Game Builder Garage Reviews
As a first step into game development, Game Builder Garage represents a fun and engaging way of dipping your toes. It is not overly convoluted, and is approachable when it comes to creating polished experiences with a little bit of work. The software educates, guides, and makes the creator’s enjoyment a key part of the process. If only Nintendo would fix the online and community gaps, then it will truly be a playground of creativity.
Realistically, adults who want to program are just going to go learn an actual programming language and/or pick up a tool like GameMaker. But for impressionable preteen children, which arguably seems to be the prime demographic for this software, Game Builder Garage on Nintendo Switch can provide a comprehensive and accessible introduction to programming, despite a few glaring oversights. However, not just anyone is going to instantly click with and love this game. It takes time, determination, and raw passion to get the most out of Game Builder Garage. But maybe that's a good thing.
The game excels at giving people a small taste of programming, but the game’s pupils will have to seek unabridged coding lessons elsewhere. It’s hard to give the game a final score in its current form, because what people design in free programming and post online will ultimately add to the game’s potential.
Game Builder Garage is a courageous experiment that deserves the attention of those who are not content to stay on the surface of the video game medium. The experience is presented on the first as less captivating than titles such as Super Mario Maker, but the satisfaction that is obtained by entering the Bianconiglio lair and discovering the secrets of programming is priceless. We're curious to find out how the Game Builder Garage community will evolve, and we'll be interested in trying out the creations of grass developers from all over the world.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Game Builder Garage is a tremendously powerful and accessible piece of game development software that gives you the tools and guidance to make video games with ease.
I wouldn’t feel comfortable giving Game Builder Garage a score or full evaluation until I’ve made a game of my own that I consider to be complete and finished, but I’m still far from having any clue what that actually means. One of my personal goals is to make a multiplayer party game that my friends will legitimately enjoy, but I still need to come up with a concept and plan out its design, let alone start building it to see if it’ll all come together. How do I put a timeframe on that, when the very first step is reliant on creativity and inspiration? And then, how much time will I need for coding, testing, bug fixing, focus testing, and so on?
Behind the humorous, colorful atmosphere, Game Builder Garage proves a real creation environment, with a phenomenally intuitive interface and a clever didactic approach to such a huge amount of possibilities, using almost every function of the system. But Nintendo also made delicate compromises between simplicity and ambition through technical or sharing limitations, hence production will heavily rely on Nodon game designers' efforts.
Review in French | Read full review
Game Builder Garage is a frighteningly powerful game creation tool dragged down by a few limiting factors. The lack of an object creation tool (and pyramids) means that most games are going to look like they were made in a game creation suite, but the sheer scope of what's possible helps to take the sting out of the tail. This will actually teach you how to make games, the tutorials that lead you through are by-and-large excellent, and the inclusion of USB mouse support is a godsend. We're probably unable to even conceive of half of what Switch owners will be able to create using this software, but we're certain this is going to help propagate the next generation of game developers.
Game Builder Garage makes programming fun, with easy-to-follow tutorials and plenty of in-game resources to help you if you get lost. It’s easy on the eyes too, although a lack of visual customisation options was disappointing to see. With so many things it does right, it’s astounding that Nintendo would shoot themselves in their own foot so badly by not including any in-game search function. It may find an audience with some budding game designers, but it’s unlikely to become the phenomenon it could have been.
Nintendo’s best development toolkit to date, with a gamified process that makes creating enjoyable, even if the curation tools are sub-par.
If you would like to create your own video games, this is key that may open that door.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Learn how to create your own games. It is really fun and informative.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
While it may not reach the lofty creative heights of Dreams on PlayStation 4, or match the accessibility of the Super Mario Maker franchise, Game Builder Garage offers the tools to help realise some of your dream gaming creations. If you’re not a creative type and don’t care much about programming, I would avoid stepping into this Garage. However, if you do decide to peek inside out of curiosity and you’re happy with some deep learning, you’ll have everyone else’s creations to experience, and it’s just a matter of time to see what the online community will come up with.
If you want to make your own games and share it indirectly, or if you want to experience the productions made by others, it will be a good choice.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Game Builder Garage is a decently realized editor, which unexpectedly lacks one function, but even in this situation, the production can awaken dreams.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Game Builder Garage might be pitched at a younger audience - and I can genuinely see Nintendo selling a bunch of Switches to schools for use in the younger grades as an introduction to the all-important education space - but the systematic clarity with which the tutorials of Game Builder Garage are arranged, and then the ease of use and accessibility of the software to play around with afterwards, makes it the best introduction to programming that I've come across, for anyone of any age.
As a learning tool, Game Builder Garage provides an easy-to-follow experience that makes learning the basics of game programming fun. With that in mind, there are definitely more comprehensive and robust ways to create games on console.
Game Builder Garage seems like a game that will live or die based on the strength of its community. If players pick up where Nintendo left off and provide quick online tutorials for achieving the trickier game-building techniques that Bob doesn't cover well enough, it might become something special. Even without that, it's a decent first step for anyone looking to learn about programming, especially kids.
With all of this said, is Game Builder Garage worthwhile? The answer to this question largely depends on the mindset one goes into the game with. Keep in mind that this isn’t a traditional video game. Rather, it’s an application for game development. This isn’t Super Mario Maker 2 where, despite the focus on level creation, a full-fledged game exists within it. Game Builder Garage is all about building levels and projects from the ground up. This isn’t to say that the game lacks value for those uninterested in game development. This is where the user-generated content mentioned earlier comes into play. Within days of Game Builder Garage‘s initial release, a number of promising projects hit the internet. Everything from a first-person shooter level inspired by Doom Eternal to a Super Mario Kart track to a recreation of Minecraft can be seen and downloaded right now. Furthermore, even without an online sharing option in the game, there are fan communities that ensure such creations are found and experienced. YouTube channels such as GameXplain have been actively showcasing many of the best Game Builder Garage creations, generating that much more awareness. If you’re willing to do some digging online, you can find an ever-growing treasure trove of concepts waiting to blossom.