Button City

96%
Game Brain Score Based on 105 reviews
  • story
  • emotional
  • graphics
Button City Game Cover
Button City is an adorable, heartwarming little journey that will enamour all who play it.
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"Button City" is a charming adventure game where you help Fenn, a brave fox, save their local arcade from a greedy corporation. Navigate social challenges, compete in colorful mini-games, and form friendships to outwit the competition and save your beloved community space. This heartwarming tale of friendship and determination will have you cheering for our hero every step of the way.

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Reviews

96%
Audience ScoreBased on 105 reviews
story23 positive mentions
grinding3 negative mentions
  • Button City features charming characters and a surprisingly deep story that resonates with themes of friendship and growing up.
  • The art style is colorful and cute, reminiscent of games like Animal Crossing, making it visually appealing and nostalgic.
  • The mini-games, particularly Gobabots and rEVolution Racer, are engaging and add variety to the gameplay experience.
  • The game suffers from sluggish movement and awkward controls, making navigation and interactions frustrating at times.
  • There are frequent backtracking and fetch quests that can feel repetitive and drag out the gameplay unnecessarily.
  • Some quests and mini-games lack polish, leading to bugs and glitches that can disrupt the overall experience.
  • story83 mentions

    The story of the game is described as simple, cute, and emotionally engaging, focusing on themes of friendship and community through the adventures of a skittish fox in a new town. While the main narrative is relatively short and straightforward, it is complemented by a variety of side quests and mini-games that enhance character development and world-building. However, some players noted issues with quest design, including backtracking and bugs that could disrupt the experience, though many still found the overall charm and humor of the story appealing.

    • “A very simple, cute, and silly story about a skittish fox making new friends in a new town with a heavy focus on the local arcade as the place to be for kids.”
    • “The story is brilliant and you get to see bits of the characters' lives as the main story unfolds.”
    • “The characters are charming, the art style is cute and colorful, and the story is very sweet, getting surprisingly emotional at times!”
    • “By the end of the game, naturally you are invested in what's happened in the story thus far, but I would almost recommend against getting too invested here.”
    • “There were some moments that were quite funny and somewhat dark, but yet again they were all ruined by the sheer amount of lack of care in how the story was executed.”
    • “In the main story, however, the game teases a complex relationship between the main character and his mother, but doesn't expand on it at all.”
  • emotional28 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its heartfelt and wholesome narrative, which resonates deeply with players, often evoking nostalgia and personal reflections on childhood. Many reviewers noted the charming characters and bittersweet moments that add depth to the otherwise lighthearted experience, making it a surprisingly touching adventure that can elicit genuine emotional responses. Overall, the game successfully combines cute aesthetics with meaningful storytelling, creating a memorable emotional journey for players.

    • “A wonderful, wholesome, and cute game that hits right in the feels, and also captures the feeling of growing up and losing the magic of being young.”
    • “But, genuinely, this game is fantastic, the characters are great, the story is sweet and emotional, the length of the game is fair for the price, the gameplay is fun with a bunch of minigames to play with and just some fetch quests going on are fun to play through as well.”
    • “Due to my own experiences in life, relating to many things in this game, the deeper connections truly resonated with me, resulting in a somewhat rare instance where a video game made me cry: growing up is never easy.”
  • graphics18 mentions

    The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming low-poly art style that is colorful and inviting, reminiscent of titles from Annapurna and Animal Crossing. While the aesthetics are appealing and evoke a sense of nostalgia, some players noted that the gameplay feels sluggish, which detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the visuals are praised for their emotional depth and ability to enhance the game's narrative.

    • “Button City has colorful and charming low-poly aesthetics that hide some surprisingly deep moments behind its cartoonish nature.”
    • “The game features a very colorful low-poly art style along with a joyful soundtrack.”
    • “Performance-wise, I played on a desktop that uses Intel HD Graphics 630 with 16GB of RAM on an SSD.”
    • “Graphics are very Animal Crossing.”
    • “The aesthetics, while low-poly, are designed and color-schemed in a way to be soft and welcoming.”
  • music16 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its variety, charm, and nostalgic quality, enhancing the overall experience with a joyful and atmospheric soundtrack. However, some players noted issues with the inability to listen to the soundtrack outside of gameplay and occasional glitches that cause the music to stop. Overall, the soundtrack complements the colorful visuals and engaging characters, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.

    • “The soundtrack is incredible, by the way.”
    • “The music is phenomenal and the humor is light and chaotic.”
    • “The characters, story, and music are all extremely charming, and the minigames in the arcade are all very fun.”
    • “Anytime you click on her door, Fennel says something like: 'I better not go into mom's room, she's going to be home late from work.' There is a glitch where if you hit restart on a mini-game and return to the main game, all music stops entirely.”
    • “There were some bugs here and there (sometimes music stops after you finish an arcade game, or sometimes the screen just goes black, but this happened very rarely), but it wasn't anything that kept me from enjoying it.”
    • “Really, the stuff I haven't finished either felt too grindy (achieving 10k buttons and drinking 10 sodas) or were dealing with a mini-game I personally did not enjoy (beat all Prisma Beats songs in hard mode).”
  • gameplay13 mentions

    The gameplay is characterized by a mix of simple mechanics, including exploration through a stacked world and engaging mini-games like rhythm, racing, and quirky challenges. While the AI and game balance could be improved, the charming characters and humorous writing enhance the overall experience, making it accessible and enjoyable for players of all skill levels. The variety of activities, including fetch quests and arcade challenges, contributes to a fun and lighthearted atmosphere.

