The Sweetest Thing Review

The Sweetest Thing

Release: May 19, 2016
Publisher: Joindots GmbH
Developer: Joindots GmbH
Genre: Indie, Other, Simulation, Strategy, WiiU Categories
PEGI: E
Comments:

 

Comment

I’m still not sure what I just played. The Sweetest Thing for Wii U just came out last week and the game is still a bit of mystery to me. I played it, but I’m not sure I fully understand it. Just who is this game supposed to be for? Check out my full review below.

I’m not sure who is the audience for The Sweetest Thing. The story makes it seem like a kids game, but the gameplay is a bit hard. In the game, you direct workers to different buildings to repair them. You have to collect resources along the way and sometimes collect resources to defeat enemies too. Sounds easy right? It should be, but it isn’t because you have to do everything in a certain order or else you’ll fail the level. The Sweetest Thing can be a really frustrating game.

Collecting everything in a certain order turns the Sweetest Thing into a bit of a puzzle game too. This puzzle element makes things pretty hard at times and there is no way to adjust the difficulty. The gameplay just doesn’t seem like something kids would enjoy either. Some older gamers might enjoy the gameplay and challenge, but since there isn’t much variety in it, even they might get bored of it quickly. One of the best things I can say about the game is that none of the game’s difficulty comes from the game’s controls; the controls are perfect!

The Sweetest Thing uses the gamepad’s touch screen to control the game’s action. The touch support works great and I had no trouble with it. The game has Off-TV play too and you can have the game’s sound on the gamepad completely. Though if you are playing the game on the TV, you can split the game’s sound or music to the gamepad or TV if you want. This is a nice option to have! Sweetest Thing uses the gamepad very well. Looking at the gameplay and the graphics, though, I am still not sure who this game is for.

The Sweetest Thing has very nice graphics. They are bright and colorful. There’s nothing at all wrong with that, but the graphics seem pretty disconnected with the tone of the gameplay.

I think the game’s music is just ok though. Its perhaps a bit too upbeat. Though its not as annoying as the little workers voices! I just had to turn those off. I suppose the game’s opening voice over is alright. The sound effects are nothing to write home about.

The Sweetest Thing is a confusing game. Its graphics, story, and sound make you think it’s a kid’s game, but its gameplay doesn’t seem like something kids would enjoy. The gameplay seems directed toward an older audience, though even they might get bored with the game after awhile.  The Sweetest Thing is far from the worst game I’ve ever played because the controls are perfect, but its confused identity will turn some people away. If you like time/resource games with a puzzle game element, The Sweetest Thing could be worth a look. Everyone else should probably stay away.

Thank you to Join Dots for providing a review copy of The Sweetest Thing. The game is currently available on the Wii U eshop.

Positives

• Bright & Colorful graphics
• Good controls
• Excellent Gamepad use

Negatives

• Simple story
• Lack of gameplay variety
• Frustrating difficulty
• Audio is a Mixed Bag