Buck
- March 16, 2017
- Wave Interactive
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam"Buck is a single-player fighting game with delightful graphics, where you play as a real-life dog in a Metroidvania-style adventure. Learn about the inspiring canine and other real-life pets of Kickstarter backers. Overall, it offers a unique and charming experience, perfect for dog lovers, and can be completed in approximately 2 hours."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Beautiful art style and engaging world setting that draws players in.
- Great voice acting and character design, enhancing the overall experience.
- Fun combat mechanics with a variety of moves and crafting options.
- Gameplay is clunky and difficult, with issues like poor hitbox detection and balancing.
- Limited inventory space leads to frustration when managing items and crafting materials.
- The game feels abandoned with no updates for a long time, leading to concerns about its future.
- story22 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game's story has garnered mixed reviews, with many players praising its intriguing narrative and character depth, particularly in the context of a post-apocalyptic setting. While some find the voice acting and dialogue lacking at times, others appreciate the engaging plot and character interactions that keep them invested. Overall, the story is seen as a strong aspect of the game, though there are calls for improvements in execution and originality.
“Good story and keeps me wanting to keep on playing.”
“The story is well driven, and the characters are all fitting, (if not slightly exaggerated in their characterization).”
“Love this game, the art style is amazing, the fighting mechanic feels tight and strong and the story is amazing.”
“For an indie game, I can't remember the last time the voice acting (if even present) drew me into a story.”
“While, as I said, the story could be better, it is however intriguing and does keep you engaged overall; it is just that at times it seems cliché and uninspiring.”
“Nibbler was more animated in his voice as opposed to the gruff softness of Buck, and while this is fantastic for the diverse character interactions within the story, it fell into the uncanny valley of one recording not syncing with the other.”
- gameplay19 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players praising the engaging combat mechanics and crafting system that adds depth and strategy to the experience. However, others criticize the steep difficulty curve and initial lack of accessibility to crafting features, which can hinder player enjoyment. Overall, while the art style and atmosphere are well-received, the gameplay's execution varies significantly among players.
“The crafting mechanic of the game is neat and fun to play with; scavenging for supplies makes what at first seems like mindless beat-em-up brawling more high stakes, requiring more finesse, skill, and strategy as you progress in order to defeat your enemies without being defeated yourself.”
“Love this game! The art style is amazing, the fighting mechanics feel tight and strong, and the story is fantastic.”
“Highly recommended! It's a fun game with interesting brawler combat mechanics, beautiful graphics, and a great apocalyptic atmosphere.”
“Very hard to get into as the gameplay drops the ball and makes it very difficult to continue even with such an engaging world.”
“Bucks combat is clearly made to be unforgiving, and yet as it stands, a little mechanics abuse actually makes fighting very easy in most cases.”
“The gameplay is really disappointing.”
- graphics16 mentions
- 81 % positive mentions
- 6 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful art style and engaging atmosphere, with many reviewers highlighting the impressive animations and overall visual presentation. However, some players noted issues with visibility in darker environments and clunky gameplay mechanics that detracted from the experience. Overall, the artistic design and voice acting received strong positive feedback, contributing to a visually appealing game.
“The artwork is fantastic and so is the voice acting.”
“Love the artistic cartoon style graphics.”
“The graphics and art style are simply beautiful and fit very well.”
“Every now and again, however, even with my brightness turned up high on my laptop, the visuals seem to fade into dark values a little too much, making it hard to focus on whenever the character travels from place to place.”
“Not for me, and I can't recommend it in its current state either. I love the graphics and the trailer, but that's unfortunately all...”
- atmosphere9 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its fantastic ambiance, blending intriguing art style with a dark, post-apocalyptic setting that enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the way the atmosphere complements the gameplay, creating an engaging environment reminiscent of classic 2D platformers, while the background music further enriches the immersive experience. Overall, the atmosphere adds depth and excitement, making the game more enjoyable than initially expected.
“The art style is interesting, the atmosphere is intriguing, and the gameplay is addicting sidescrolling brawling.”
“It reminded me of old school 2D platformer games with a nice apocalyptic atmosphere!”
“The atmosphere at times also gets a little dark when you see dead bodies piled up. I did not expect to feel any type of atmosphere with this game, but weirdly there is, and it just makes the game that little bit more awesome.”
“If you're like me, and enjoyed the post-apocalyptic atmosphere and badassery of LucasArts' 'Full Throttle' and Double Fine's 'Brutal Legend', and don't mind this game being neither 3rd person 3D nor 'point and click', then this might be something for you.”
“The world's atmosphere and background music really bind everything together nicely.”
- music4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The music in the game is praised for its rich and immersive quality, complementing the graphical art and gameplay mechanics effectively. Reviewers appreciate how the soundtrack enhances the game's atmosphere, suggesting that continuity of the background music into the menu would further enhance the immersive experience. Overall, the music is seen as a key element that binds the game's environment together.
“The music and graphical art are wonderful.”
“It has a rich environment, a well-suited soundtrack, and delightful gameplay mechanics.”
“The world's atmosphere and background music really bind everything together nicely.”
“The background music of the current location should continue playing in the menu screen to maintain immersion in the environment Buck is in at that moment.”
“The music feels repetitive and lacks variety, making it hard to stay engaged with the game.”
“The soundtrack doesn't match the game's atmosphere, which detracts from the overall experience.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game exhibits some minor stability issues, including animation glitches and buggy controls, which are typical for an early access title. While these problems may detract from the overall experience, they are generally considered manageable and are expected to improve over time.
“The voice acting and dialogue could be a bit better, and the controls can be buggy (but it's early access, so I think it's fair to assume that will be fixed in due time), and the story -- while interesting -- could be more engaging.”
“This game isn't perfect (and in its current state, a bit buggy, which is to be expected), but it is loads of fun and quite enjoyable to play.”
“There are some minor animation glitches when moving from one idle animation to the other; not sure if there is much to do about that, but it isn't a big deal.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players note that the game incorporates grinding elements through revisiting previous areas to loot enemies and gather resources, which are essential for crafting new items. This mechanic adds depth to the 2D brawler experience while intertwining it with a narrative.
“Now, what I mean by grinding is that you travel back to areas you've been to, just for the looting from foes and staged away throughout the areas, so that you may craft new items from all the scavenging and looting.”
“It is mainly a 2D brawler with grinding features and an actual story.”
