Button City Reviews
I think it’s narratively weak; a few sparks, but never a fire. The games held within are not just overly basic, but often not even fun. Even the quest design is an escort quest and a forced stealth section away from a broken controller. It makes me feel like the bad guy when I say these things to such a cute and innocent game. I absolutely wanted to love Button City, but it gave me no reason to give up another quarter.
Button City is a pretty decent second outing from the team at Subliminal Games. The fascinating characters and hilarious dialogue make the story really endearing, and it’s all bolstered by the game’s art and music. The minigames are hit or miss, but it’s not enough to ruin an overall joyful experience.
Despite these bugs, Button City is a relaxing little game with a great storyline and characters you care about despite their faults. Players can work their way through the game at their own pace as they battle to save the arcade from greed, and Fennel from his own shy and unconfident self. The story isn't lengthy, clocking in at 6-8 hours depending on how much time you spend playing arcade games and completing side missions, but it's a nice little distraction for a rainy day.
Button City is a small indie game with a childish charm that hits the mark. Despite some narrative qualities, the title does not manage to bring its own paw to the stories seen and reviewed it tells. Even if one can not be as demanding as for the big productions, the mini-games have a minimal interest while the bulk of the gameplay relies on them.
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Button City wants its audience to feel warm and to remember all of the things that they enjoyed when they were kids, and it succeeds in that goal. It feels right at home beside any media from the era it’s invoking.
Like a good diorama, Button City has a lot of fine detail. Sure the story is breezy and the characters are charming, but what about the games? What about the simple, engaging level design? I wish the sidequests were less about long walks, yes. I want a run button so very badly, it’s true. And the games could actually be harder. But I still want to visit this weird little town. I want to keep coming back to this arcade, I want to get sick of the only good games, I want to save up for the only good prizes. Whether you remember places like this or not, Button City is a delightful escape to the lost world of arcades. Heck, if you’ve got one in your town, this might convince you to start going again.
Overall, it's a chilled out game with personality and charm, but there's not much more to it than that. While you may enjoy exploring the town and meeting its residents, there isn't enough substance here to keep things interesting.
Ultimately, Button City delivers a deceptively poignant story wrapped up in an extremely adorable package. The playable arcade games also add some brief extra fun and novelty to what is otherwise a straightforward adventure. In total, it adds up to be a unique, memorable piece of art. But the slow walking speed is a drag, and the game's so buggy right now that maybe you should wishlist it and wait a few weeks to play it.
While there's not a huge variety of gameplay on offer, Button City has enough good story beats and characters to carry the experience.
Button City is a good game that most people will have a fun time playing through. For just $20, it's reasonably priced and does a good job of putting a smile on your face. However, there is a missed opportunity to further explore certain topics which holds back the narrative's huge potential to be something more.
Even though Button City is the feel-good game I absolutely needed right now, it’s not at the level of polish it should be. I love the atmosphere and the magic captured in the game’s writing and setting, but performance issues and weak minigames hold the title back. Despite some cute and cozy moments experienced in saving a closing arcade, a lot more refining is needed to make this wholesome adventure all the more worth it.
Button City is an adorable, heartwarming little journey that will enamour all who play it.
Button City gets a lot right in its attempt to mesh late 90s low-poly style with narrative adventure gameplay and a heartfelt story full of great characters, but it's undone by numerous and often game-breaking bugs and a tad too much backtracking.
Button City is closing down, and it's up to you to prevent that terrible fate! Play as Fennel, a shy newcomer to town just wanting to fit in and play video games. When that happens and everything's looking good, a scourge named Pepperbottom enters the scene and threatens to take it away. Does the journey live up to its appealing low-poly purity?
Perhaps I have been rather critical of Button City; there is something sweet in its cuddly art style and although its dialogue and narrative may be try-hard, it is effective at times. The real issue is that it feels like its developers have relied too hard on simply being cute rather than focusing on creating engaging gameplay. Regardless of how adorable the protagonist and their friends may be, there’s just not enough here to hold my attention.
The low-poly graphics may not appeal to everyone, and various mechanics can make gameplay feel a bit on the slow side, but those who love the cute aesthetic are guaranteed to have fun helping Fennel settle into his new town of Button City with the bright colours and entertaining characters. The range of mini-games means there is something for everyone to enjoy from racing to rhythm games, and the plethora of side quests add to the post game content. The almost non-stop humour aside from the moments where gravitas is required make it more than just a game. It focuses on and excels at showing the nature of friendship within small groups, and also the wider social structure of what it takes to be in a community.
But the developers are good at creating a game world that draws evokes nostalgia. Their characters are fun and whimsical, although they do need more depth. Button City is a limited video game but, if the studio focuses on its strengths, it can surely create a world where the gameplay and the world are better synchronized.
There's a lovely story bundling all the lesser parts together, but it ultimately feels as though it's been put together with tape and glue. Your enjoyment will stem from how much you gain from its narrative, but in all honesty, other games take a similar concept and run with it so much better. Arcade Spirits comes to mind, and while it doesn't directly allow you to play any titles, is a beautiful visual novel that perfectly encapsulates that 80s arcade energy. We're sorry to say, but Button City is an arcade cabinet that doesn't do too much to justify its existence.
" You have to be the type of person who likes this gameplay loop, and there are a couple of forced memes in the writing. You also have to look past the large number of bugs. If those notes don't sound like a dealbreaker for you, Button City is a very good game.