme, doesn't always mesh well. At least at the outset, I found something very trite, and that seemed to not handle it's topics very well.
It's really the paradox of trying to make a game that encourages children to care for the environment and nature: make it too cliche, no one will take it seriously, make it too serious and it will diverge from it's kid-friendly aspect. The game is brave and trying something difficult here: which I have respect for.
This game tries an impossible balancing act, in that regard. The plot up to where I am at, is basically that this kingdom is industrializing, with these robots coming in to deforest the woods and the inhabitants of it. This could be riveting if it was handled with a bit of kid-friendly seriousness (see Pokemon Mystery Dungeon), but it ends up being a little too whimsical for it's own good, at least at the start. The exposition almost happened too fast, with us getting little information other than this simply titled "kingdom" coming to deforest everything and exhume smoke for literally who knows what reason. Then there were these carefree forest spirits that didn't have a care at all until these guys started attacking.
Unlike the Lorax, which I think also embodies the predicament of trying to teach environmental messages to kids, the game gives us very little on the motivations of the kingdom in deforesting at the beginning. It's far from nuanced. I found there was almost nothing at stake in the game other than saving the forest, which isn't a very good motivation. People need to feel somewhat emotionally attached, in order to care about the messages. The enemy and the hero's motivations, as far as I played, are too nebulous for people to be invested.
The story isn't the main part of the game however, and I was able to turn my mind off an experience the gameplay. I personally was not a fan. For one, the squirrel like creatures you summon have pretty terrible AI. They will do whatever-the-hell, even if you command them. It was like herding cats, basically. Many of the missions are rather tough, but not for good reason. It's made tough because, at the beginning, your character only has one attack that is hard to summon because of the UI. You have to switch "modes", between commanding the squirrel people and commanding your character, and it is really unwieldly to control. Also, your character has a really low health bar to start with, so you're going to keep dying and respawning at the start of the map. It adds to the difficulty of the game, which is a good thing, though. However, it feels unfairly so.
I'm really trying with this one.
Paradoxically, whenever I play a game, and am trying to really have fun with it, I find I end up looking way too hard for some sort of really fun mechanic that I'm missing, or how the game is actually doing something really mature or clever. This state of looking and concentrating really hard on a game, so you can isolate exactly what you like and don't like about it, is the trait of the critic and reviewer. It's definitely not a bad trait to have.
However, I went into this expecting something either whimsical or serious, when this game is trying to handle serious topics with a too whimsical attitude. It created a kind of cognitive dissonance as I was experiencing at least the beginning part of the story. I was trying to have fun, but I felt an obligation to take the environmental message seriously, and the game was trying to be whimsical, confusing me more. It doesn't have to be a mature war movie, but I think it should deal with it's topics with emotional weight from the outset. It shouldn't spoil anything, but it should also have some sort of stage-setting.
I have it as shelved, because I'm going to give it another chance. I'm also interested in it's sequel. I want to see how this game evolves from one installment to the next, there was simply a lot of things that made it unfun for me.