Tinkertown
- June 22, 2023
- Headup
- 12h median play time
Get on Steam"Tinkertown" is an open-world, multiplayer sandbox game that allows 2 players to play together in co-op or PvP mode. Explore the procedurally generated world, battle monsters, and discover hidden treasures to craft your own equipment and build your fantasy kingdom. Despite its stellar graphics and spectacular game mechanics, the game is still full of bugs and requires lots of grinding.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
Xbox
Reviews
- The game has a charming art style and runs well on various platforms, including the Steam Deck.
- Multiplayer mode adds a fun dynamic, allowing friends to explore and build together.
- The game has a lot of potential for future updates, with a roadmap that promises more content and features.
- Currently lacks content, with many players finishing the available gameplay in just a few hours.
- There are numerous bugs and glitches, particularly in multiplayer mode, which can lead to frustrating experiences.
- Combat feels clunky and unbalanced, with many enemies being too easy to defeat and lacking variety.
- gameplay74 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising its engaging combat mechanics and crafting systems, while others criticize it for unresponsive controls, bugs, and a lack of depth. Many players find the building mechanics enjoyable but feel that the overall gameplay loop is simplistic and lacks innovation, leading to a sense of tedium. Overall, while there are elements of fun and potential, the game is seen as needing significant refinement and additional content to enhance the gameplay experience.
“Outstanding world, great combat mechanics, and amazing boss fights.”
“The building and crafting is quite fun - I love crafting and collecting stuff to add to my house and the mechanic of getting NPCs to join your burgeoning little community if you build them a furnished house is cool and fun to do!”
“Gameplay is awesome (chopping trees or breaking rocks feels really satisfactory), I'm loving the sound effects and overall look and feel; color palette, graphics, and filters are amazing.”
“Only thirty minutes of gameplay were necessary to see how dreadful the netcode is.”
“I feel as though the developers rushed this one out the door to 1.0 without refining the game and its mechanics.”
“The core gameplay loop for any of the different things isn't finished.”
- story61 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The game's story is widely criticized for its lack of depth and coherence, with many players noting that it feels aimless and poorly structured. Quests often consist of repetitive tasks with minimal rewards, and numerous bugs hinder progression, leaving players frustrated. While some appreciate the potential for exploration and creativity, the overall consensus is that the narrative elements are underdeveloped and fail to engage players meaningfully.
“Simple to get into with what seems to be an interesting story to uncover.”
“Very good: compelling story, well-developed characters.”
“I typically prefer games with a storyline or quests, but it's been really fun to play this, discover new areas, discover new recipes, and to create our own little base in the game :) would highly recommend!”
“There's no story or lore of note; you don't have any clear idea of why you exist, what you are doing, and why.”
“There is little to no story; like in Valheim, you're just there, trapped in a magical fantasy world, and you'll have to escape it while collecting loot, crafting, and building equipment and houses for you and the NPCs you'll encounter around.”
“It takes about 2-3 hours to beat the entire game currently, and it does not provide any story or a lot of gameplay.”
- graphics48 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising its charming pixel art style and vibrant visuals that evoke nostalgia for classic games. While some players appreciate the unique 2D/3D blend and overall aesthetic, others criticize the graphics as outdated or lacking detail. Overall, the art style is a significant draw for many, contributing to an enjoyable gameplay experience despite some technical limitations.
“The overall art and aesthetic of the game is quite pleasing.”
“As it stands at the moment, this game is beautiful - it has really vibrant graphics with loads of bloom-y features and nice lighting, and very pleasing on the eye.”
“The graphics are super cute and I love the general aesthetic of the game.”
“❎ poor: extremely outdated or low-quality visuals.”
“❎ fair: basic graphics, but lack detail and polish.”
“The game basically reduced to a 12s delay for every input and graphical response.”
- music31 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its calming and catchy qualities that enhance the atmosphere, while others criticize it for being repetitive and low-quality. Many users express a desire for more variety and better composition, indicating that the current soundtrack detracts from the overall experience for some. Overall, the music is seen as a highlight by some, but a significant drawback by others, suggesting a need for improvement as the game develops.
“The atmosphere, the soundtrack, anything is awesome about this game.”
“It has a charming retro style, a catchy soundtrack, and a humorous tone.”
“The music is soothing, the tutorial is very easy to follow, including the controls.”
“The music drives me mad, and there's 2 mobs despite me spending all my time running in one direction jumping over the same rivers and goblin camps.”
“I ended up muting the music 20 minutes in entirely because it was so repetitive.”
“Be warned, this game has literally the worst music I've ever heard in a video game; I have no idea what the devs were thinking.”
