Brewmaster: Beer Brewing Simulator
- September 29, 2022
- Auroch Digital
- 26h median play time
"Brewmaster: Beer Brewing Simulator" is a game that lets you become a master brewer, using a variety of ingredients and equipment to create your own unique beers. With a realistic simulation of brewing chemistry, you can experiment with recipes, enter competitions, and unlock better equipment to build your reputation. Customize your beers with personalized labels and designs, and chill out in a sandbox mode. Share your recipes with others via Steam Workshop and discover the art of homebrewing in this celebration of craft beer.
Reviews
- The game provides a fun and engaging way to learn about the beer brewing process, making it accessible for beginners.
- It features a detailed simulation with many characteristics modeled closely to real-life brewing, allowing for creativity in recipe creation.
- The graphics and overall presentation are charming, creating a relaxing atmosphere for players.
- The game is riddled with bugs and has been abandoned by the developers, leading to a lack of updates and unresolved issues.
- The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult to navigate and manage brewing tasks effectively.
- Many players have reported game-breaking bugs that hinder progress, particularly in the tutorial and job completion stages.
- story62 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story mode offers a mix of charm and frustration, with players appreciating the engaging quests and sense of progression, but also noting significant bugs and difficulty spikes that can hinder completion. While some find the narrative elements enjoyable and well-integrated into the gameplay, others criticize the lack of depth and polish, particularly in later stages. Overall, the story provides a foundation for learning brewing mechanics, but it could benefit from improvements to enhance the experience.
“This captivating game features a charming storyline that adds an extra layer of enjoyment.”
“I enjoy the pace that the story mode has and it isn't overloading you with information or holding your hand.”
“The story mode seems fun so far and I love that you can go off the beaten path immediately and ignore recipes if you want to make your own concoctions to satisfy the job requirements.”
“Game-breaking bugs and quests that can't be finished.”
“The only major problem I've encountered is in the brewmaster 'story mode', especially in the late game; the lack of in-game beer styles means completing certain jobs is unnecessarily difficult.”
“There is a slow story progression mode, but I wouldn't say it's blowing me away; better to chuck on some tunes while you play as the music is repetitive.”
- gameplay48 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a mixed bag, offering a realistic and engaging brewing experience that some players find entertaining, while others criticize its clunky mechanics and poorly structured gameplay loop. Although it provides over 20 hours of content, many users note the need for UI improvements and smoother controls, with some mechanics feeling awkward or tedious. Overall, it appeals to fans of simulation games but may not satisfy those seeking a polished experience.
“It offers a realistic experience that celebrates the art of beer brewing, providing an engaging and satisfying gameplay.”
“There are a lot of mechanics you learn slowly through experience, or from little tips found in the magazine that arrives at the start of every season.”
“There's definitely 20+ hours of gameplay here for the money, which I think is acceptable.”
“I didn't play long enough to find any serious bugs, but I did notice that the overall mechanics feel extremely clunky.”
“The idea is good, but the game is simply slow and boring; the gameplay loop is poorly structured.”
“Needs some UI and gameplay improvements as the menus are very janky and prone to the buttons or hotkeys not working properly.”
- graphics46 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their beauty and warm art style, creating a cozy and aesthetically pleasing environment. However, some users noted that certain graphical elements, such as tube graphics and UI details, require improvement, and there are occasional bugs and clipping issues. Overall, while the visuals are appealing, they are not groundbreaking and could benefit from further polishing.
“The graphics of the game are actually quite beautiful. If you don't have a great computer, I definitely recommend turning all the graphics as low as you can (FYI, it does not impact performance much; it's still very beautiful even on low settings). I personally enjoy the gameplay, just a home brewer slowly making their way big, experimenting and trying new things.”
“Brewmaster has fun progression dynamics, a perfect level of complexity to the brewing simulation, and nice visuals.”
“The game is aesthetically very pleasing and kind of made me want to try brewing myself.”
“Tube graphics need work.”
