The Albatross
- February 15, 2017
- FlagmanJeremy
- 1h median play time
Get on Steam"The Albatross" is an indie first-person adventure game that takes players through various environments, such as a Victorian city during a UFO invasion or a haunted Scottish village. As the experienced private agent known as the "Albatross," players must complete assignments and compete on the Steam Leaderboards to master each task. The game also features Steam Trading Cards, Achievements, and Leaderboards to keep players engaged and motivated.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game is recommended for achievement hunters due to its easy achievements and trading card farming potential.
- Some players found enjoyment in the mini-games, particularly the Victorian City and Pumpkin Village levels.
- It is possible to make a profit by purchasing items on sale and reselling the trading cards.
- The game is very short, with only four levels that can be completed in about 30 minutes.
- It is plagued by bugs and glitches, making the gameplay experience frustrating.
- Many players criticized the game as an asset flip with no real substance or challenge.
- story10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game's story is criticized for being virtually nonexistent, consisting of four unrelated mini-games that lack coherence and depth. The narrative presented on the store page about a special agent, 'the albatross,' is overshadowed by the disjointed gameplay and the perception that the game is a poorly assembled collection of assets rather than a cohesive experience. Overall, players feel misled by the marketing, highlighting a broader issue with the quality of games on platforms like Steam.
“Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“Piecing together 4 completely unrelated mini-games concocted simply on the whim of which assets the developer owned, is the veiling story on the main store page about a special agent known as 'the Albatross' whose adventures consist of finding treasure in a tavern by turning 3 ship wheels (38 seconds), fighting an alien invasion by taking out a 10,000 hp blimp (3:40), fighting the same alien invasion in a Victorian city (10:00), and finally locating skulls in a supposedly Scottish village (8:00).”
“Four minigames and no story at all...”
“Piecing together 4 completely unrelated mini-games concocted simply on the whim of which assets the developer owned, is the veiling story on the main store page about a special agent known as 'the albatross' whose adventures consist of finding treasure in a tavern by turning 3 ship wheels (38 seconds), fighting an alien invasion by taking out a 10,000 hp blimp (3:40) [the hardest thing was learning to get out your gun by rotating your mouse wheel forward], fighting the same alien invasion in a Victorian city (10:00) and finally locating skulls in a supposedly Scottish village (8:00).”
“As stated before, the real story here is simply why Greenlight was never a good idea and how easy it was to place fraudulent, paper-thin products on Steam.”
- music6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The music in the game is criticized for being repetitive and lacking variety, with only one track that becomes tedious over time. Users express frustration over the absence of options to mute or control the sound, suggesting that a more diverse musical score and a cohesive theme would enhance the experience. Overall, the music fails to justify the game's price tag and detracts from the overall enjoyment.
“The one music track is tedious on repeat and there are no options for muting or turning the sound off.”
“It may not have been bad if several musical score variants were added, accompanied by options to control the music. A genuine running theme throughout would have been better than the nonsensical mini-games. A proper introduction and conclusion, along with a few more levels in-between, would justify the $2.95 price tag.”
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game suitable for farming, but the repetitive music track becomes tedious, with no option to mute or turn off the sound, detracting from the overall experience.
“The one music track is tedious on repeat and there are no options for muting or turning the sound off.”
- gameplay4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its low price and short duration, typically around one hour, which is primarily focused on achieving easy accomplishments and collecting trading cards. Players appreciate the straightforward nature of the gameplay, making it accessible for those looking to quickly complete achievements.
“I will recommend because of the low price, easy achievements, trading cards, and about 1 hour of gameplay (the rest will be used to farm the last achievements).”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with users frequently reporting bugs and glitches that detract from the overall experience.
“The game is very buggy and glitches are common.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized for being a cash grab, with accusations of plagiarism due to the lack of credit given to the original artists and developers of the assets used.
“The developers here didn't credit any of the artists and real, actual game developers who created the assets, so this is plagiarism as well as a cash grab.”
“This game feels like a cash grab.”
