"Some Roads Shouldn't Be Followed"
"Road Not Taken" attempts to introduce a blend of puzzler and roguelike elements to the indie scene, and I found that it failed to do so in a very lame fashion. It's art style sparks a little bit of cuteness and simplicity, but its gameplay loop is not captivating and is unrewarding.
The gameplay falters in a few ways. Puzzles are obtuse in nature and require lots of mixing and matching for various game elements. Furthermore, the tutorial is AWFUL and does not properly introduce many of the game's more intricate interactions between items, creatures, and puzzle rooms. This creates and gameplay loop that is somehow boring and frustrating at the same time, something that can only be pulled off when certain poor conditions are met.
The lack of any real plot also sets the game back for me, and I found interacting with villagers to be very bland and forgettable. At first, I even tried to buy into the whole experience by voice acting each townsperson, but I just found they had nothing of importance to say.
The presentation is just fine, but there isn't a lot of life to the game besides a few cute characters. There's not a lot of the town to explore, and this leaves the actual game world to feel plain and predictable.
Overall, I would Not Recommend playing this one. It has far too boring of a gameplay loop, with the only points of intrigue being swamped in poor design presentation leading to frustrating interactions. This could have been something more digestible, but it feels like a half-baked indie game that tried to sell itself as a more complete experience than it actually is.
Final Verdict: 3/10 (Poor)
"Road Not Taken" attempts to introduce a blend of puzzler and roguelike elements to the indie scene, and I found that it failed to do so in a very lame fashion. It's art style sparks a little bit of cuteness and simplicity, but its gameplay loop is not captivating and is unrewarding.
The gameplay falters in a few ways. Puzzles are obtuse in nature and require lots of mixing and matching for various game elements. Furthermore, the tutorial is AWFUL and does not properly introduce many of the game's more intricate interactions between items, creatures, and puzzle rooms. This creates and gameplay loop that is somehow boring and frustrating at the same time, something that can only be pulled off when certain poor conditions are met.
The lack of any real plot also sets the game back for me, and I found interacting with villagers to be very bland and forgettable. At first, I even tried to buy into the whole experience by voice acting each townsperson, but I just found they had nothing of importance to say.
The presentation is just fine, but there isn't a lot of life to the game besides a few cute characters. There's not a lot of the town to explore, and this leaves the actual game world to feel plain and predictable.
Overall, I would Not Recommend playing this one. It has far too boring of a gameplay loop, with the only points of intrigue being swamped in poor design presentation leading to frustrating interactions. This could have been something more digestible, but it feels like a half-baked indie game that tried to sell itself as a more complete experience than it actually is.
Final Verdict: 3/10 (Poor)