“There are graphical errors that should have been caught ages ago (the icons for the stout glass and the IPA glass are switched, LME shows the wrong product name on the tin), and some things are just inaccurate especially as regards time (an immersion chiller doesn't take hours upon hours to cool the wort).”
“Some of the visuals need a bit more polishing (text looks strange sometimes, some word wrapping issues, some textures and certain objects clipping into one another).”
- stability28 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is widely reported to be buggy and unfinished, with numerous glitches and issues that hinder gameplay, such as freezing during the tutorial and inaccuracies in mechanics. While some players still find it enjoyable despite these problems, the lack of updates and support from the developers has left many frustrated. Overall, potential players are advised to wait for fixes before diving in.
“The publisher made a good game here and had a solid community, but it's buggy. They've completely walked away without even patching the obvious bugs the last update caused, and won't open it for modding so that the players who loved it can fix the problems.”
“I have troubleshot this to death, but I can't even get through the tutorial because it freezes and crashes.”
“It's buggy (counter flow and plate chillers completely strip ibus and hop flavor), the UI is awkward (can't see the pinned recipe when retrieving ingredients), there are graphical errors that should have been caught ages ago (the icons for the stout glass and the IPA glass are switched, LME shows the wrong product name on the tin), and some things are just inaccurate, especially as regards time (an immersion chiller doesn't take hours upon hours to cool the wort).”
- music16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The music in the game is described as calming and cozy, enhancing the relaxing atmosphere, but it is also noted to be repetitive and feels like an afterthought. Some players appreciate the soothing quality of the music, while others find it lacking in depth and balance, especially when using headphones. Overall, it serves as a pleasant backdrop but may not stand out on its own.
“Lovely art style - really a relaxing environment, music is just great while you're working, and it feels cozy.”
“Very in-depth, the music is so calming I almost fell asleep.”
“There's a nice sense of satisfaction when you reach the tasting phase for your beers in this game & see them get poured into a cup (maybe it's the visual effects & the music?).”
“The music feels like an afterthought.”
“If you play with headphones, the music often comes from a radio in one corner of the room, resulting in it being in one side of your ears.”
“The music is repetitive, making it better to play with some tunes on in the background.”
- grinding14 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 86 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and time-consuming, with many players feeling that it requires excessive effort to progress. The interface and tutorial are described as unhelpful, further exacerbating the frustration with repetitive tasks like pouring, which lack user-friendly features. While some find enjoyment in the simulation elements, the overall sentiment leans towards the need for significant improvements to reduce the grind.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“It's so tedious and not particularly user-friendly, but it scratches a particular obsessive simulation itch I can't quite explain.”
“If all you want to do is try beer recipes, this game has a lot of tedious steps.”
- optimization14 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it runs smoothly initially and features beautiful graphics, players report significant performance issues after extended play, including increased system strain and slowdowns. Users recommend lowering graphics settings for better performance, especially on less powerful computers, and note that some clunky controls and minor lags could benefit from improvements. Overall, the game is enjoyable but requires optimization tweaks to enhance the experience.
“Its great, runs smoothly, fun.”
“The graphics of the game are actually quite beautiful. If you don't have a great computer, I definitely recommend turning all the graphics as low as you can (FYI, it does not impact performance much; still very beautiful even on potato graphics). I personally enjoy the gameplay, just a home brewer slowly making their way big, experimenting and trying new things.”
“I can see there being many expansions like cocktails, gin, wine, etc., which based on the current price and performance should all be included as standard.”
“Terribly unoptimized.”
“I don't care that much, but there are some clunky controls and minor performance lags that could do with a fix, especially seeing as how you really need these processes to be accurate in measuring grain, for example.”
“Not performance-wise; but controls.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely appreciated, with players finding it genuinely funny while also recognizing its simulation elements. Despite some criticisms regarding its development status, the comedic aspects are highlighted as a strong point of the game.
“Until now, a very funny but a real sim game!”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the emotional aspect of the game to be heartwarming and uplifting, as it invites them to engage in a wholesome brewing adventure that fosters creativity and enjoyment in the craft of beer-making.