Rue's Review of Universal Wars

[Rue]

Very ambitious. I can tell a lot of love went into this game. It feels very earthbound-y. You name your characters, your home, the farm nearby -- man, you name everything! The story is even really wacky, and I can get down with that. There's a lot of humor that resonates with both children and adults.

But, though there is a lot of love, there's not a lot of polish. I've said this is very ambitious, it feels like the author was just anxious to make the next area as soon as possible. I don't just mean the graphics feel rushed, I mean everything. The combat feels rushed -- it really rolls down to just holding down the space bar and mashing attack. There's no strategy. I ended up what felt like 20 levels higher than the game expected to be by the time I ended up at the first dungeon, even. Shops sell gear, which you usually have enough cash to afford, but then you find enemies that drop the same items in piles seconds later. Or you find them on the road immediately after. There's just no semblance of forethought in this regard.

Then there's enemies like the fighter in the forest fighting punching bag enemies. If he kills them before you do, he gets stronger. That's a pretty clever idea, and that gives me hope for this title. Then you kill him in one hit, and I realize that maybe Universal Wars still needs a bit of time in the oven before another play test.

[Rue]

Yes, I do realize this game is from 2012. It was, however, posted again on the itch.io OHRRPGCE jam, and that's the version I'm reviewing. My guess is it's the same version. I'd say it's fair game for a review, no?

[Eric02]

Very ambitious. I can tell a lot of love went into this game. It feels very earthbound-y. You name your characters, your home, the farm nearby -- man, you name everything! The story is even really wacky, and I can get down with that. There's a lot of humor that resonates with both children and adults.

But, though there is a lot of love, there's not a lot of polish. I've said this is very ambitious, it feels like the author was just anxious to make the next area as soon as possible. I don't just mean the graphics feel rushed, I mean everything. The combat feels rushed -- it really rolls down to just holding down the space bar and mashing attack. There's no transfers paris airports. I ended up what felt like 20 levels higher than the game expected to be by the time I ended up at the first dungeon, even. Shops sell gear, which you usually have enough cash to afford, but then you find enemies that drop the same items in piles seconds later. Or you find them on the road immediately after. There's just no semblance of forethought in this regard.

Then there's enemies like the fighter in the forest fighting punching bag enemies. If he kills them before you do, he gets stronger. That's a pretty clever idea, and that gives me hope for this title. Then you kill him in one hit, and I realize that maybe Universal Wars still needs a bit of time in the oven before another play test.

And what is the title you want to suggest in relation to that?