Tinkertown

68%
Game Brain Score Based on 654 reviews
  • gameplay
  • story
  • graphics
Tinkertown Game Cover
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"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
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

68%
Audience ScoreBased on 654 reviews
gameplay29 positive mentions
grinding35 negative mentions
  • The game has a charming art style and vibrant graphics that appeal to players.
  • The gameplay is enjoyable, with a mix of crafting, building, and exploration that keeps players engaged.
  • The developers are responsive to community feedback and regularly update the game, showing commitment to improvement.
  • The game 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 hinder the overall experience.
  • Combat feels repetitive and unbalanced, making encounters less engaging and more tedious.
  • gameplay109 mentions

    The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its engaging crafting mechanics and colorful aesthetics, while others criticize the combat for being simplistic and unchallenging. Many users noted issues with bugs, unresponsive controls, and a lack of depth in gameplay mechanics, leading to a feeling of tedium. Overall, while there are enjoyable elements, such as exploration and building, the game is seen as needing significant improvements to its core mechanics and combat to reach its full potential.

    • “This top-down adventure does not only captivate with its colorful, pixel-art aesthetics but also engages players through its deep crafting mechanics and open-world exploration.”
    • “The combat mechanics are simple yet responsive, reminiscent of old-school Zelda games.”
    • “The gameplay is addicting and chill; my only complaints/suggestions to the wonderful devs would be to rework combat and change the tutorial messages to be labeled as something other than 'quests' / 'repeatable quests' that stuff is confusing lol.”
    • “Only thirty minutes of gameplay were necessary to see how dreadful the netcode is.”
    • “The actual gameplay is very mediocre.”
    • “It takes about 2-3 hours to beat the entire game currently, and it does not provide any story or a lot of gameplay.”
  • story93 mentions

    The game's story is largely criticized for being minimal and lacking depth, with many players noting that it feels aimless and poorly structured. Quests often consist of repetitive tasks with little narrative context, and numerous bugs hinder progression, leading to frustration. Overall, while there are elements of exploration and base-building, the absence of a compelling storyline or engaging character development leaves much to be desired.

    • “Simple to get into with what seems to be an interesting story to uncover.”
    • “It's not overly challenging but it's enjoyable to build and redesign your base, farm, fish, explore the map, replay dungeons for new loot, redo boss battles for special items to upgrade your weapons, etc... NPCs are being added now, which adds more charm to your town and new quests expand the story too.”
    • “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 game :) would highly recommend!”
    • “There's 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.”
    • “The story itself is a barebones affair, having you raid dungeons and mines belonging to different baddies that will act as bosses; none of them is elaborated upon, their motives (or crimes) are never explained, and the various quests, be they dungeons or NPC-related activities, exist only for the sake of more crafting/grinding.”
    • “Just be aware that there isn't a story, and some parts of the exploration will feel like a slog.”
  • graphics83 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming pixel art style, vibrant colors, and nostalgic appeal reminiscent of classic titles. While many players appreciate the aesthetic and find it visually pleasing, some critiques highlight issues with performance and outdated visuals that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the art style is considered a strong point, contributing to the game's engaging atmosphere despite some technical shortcomings.

    • “This top-down adventure does not only captivate with its colorful, pixel-art aesthetics but also engages players through its deep crafting mechanics and open-world exploration.”
    • “The graphics are outstanding and the game seems very clean.”
    • “The cute aesthetic/graphic design along with the gameplay loop makes me excited to hopefully watch this game grow into the next Terraria.”
    • “❎ poor: extremely outdated or low-quality visuals.”
    • “A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
    • “Tinkertown is a console ported early access 3D rendered top-down 2D retro pixel survival/crafting/building game... like Minecraft, but with worse graphics.”
  • music51 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its calming and charming qualities, particularly in relation to the distinct atmospheres of the biomes. However, many criticize the soundtrack for being repetitive and lacking variety, with some even opting to mute it entirely due to its fast-paced nature that clashes with the game's vibe. Overall, while there are moments of well-composed music, the inconsistency and repetitiveness detract from the overall experience for many players.

    • “The atmosphere, the soundtrack, anything is awesome about this game.”
    • “The music is lovely, building and decorating your little home base is fun, finding new costumes, shoot little slimes, craft, cook and fish.”
    • “The game is relaxing and the music is awesome as well as the sounds.”
    • “The music loop repeats every 30 seconds, which will get grindy very fast.”
    • “I ended up muting the music 20 minutes in entirely because it was so repetitive.”
    • “Be warned, this game is byo music, literally the worst music I've ever heard in a video game; I have no idea what the devs were thinking.”
  • grinding36 mentions

    Reviews indicate that grinding in the game is a mixed experience; while some players find the resource collection and crafting systems engaging, many others describe it as tedious and repetitive. The lack of intuitive farming mechanics, cumbersome inventory management, and a cluttered world contribute to a sense of frustration, making exploration and combat feel like a slog. Overall, while some appreciate the grind as part of the survival genre, many feel it detracts from the enjoyment of the game.

