Heart's Medicine: Doctor's Oath
- June 25, 2020
- GameHouse
Get on SteamIn Heart's Medicine: Doctor's Oath, players assume the role of doctor Allison Heart, joining her in a challenging medical residency. Work to diagnose and treat patients with various illnesses and conditions, making crucial decisions that affect patient outcomes. Balance personal life and career demands as you navigate a suspenseful storyline filled with drama, romance, and heartbreak.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a compelling story that continues the Heart's Medicine series, with engaging characters and unexpected twists.
- There are a lot of levels and mini-games, providing ample gameplay and challenges for completionists.
- The game mechanics allow for more flexibility in gameplay, enabling players to set personal goals and progress at their own pace.
- The game requires excessive grinding, with players needing to replay levels multiple times to earn enough stars to progress, which can become tedious and frustrating.
- The removal of achievements and the introduction of a 5-star system for progression detracts from the overall experience, making it feel less rewarding compared to previous installments.
- Many players found the gameplay to be overly repetitive and lacking the charm of earlier games in the series, leading to disappointment.
- story90 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story in "Heart's Medicine: Doctor's Oath" is generally praised for its engaging narrative and character development, with many players expressing a strong emotional connection to the plot and its twists. However, the gameplay mechanics, particularly the requirement to grind through repetitive levels to unlock story chapters, have led to frustration and disinterest among players, detracting from the overall experience. While the story remains a highlight, the excessive grinding has caused some fans to recommend watching the story online instead of playing the game.
“Just the story makes it worth its money.”
“The story remains the strong point because there are new characters that add to the pivotal development to the intern Allison's path of doctor graduation.”
“The story is beyond amazing but please note you will need to play the previous games to understand all the references.”
“I wouldn't recommend this game if you were playing for the story.”
“You have to constantly play repetitive levels over and over to get the stars to continue the story.”
“The story is really drowned out in this game.”
- grinding24 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed feedback, with many players finding it excessively tedious and time-consuming, often requiring multiple repetitions of levels to achieve desired ratings and unlock content. While some enjoy the grind and appreciate the engaging story, others feel that the heavy reliance on grinding detracts from the overall experience, making it feel more like a mobile game. Overall, the grind is seen as a significant barrier to enjoyment, despite the game's appealing narrative and mechanics.
“This is supposed to be a casual time management game - the grinding that is required to progress is ridiculous.”
“The downside is that it takes a lot of grinding and replaying to unlock everything and earn five stars on each level.”
“This game is tedious, grindy, and not inviting.”
- gameplay16 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
Gameplay in this title has received mixed reviews, with players noting that while the mechanics can be enjoyable and the game offers a variety of levels and challenges, the excessive grinding detracts from the overall experience. Many fans of the series feel that the shift towards a more tedious gameplay style, reminiscent of mobile games, has diminished the charm and immersion that characterized previous installments. Despite these criticisms, some players still recommend the game for its engaging story and fun mechanics, albeit with reservations about the changes made.
“This game provides a lot of extra gameplay with several extra levels with different challenges.”
“It has a lot of extra gameplay with various challenges for each level.”
“+ the general gameplay is fun and something you can do in-between chores.”
“But the game mechanics for this one are really, really annoying.”
“Downside though is you can have extra soft pillows (as an example) and then so many hearts fly across the screen as bonuses that it actually blocks gameplay for a few seconds.”
“I like that there are so many more levels compared to prior games, but the way the overall gameplay and progression was handled is outright terrible.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, users have mixed experiences regarding stability; while some report smooth gameplay without glitches, others face significant challenges due to short time limits and potential glitches that hinder progress.
“The time for each level is ridiculously short; most challenges are impossible to complete due to a lack of time or glitches, I suppose.”
“Um, the games run well; I haven't really experienced any glitches or unfair occurrences.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the game's emotional depth, describing it as an "emotional roller coaster." However, there are concerns regarding the psychology clinic level, particularly the memory minigame, which features quick flashing colors that may trigger discomfort for those with photosensitivity, potentially detracting from the overall experience.
“I love the emotional rollercoaster ride of this game.”
- graphics2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that while some users feel the graphics may not be as impressive, they emphasize that the gameplay experience is the primary focus, suggesting that graphics are not the main draw of the game.
“Are the graphics worse?!”
“Even so, you don’t play these games for the graphics; let’s be honest, that’s what Red Dead Redemption 2 is for.”