- grinding24 mentions
- 4 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 96 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that grinding in the game is generally perceived as tedious and unfulfilling, with players finding resource gathering and combat to be particularly monotonous. While some aspects, like crafting and exploration, offer initial enjoyment, the overall experience is marred by poor navigation, inventory management issues, and a lack of engaging content updates. Despite the appealing art style and potential for fun, many players feel that the grinding mechanics detract significantly from the game's enjoyment.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“It's fun and satisfying at first but very quickly becomes tedious and boring.”
“Gathering resources and building are boring and tedious.”
“I like the art style; it's what brought me to buy the game to try it out; and I've enjoyed other games of this genre and style; but this game just felt tedious from the get-go.”
- stability22 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is widely criticized, with players reporting numerous bugs, glitches, and network issues that significantly impact gameplay. While some users find the game enjoyable despite these problems, many express frustration over persistent issues like hitbox inaccuracies and freezing, leading to a generally unsatisfactory experience. Overall, the game is considered very buggy, with varying degrees of tolerance among players for its current state.
“It's a frustrating, buggy, unsatisfying game that fails even at the little things it attempts to do.”
“Game is a buggy mess!!!”
“Multiplayer is incredibly buggy.”
- humor5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its humor, providing an enjoyable and engaging experience that keeps players entertained for hours. Its charming retro style and catchy soundtrack complement the humorous tone, making it a fun choice for both solo and multiplayer sessions. However, some players express frustration with the lack of clarity in game mechanics, which detracts from the overall experience.
“With this said, I played the game by myself and with friends, and it is extremely funny and enjoyable to play. I never get tired of playing, unless my eyes are getting tired, because you don't even notice when hours go by and realize that it's late at night and you're still stuck on your computer.”
“It has a charming retro style, a catchy soundtrack, and a humorous tone.”
“Me and a couple of funny friends bought this game on day one expecting to have a jolly good time.”
- replayability5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is mixed, with some users noting a lack of variety that limits its appeal, while others appreciate the multiple paths and modes that enhance replay value. Overall, it offers a promising experience, though opinions on its replayability vary significantly.
“The game offers multiple paths and modes, making it moderately replayable.”
“With diverse gameplay experiences, this game has a high replay value.”
“Other than a few minor issues I've noticed, this game seems very replayable and promising.”
“Replayability is fair: there is some replay value, but it lacks variety.”
“While there are multiple paths or modes, the game is only moderately replayable.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized as among the worst in recent memory, severely impacting multiplayer functionality and overall performance. Players have noted the need for improved graphics settings for lower-end systems and better integration for joining friends, suggesting that these issues must be addressed for a smoother experience.
“For the game just being released and in early access, a few things that I have noticed is that when trying to join friends, there seems to be no secure way to do so. Maybe try adding Steam integration or more user-friendly options. Additionally, graphic optimizations for low-end laptops and PCs would be beneficial.”
“Some of the worst optimization I've seen in a really long time, and multiplayer is simply out of the question.”
“For the game just being released and in early access, a few things I have noticed are that when trying to join friends, there seems to be no secure way to do so. Maybe try adding Steam integration and more user-friendly options. Also, graphic optimizations for low-end laptops/PCs are needed.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its beauty and engaging soundtrack, contributing positively to the overall experience. However, some users find the sound and music to be basic and not significantly enhancing the atmosphere.
“The atmosphere, the soundtrack, everything is awesome about this game.”
“Beautiful atmosphere, mostly...”
“The sound design is basic and doesn't contribute to the overall atmosphere of the game.”
“The music feels generic and fails to immerse players in the game's environment.”
“There is a lack of atmospheric depth, making the game feel flat and uninspired.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express a mix of emotional experiences, ranging from moments of sadness due to lost progress to appreciation for the supportive community and developer responsiveness. While some find the repetitive nature of the game frustrating, others enjoy the blend of nostalgic elements that contribute to a deeper connection with the game. Overall, the emotional impact varies widely among users, highlighting both the highs and lows of their gaming experience.
“There's a deep-rooted wholesome community, the developers listen to everyone fairly, which creates an emotional connection among players.”
“The game made me cry, but I was able to take the important stuff (armor and weapons) to the other world, which gave me an easy start and a sense of hope.”
- character development1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users feel that the game lacks sufficient character development, indicating a need for more depth and growth in the characters throughout the story.
“The game lacks meaningful character development, leaving the characters feeling flat and uninteresting.”
“I was disappointed by the shallow character arcs; they didn't evolve in any significant way throughout the story.”
“There is a noticeable absence of depth in character relationships, making it hard to connect with them emotionally.”