    • “Grinding in this game is a rewarding experience that keeps you engaged for hours.”
    • “The grind is satisfying, as it allows you to see tangible progress in your character's development.”
    • “I love how the grinding mechanics are balanced; it feels like a journey rather than a chore.”
    • “But if the game is nothing but resource collection, it becomes tedious.”
    • “It's fun and satisfying at first, but very quickly becomes tedious and boring.”
    • “Unfortunately, the game is currently very tedious and boring.”
  • stability33 mentions

    The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous players reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and performance issues that significantly detract from the experience. Many users experience frustrating gameplay interruptions, such as freezing, hitbox problems, and network lag, particularly in multiplayer modes. While some acknowledge that the game can be enjoyable despite these issues, the overall consensus is that it feels unfinished and requires substantial improvements to achieve a stable experience.

    • “It's a frustrating, buggy, unsatisfying game that fails even at the little things it attempts to do.”
    • “Don't get me started with the glitches, game freezes, and other sorts of issues that make this game seem undercooked despite it being 1.0.”
    • “The game was also quite buggy, and after checking the Discord server, I found that some bugs have gone unfixed for months.”
  • replayability9 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players find it moderately enjoyable with multiple paths or modes, others criticize it for lacking variety and becoming repetitive. A few reviews highlight a promising potential for replayability, but many feel it falls short of expectations, especially for an early release.

    • “The game offers diverse gameplay experiences, providing a high replay value.”
    • “This game seems very replayable and promising despite some minor issues.”
    • “The game is infinitely replayable, allowing players to explore multiple paths and modes.”
    • “Some replay value, but lacks variety.”
    • “The game feels like a repetitive cycle that doesn't really have any replayability to it.”
    • “It's not what I expected at all, even for an early release game.”
  • optimization6 mentions

    The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with users reporting severe performance issues such as stuttering and significant FPS drops, particularly during multiplayer sessions. Many players find the current local server setup inadequate and unoptimized, and they suggest improvements like better joining options and graphic settings for lower-end systems. Overall, the game's performance needs substantial improvements to enhance the user experience.

    • “Once all of these issues are fixed and the game can run smoothly, I would change my review.”
    • “For a game just being released and in early access, I have noticed that there are no secure ways to join friends. It would be great to add Steam integration and user-friendly options, as well as graphic optimizations for low-end laptops and PCs.”
    • “Some of the worst optimization I've seen in a really long time, and multiplayer is simply out of the question.”
    • “Right now the local server that it makes you create and play on is not very powerful and very unoptimized.”
    • “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 and add Steam integration/user-friendly options), also add graphic optimizations for low-end laptops/PCs.”
  • humor5 mentions

    The game is praised for its humor, providing an extremely funny and enjoyable experience whether played solo or with friends. Its charming retro style and catchy soundtrack enhance the comedic tone, making it engaging enough to lose track of time. However, some players express frustration with the lack of clarity in game mechanics, questioning the humor in obscuring how the game works.

    • “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 I don't even notice when hours go by and realize that it's late at night and I'm still stuck on my 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.”
  • atmosphere5 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is generally praised for its distinct biomes, each featuring unique soundtracks and themes that enhance the overall experience. However, some users find the sound and music to be basic and not significantly contributing to the atmosphere. Overall, the world is well-constructed, offering a beautiful and immersive environment.

    • “The atmosphere, the soundtrack, anything is awesome about this game.”
    • “All in all, the world is decently built, filled with three distinct biomes, each has its own atmosphere, background music, and theme-related locations.”
    • “The sound and music are basic and do not enhance the atmosphere.”
    • “Overall, the world is well-built and each of the three available biomes has a markedly distinct atmosphere, soundtrack, and ambiance.”
    • “The world is decently built, filled with three distinct biomes, each with its own atmosphere, background music, and theme-related locations.”
  • emotional3 mentions

    Players express a mix of emotional experiences, ranging from moments of sadness due to game changes that disrupt progress to appreciation for the supportive community and developer responsiveness. While some find the repetitive nature of the game frustrating, others highlight the blend of nostalgic elements that contribute to a wholesome and engaging atmosphere.

    • “They changed the version as soon as I bought it, so I made a world that broke after 8 hours in it, which made me cry. Yes, but I was able to take the important stuff (armor and weapons) to the other world, so that gave me an easy start!”
    • “There's a deep-rooted wholesome community, the developers listen to everyone fairly, and there are MMORPG elements spanning from Stardew Valley, Terraria, old school Zelda, and some RuneScape vibes added in the mix, so this is fantastic.”
  • character development1 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 unengaging.”
    • “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.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

12hMedian play time
15hAverage play time
5-30hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 9 analyzed playthroughs

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