Button City Reviews
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.
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.
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.
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 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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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.
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 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.
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.
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?
If you enjoy games with heart and wonderful characters, you need to check this game out—a loving tribute to living through the ’90s.
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.
While there's not a huge variety of gameplay on offer, Button City has enough good story beats and characters to carry the experience.
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.
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...
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.
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.
" 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.