Viticulture Essential Edition

69%
Game Brain Score Based on 139 reviews
  • gameplay
  • graphics
  • stability
Viticulture Essential Edition Game Cover
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In Viticulture Essential Edition, you run a vineyard in Tuscany, managing workers, tasks, and resources across seasons to expand and produce quality wine. Compete with other players to fulfill wine orders and build the most successful winery. The game is family-friendly, with cross-platform multiplayer and an easy tutorial for up to six players.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
  • Linux
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

69%
Audience ScoreBased on 139 reviews
gameplay4 positive mentions
stability4 negative mentions
  • Faithful adaptation of the beloved board game, providing a familiar experience for fans.
  • Visually appealing with a decent AI that offers a challenging solo experience.
  • Allows for strategic gameplay and customization, making it enjoyable regardless of winning or losing.
  • User interface is clunky and unintuitive, making navigation and gameplay cumbersome.
  • Tutorial is insufficient for new players, requiring reliance on external resources to understand the game.
  • Game suffers from bugs and crashes, impacting overall playability and enjoyment.
  • gameplay11 mentions

    The gameplay mechanics are initially confusing but become easier to grasp after a few sessions, effectively mirroring the board game and aiding in learning its rules. While the implementation is generally smooth, some bugs persist in specific card mechanics, and the user interface is described as non-intuitive. Overall, the digital version serves as a solid platform for mastering gameplay, especially with the added depth from expansions.

    • “The mechanics can be a little confusing at first, but after the first few plays, it is easy to understand.”
    • “Good implementation of the board game, and a great way to get familiar with the mechanics for real-life games.”
    • “The digital version is a great way to perfect your gameplay.”
    • “They just put the mechanics into their machine to make money off a recognizable title.”
    • “Poor gameplay.”
    • “Extremely non-intuitive in both menus and gameplay.”
  • graphics11 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the art style and visuals that evoke the feel of the original board game, while others criticize the outdated graphics, slow updates, and lack of polish in UI elements. Many users express a desire for improvements in icons, animations, and overall aesthetics, highlighting significant issues such as missing graphics for certain actions and poor optimization for PC. Overall, the consensus suggests that while there are strong points, the graphics need considerable enhancement to meet player expectations.

    • “The graphics are spot on and a 5 out of 5.”
    • “Graphics and sounds evoke the feel of the board game and I've yet to find any rules bugs.”
    • “It does have the same art style as the actual game.”
    • “Lots of things that can be improved here like icons, buttons, animation, graphical information, sound, etc. These aren't as polished or as intuitive as they could be, so hoping the devs can do something about it.”
    • “The graphics for actions during the summer season are missing, making the game completely unusable.”
    • “Charging a high price for a game that has poor graphics (10-year-old graphics), not optimized for PC (originally for phones and so the PC version only shows half of the screen, with the other half having borders), and broken online play (online play simply does not work).”
  • stability4 mentions

    Users report significant stability issues with the game, highlighting frequent freezes and crashes that disrupt gameplay and result in lost progress. The overall experience is marred by bugs and a poorly designed user interface, leading to considerable frustration among players.

    • “I have never posted about any game before...ever (I really mean this). However, now that I've lost the progress I've made for 4 games because the game freezes on my turn, I must now comment on my frustrations (it's the least I can do since I can never get my time back).”
    • “The game freezes in mid-play (which is my main influence for writing this).”
    • “The game is very buggy and crashes a lot.”
  • optimization3 mentions

    The game is criticized for its poor optimization on PC, with users noting outdated graphics and a display issue that only shows half the screen, leaving the other half with borders. Additionally, the online play is reported to be broken, further detracting from the overall experience.

    • “I hope another game speed will be added for further optimization.”
    • “Not optimized for PC.”
    • “Charging a high price for a game that has poor graphics (10-year-old graphics), not optimized for PC (originally for phones, so the PC version only shows half of the screen, with the other half having borders), and broken online play (online play simply does not work).”
    • “I hope another game speed will be added to further optimize.”
  • music2 mentions

    The music in the game effectively enhances the atmosphere, evoking a sense of being in Italy. However, its impact varies; while some games successfully integrate music with design and sound effects to capture the game's spirit, others may fall short, losing charm and nuance.

    • “The background music is a nice touch of atmosphere, making it feel like you are in Italy.”
    • “Either you do it like the folks who did Terraforming Mars and really capture the feel and spirit of the game using a combination of music, intuitive design, sound effects, and a lot of polish, or you do it the way the folks did with Viticulture, and a lot of the charm and nuance of the game is lost.”
    • “The music feels disconnected from the game's theme, making it hard to immerse myself in the experience.”
    • “The soundtrack is repetitive and lacks variety, which detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.”
    • “The audio design seems rushed, with sound effects that don't match the actions on screen, leading to a jarring experience.”
  • grinding2 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be slow and tedious, with some suggesting that a more animated presentation could enhance the experience. Even those familiar with the physical version of the game report that the learning process feels laborious.

    • “Slow and tedious presentation.”
    • “We should animate something! Even going into it having played the physical game, learning how to play this was really tedious.”
  • atmosphere1 mentions

    The atmosphere is enhanced by the background music, which effectively evokes a sense of being in Italy, contributing to an immersive experience.

    • “The background music adds a wonderful touch to the atmosphere, making it feel like you're in Italy.”
    • “The immersive sound design truly enhances the atmosphere, pulling you into the game's world.”
    • “The stunning visuals and ambient sounds create a captivating atmosphere that keeps you engaged.”
  • humor1 mentions

    The humor aspect of the game is not widely discussed, with one user specifically noting they haven't engaged with the online play to form an opinion on its comedic elements. Overall, humor appears to be a less prominent feature in the reviews.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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