Master_Jack

Long time fan of Nintendo games. Own every console that comes out on launch day. Cautiously optimistic for Switch 2 and the new possibilities for Nintendo’s beloved franchises. Despite this and despite forking out close to $800 aud for the console and MarioKart World, I got about 2 days worth of playtime on MKW before I lost interest. I had seen all there was to see and frankly that’s not very much. Not only was I left feeling underwhelmed and severely disappointed in the game, my excitement for the future of Switch 2 has waned by A LOT. MKW is NOT worth the new price tag let alone the purchase of a new console. Their excuse for the higher price was because of the time and effort put into it - well the only reflection of that “time and effort” is literally just the price. If they ever release new content for it, it better be free or at least incredibly dense with new content, because i certainly will not bother coming back to it otherwise and if others even remotely feel the way i do, then they shouldn’t either.

I love hole games. I’ve played a couple on mobile and have wasted hours I’ll never get back swallowing up everything the games had to offer me. It was mindless entertainment and for me it was time well spent. Donut County seemed to offer that same kind of addictive gameplay loop but with some interesting puzzle-like elements thrown into the mix wrapped up in a weird, amusing little story filled with quirky characters and visuals that only indie games can offer up. So, I bought into it - and less than two hours later, I’d finished the game and had as left feeling completely disengaged, unimpressed and even a little annoyed at just how misled I was. The game certainly delivers on the weirdness, with a story centred around a girl and her best friend (a raccoon) who find themselves trapped beneath the surface of their once bustling little town with all of the townsfolk due to being swallowed up by a hole controlled by the raccoon. The game takes the player through various scenarios in which you are controlling the hole that eventually leads each character’s literal downfall (into the hole). Each scenario takes about two minutes to complete where you’re tasked with swallowing up a limited amount of objects on screen with each scenario offering varying and mildly interesting ways of using the hole to lay destruction. The ability to run rampant though and swallow up any and everything is non-existent. The methods you need to utilise in order to successfully complete each levels are extremely limited and linear and there is nothing to do in the levels except swallow up the few objects the game’s story presents - there are no collectibles and no alternative ways to complete a level. There is no feeling of freedom or choice. I was so bored and unimpressed that the almost two hour run time actually felt like a godsend for me - there is nothing to do beyond finishing the game either. No unlockables, no post game content, nothing. The only replayability offered is the couple of times I was forced to restart a level due to an item I was required to swallow up being out of bounds - meaning the hole I was controlling was unable to get past the invisible wall in order the reach the item that had flown off earlier on. The story offers nothing to satisfy gamers who finish the game either. Ultimately I was left feeling strangely empty and unfulfilled. I redownloaded one of the aforementioned hole games and started playing it to fill in the gap this horrible excuse for a game left within me. Unfortunately I can’t even recommend this game on sale.