    • “Gameplay-wise, your time is split between traversing the town, through a neat little warp between bite-sized dioramas, and various mini-games.”
    • “Charming, genuinely funny, and surprisingly inventive gameplay.”
    • “This could have been remedied with some better AI, further balancing of the game mechanics, and unique maps you could unlock.”
    • “There's not any real difficulty to the gameplay, so the writing is what made me stick around, which is unusual for me.”
    • “The main gameplay, appropriately for a game about arcades, is split between three arcade games: a rhythm game, a racing game, and a robot battle fruit blending game.”
  • humor9 mentions

    The humor in the game is described as light, chaotic, and charming, with moments of dark comedy that resonate well with players. Characters are portrayed as funny and relatable, contributing to a vibrant and inventive atmosphere. While some found the execution of the story lacking, the overall writing and character design were praised for their creativity and appeal.

    • “The music is phenomenal and the humor is light and chaotic.”
    • “Button City is masterfully written, charming, and funny.”
    • “Charming, genuinely funny, and surprisingly inventive gameplay.”
  • grinding3 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; some tasks feel overly tedious, such as achieving specific milestones or completing minigames that may not appeal to everyone. However, many also note that progression can be achieved naturally through regular gameplay, reducing the necessity for extensive grinding.

    • “The tasks I haven't finished either felt too grindy, like achieving 10,000 buttons and drinking 10 sodas, or involved a minigame I personally did not enjoy, such as beating all Prisma Beats songs on hard mode.”
    • “It's like if Animal Crossing was an 8-hour adventure, or if Harvest Moon was centered around arcade games rather than farming.”
    • “You pretty much get what you need just by playing the game without the need for grinding.”
  • character development2 mentions

    Character development in the game is praised for its emotional depth, cleverly hidden beneath a charming and cute exterior. Players appreciate the engaging writing and relatable character motives, which contribute to a surprisingly impactful storyline that transcends its whimsical design.

    • “Right out of the gate, you might draw a connection to another game with a similar style, specifically one about animals; the animations and character designs are certainly inspired by this, but the similarities end there. Button City presents itself as a very unassuming, quaint, and cute world, with humorous writing, charming character motives (and solutions!), and a surprisingly emotional storyline hidden deep beneath its facade of adorable fluffiness.”
    • “The character development in this game is truly remarkable. Each character feels unique and their growth throughout the story is both engaging and relatable, making you genuinely care about their journeys.”
    • “I was pleasantly surprised by how deep the character arcs are. The interactions and relationships between characters evolve in a way that feels natural and impactful, adding layers to the overall narrative.”
    • “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the protagonists.”
    • “While the game has a charming aesthetic, the characters themselves are one-dimensional and fail to evolve throughout the story.”
    • “I was disappointed by the lack of meaningful choices that impact character growth; it feels like the characters are stuck in a loop.”
  • replayability1 mentions

    The game is considered decently replayable, offering enough content and variety to encourage players to return for multiple playthroughs.

    • “The game offers a decent level of replayability.”
    • “There are multiple paths and choices that make each playthrough feel unique.”
    • “With various difficulty settings and unlockable content, I find myself coming back for more.”
    • “Decently replayable.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    Users report that the game's optimization is satisfactory, as it runs well even on lower-end hardware configurations, such as a desktop with Intel HD Graphics 630 and 16GB of RAM on an SSD.

    • “The game runs smoothly even on lower-end hardware, showcasing excellent optimization.”
    • “I was impressed by how well the game utilizes system resources, providing a seamless experience.”
    • “Performance-wise, I played on a desktop that uses Intel HD Graphics 630 with 16GB of RAM on an SSD.”
    • “The game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate, even on high-end hardware.”
    • “There are frequent stutters and long loading times that severely impact the gameplay experience.”
  • stability1 mentions

    The game exhibits typical post-launch stability issues, with users reporting a couple of significant bugs that can halt progress or prevent gameplay entirely. Overall, while some glitches are present, they appear to be limited in number.

    • “However, as expected, just released games still have some bugs and glitches. I managed to find only two that either stop you from advancing without resetting the game or mini-game, or stop you from playing altogether—one before and one after starting the game.”
    • “The game is riddled with stability issues, causing frequent crashes that disrupt the gameplay experience.”
    • “I encountered several game-breaking bugs that forced me to restart my progress, which is incredibly frustrating.”
  • atmosphere1 mentions

    The atmosphere is enhanced by beautiful, memorable music that complements the experience without becoming repetitive or intrusive.

    • “Beautiful, atmospheric music that doesn't loop in your head, yet remains memorable.”
    • “The game immerses you in a stunning environment that feels alive and captivating.”
    • “Every detail contributes to a rich atmosphere that draws you in and keeps you engaged.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

63% average critic score

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