Button City Reviews

Button City is ranked in the 34th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Loved
Aug 9, 2021

Button City is a game about friendship, growing up, the importance of community and saving the things that are significant to you. It’s a perfect game for a relaxed, stress-free gaming session, spent in the company of adorable Fennel and his friends in the Fluff Squad.

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7 / 10.0
Aug 9, 2021
Button City Review | Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4, PC video thumbnail
7 / 10
Aug 10, 2021

Overall, Button City has more depth than I anticipated and the replayability is high if you fall in love with the mini games. Main story can be completed in under 6 hours, but there is more fun to be had after with the mini arcade games, and finishing side quests. The story is touching and has a really emotive meaning behind it. The characters are designed well, and are utterly charming and I can imagine some good merch coming out from their cute faces. The music is a bop, the art style is charismatic but there are a few hitches along the way. Movement speed can slow your game down a lot. There are a few technical bumps, but I would recommend for anyone who wants to free flow through an adventure narrative of Fennel and his Friends.

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4 / 5.0
Sep 6, 2021

If you’re willing to let your guard down, open up your heart, and accept Button City as it is, you will get a very wholesome experience with lots of laughs and some very charming art.

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10 / 10.0
Sep 6, 2021

Overall, Button City is comforting and reminiscent of a fresh, early 2000s summer afternoon: no responsibilities and no worries. Just a pocket full of quarters and a curfew. Visit Button City and escape to a land where friendship is the true winner.

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7.5 / 10.0
Aug 9, 2021

In this day and age, stories about kindness, compassion, and taking care of each other in spite of our differences is something we could all use more of, and Button City delivers just that in an adorable, low-poly package that’s sure to become an eShop gem.

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3.5 / 5.0
Aug 9, 2021

If you enjoy games with heart and wonderful characters, you need to check this game out—a loving tribute to living through the ’90s.

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Recommended
Jan 26, 2022

Button City is a cute, albeit a bit clunky, narrative game where you discover the wonder of your local arcade.

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7.5 / 10.0
Aug 10, 2021

With its somewhat simple polygonal art, abundance of color, and undeniable cute factor, Button City is a moderately laid back adventure focused on you playing as a new kid in town who quickly befriends a small group of video game warriors at the local arcade...

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Sep 7, 2021

There’s promise in this kind of game, but it lacks the polish that definitely could’ve benefitted from more time in the oven–especially with how needlessly difficult the arcade minigames are.

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5.2 / 10.0
Aug 13, 2021

Button City is one of those games that I really wanted to love but ended up displeased by its clunky setup and subpar mini-games. There is still a good time to be had in its cute world, though, especially if you don't mind taking the bad with the good.

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7.5 / 10.0
Aug 9, 2021

" 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.

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GameSpew
Top Critic
5 / 10.0
Aug 11, 2021

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.

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5 / 10
Aug 16, 2021

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.

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7.5 / 10.0
Oct 8, 2021

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.

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Cubed3
Top Critic
6 / 10
Dec 25, 2021

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.

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6.5 / 10.0
Aug 9, 2021

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?

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9 / 10.0
Aug 9, 2021

Button City is an adorable, heartwarming little journey that will enamour all who play it.

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7 / 10.0
Aug 9, 2021

While there's not a huge variety of gameplay on offer, Button City has enough good story beats and characters to carry the experience.

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6.5 / 10.0
Aug 10, 2021

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.

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