Info about Arctic Eggs: Official game description: Cooked on both sides. As always ------------------------------- Embrace the truth in Arctic Eggs, or the Tale of the Modern Odysseus. Slip into the boots of a humble Poultry Peddler, stripped of rank for crimes forgotten. Pan in hand, set forth and feed the hungry inhabitants of this humble habitat. It’s all in the wrist. COOK LIKE THE PROS ------------------ Our team of culinary experts worked tirelessly to ensure that Arctic Eggs is the most realistic cooking simulator on the planet. Unfortunately, our chefs don’t know how to program. So we made something like Getting Over It, but for cooking eggs. SUBSCRIBE NOW TO EGGS+ ---------------------- What are fish but eggs with extra steps? What is bacon but pigs without the fluff? How long should one cook a cigarette? Such questions have plagued poets and kings since man claimed fire. Perhaps in your journey you’ll find the answers. Or like, at least the answers for YOU, dude. That’s what matters most. TOUCH LIVES ----------- Everyone has a story. All you have to do is listen. Or don’t. You can just click real fast to get to the cooking parts. It’s not like we’re watching you. YOU bought the game. You can play it now YOU want. I mean, who am I to tell you what to do? Not really my vibe. REALISTIC PHYSICS ----------------- The game isn’t hard. Cooking is. Can you cook an egg on top of Mount Everest? I am not sure. But perhaps that’s irrelevant. Maybe you can. Maybe you can't. I like to think so. :) Release date: 16 May, 2024 Categories: Cooking Game, Physics Simulation, Single-player Story, Exploration, Dexterity Game, Environmental Storytelling - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: No data - Playtime Metrics: No data - Time-to-fun: No data - Player Archetypes: No data Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category. Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews. What players like: - Unique, appealing, immersive aesthetic (weight 0.86): The game features a unique and appealing aesthetic, often described as PSX-era or lo-fi, with detailed textures, stylized graphics, and well-designed lighting. This visual style, combined with a fitting soundtrack, creates a dreamlike and immersive atmosphere that enhances the overall experience and encourages exploration. Many reviewers found the visuals screenshot-worthy and praised the art style's ability to evoke specific moods. - Humorous, philosophical character dialogues (weight 0.82): The game features humorous and philosophical dialogues with bizarre characters, adding depth and charm to the world. These conversations provide insights into the game's universe and create an engaging experience for players, encouraging them to explore and interact with the environment. The writing is often praised for its wit, originality, and ability to blend humor with thought-provoking themes. - Enjoyable, balanced, satisfying gameplay (weight 0.77): The game offers a satisfying and enjoyable experience due to its well-designed gameplay, appropriate length, and balanced difficulty. Reviewers appreciate the sense of accomplishment and relaxation the game provides, with many finding it addictive and worth the asking price. The game's mechanics are easy to learn but offer enough depth to remain engaging throughout the playthrough. - Unique, fun cooking/frying mechanics (weight 0.55): The game features unique and enjoyable cooking mechanics centered around frying unusual items, such as eggs, cigarettes, and cockroaches. This bizarre premise, combined with physics-based gameplay, creates a challenging and often hilarious experience. The game's cooking mechanics are praised for their depth, variety, and ability to keep players engaged. - Weird, unique, memorable experience (weight 0.32): The game is praised for its weird, unique, and memorable qualities, featuring a surreal and often absurd world, story, and characters. This distinctiveness sets it apart and creates a captivating experience for players who appreciate unconventional and thought-provoking content. The game's strangeness is often seen as a positive aspect, contributing to its overall charm and appeal. - Captivating atmosphere, excellent music (weight 0.27): The game features a captivating atmosphere enhanced by excellent music and sound design. The soundtrack complements the game's world and characters, creating an immersive and enjoyable experience for players. The music is often described as relaxing, soulful, and fitting, contributing to the overall mood and tone of the game. - Soothing, comforting, oddly addicting (weight 0.12): The game is described as soothing, comforting, and oddly addicting, providing a unique sense of calm and relaxation. It has a magical feel and resonates deeply with some reviewers, shifting their perspective on what video games should be about. The game's unusual qualities and abstract nature contribute to its overall appeal and memorability. - Addicting mechanics, cool physics (weight 0.11): The game features addicting mechanics and cool physics, contributing to a fun and engaging experience. The controls are generally well-received, allowing for precise manipulation and skill-based moves. The game's mechanics offer interesting gameplay dynamics and encourage experimentation, making it a tremendous game design experiment. Common complaints: - Unforgiving, frustrating difficulty (weight 0.49): Many reviewers found the game to be frustratingly difficult, even on easier settings. This is due to a combination of factors, including wonky mechanics, tight controls, and unforgiving level design. This high difficulty detracts from the overall enjoyment and may not appeal to all players. - Short length, lacks replayability (weight 0.37): Several reviewers felt the game was too short for its price, and lacked replayability. The story and ending