Juicy Realm is a quirky little top-down shooter that pits 1-2 players against an army of living fruit. I played the game co-op and found that the gameplay is fun, but the game is severely lacking in length.
Pros:
Excellent art style. Juicy Realm makes use of a more stylized art style, a great match for the atmosphere the game is going for (considering the enemies are fruits, after all). The color choices make it so the players and enemies are easily seen against the environment and the same is done for the bullets, which is crucial for a game like this. There are also a number of cool-looking effects, such as those that overlay the environment or those that show up when enemies are hit and killed (like blood being replaced by pear innards).
Unique weapons. While the weapon selection may be small, the weapons available are definitely unique. Weapons range from practical (such as the AK47) to references (such as Playerunknown’s pan) to stupid, yet fun gimmicks (such as a Steam logo that shoots game discounts and causes enemies to drop more money). It was always fun to find more of these weapons and figure out their different properties.
Cons:
Far too short. I am not usually one to complain about a game’s length, but in this case, it is definitely worth mentioning that Juicy Realm is a very short game. Short as in, the game can be cleared easily in about forty minutes. For a roguelike, four bosses just seems far too little, especially considering how easy a couple of them are. In fact, the final boss we were able to clear in just thirty seconds, without getting hit at all. The game is also lacking in replayability, as these levels are not randomly generated and it is mostly the same thing the second and third time around. As such, this short length and lack of replayability can be a deal-breaker for many.
Overwhelming effects. I may have praised the game’s effects in general, but on a couple levels it is actually a bit too much. For example, on the desert and snowy levels, the environmental effects are so overwhelming that it is oftentimes very difficult to see where to go, let alone where the enemies are. This is likely by design, but if that is the case then it just feels like a cheap excuse for slightly increased difficulty.
Pretty good game overall with a cool art style and some unique weapons. It does suffer from its very short length (roughly forty minutes), detrimental to a game of this genre. I do recommend the game, but do keep in mind that the experience will not last long and the replayability simply is not there.
You can buy Juicy Realm on Steam here.
I was provided a free review copy of the game in order to write this review. Read more about how I do my game reviews here.
cublikefoot 