were confusing and didn't answer the main questions posed in the game. The game also lacks cloud saves, which is inconvenient for first-time players. - Poor optimization and glitches (weight 0.36): Several reviewers noted technical issues such as poor optimization, low-resolution textures, and graphical glitches. These problems detract from the overall visual experience and can impact performance. The game also suffers from bugs, inconsistent frame rates, and stuttering issues. - Disturbing cockroach implementation (weight 0.14): The inclusion of cockroaches in the game is a major point of contention for many reviewers. They find the cockroaches disturbing, disgusting, and frustrating to deal with, both in terms of gameplay mechanics and overall atmosphere. Some reviewers even state that the cockroaches caused them to quit the game. - Awkward, uncustomizable controls (weight 0.07): The game's controls are often described as awkward, difficult to master, and lacking customization options. This is especially problematic when using a controller, making certain tasks overly difficult. The sensitivity settings also feel incorrect, making the game difficult to control. - Depressing themes (weight 0.03): The game explores themes of hopelessness, which may not appeal to all players. The world in the game is cold, causing discomfort. The game contains existential dread. - Poor Chinese localization (weight 0.03): The game frequently switches from Chinese to English. The Chinese font is blurry due to font effects, making it difficult to read, especially since the font moves around. The Chinese translation contains unclear symbols and small font sizes, making the already difficult-to-understand text even harder to decipher. Gameplay feedback: - Core: Physics-based egg frying (weight 0.59): The core gameplay revolves around a physics-based cooking mechanic, primarily focused on frying eggs and other increasingly bizarre items in a pan. Players must master the art of flipping and maneuvering these items to fulfill customer requests in a dystopian setting. The cooking mechanic is central to the game's identity. - Exploration and NPC interaction (weight 0.41): The game combines cooking with exploration and NPC interaction. Players walk around a small arctic city, engaging in conversations with characters and fulfilling their food orders. This blend creates a unique gameplay loop that mixes simulation with narrative elements. - Unique ingredient challenges (weight 0.09): The cooking process involves unique challenges based on the ingredients used. Some ingredients require specific techniques, such as preventing cockroaches from escaping or managing exploding bullets. Mastering these nuances is key to success. - Goofy, bizarre physics engine (weight 0.07): The game utilizes a goofy physics engine, leading to bizarre and unpredictable interactions. This adds an element of humor and challenge to the cooking process. The wonky physics are a core element of the gameplay experience. - Sandbox mode for experimentation (weight 0.02): A sandbox mode unlocks after completing the main story, allowing players to experiment with different ingredients and cooking combinations. This mode extends the gameplay beyond the main objectives, providing additional replayability and creative freedom. - Enjoyable, meditative cooking (weight 0.02): Some reviewers found the simple act of cooking eggs to be enjoyable and even meditative. This suggests that the game's core mechanic, despite its absurdity, can be surprisingly engaging and relaxing for some players. Performance notes: - Adjustable sensitivity needed (weight 0.02): Players suggest that mouse and pan sensitivity options need adjustment. This indicates a need for more granular control over input settings to suit individual preferences. - Sausage colliders impact performance (weight 0.01): Sausage colliders are causing performance issues. This is a specific technical issue that impacts gameplay. - Localization updates and fixes (weight 0.01): The game received localization updates that fixed issues such as character models obscuring subtitles and improved font smoothness. This shows active development and attention to detail in addressing localization problems. Recommendations: - Strongly recommended; worth the price (weight 0.94): The game is overwhelmingly recommended, with many reviewers calling it a masterpiece, GOTY contender, or one of the best games they've ever played. Reviewers frequently suggest purchasing the game, especially if it's on sale, and highlight its value for the price, short length, and unique experience. - Relaxing and calming experience (weight 0.6): Many reviewers describe the game as a relaxing, mellow, and calming experience, making it suitable for casual play. The game's weirdness and unique atmosphere contribute to its ability to leave a lasting impression and provide a comfortable way to pass the time. - Appeals to niche genre fans (weight 0.59): The game is often recommended for players who enjoy unusual, dystopian, or cyberpunk settings, as well as those who appreciate low-polygon graphics and chill music. Some reviewers compare the game's difficulty to Dark Souls within the cooking genre, while others suggest it may be more suitable for players with cooking knowledge. - Unique, cool, high-quality experience (weight 0.57): Reviewers praise the game's unique and cool qualities, often describing it as an indie gem, a masterclass in game design, or an amazing piece of gaming art. The game's quality is consistently highlighted, with reviewers emphasizing its interesting, fresh, bold, and honest nature. - Thought-provoking, unsettling experience (weight 0.55): The game is described as thought-provoking and unsettling, with some reviewers suggesting it may lead players to question their life choices. It's recommended to go in blind to fully experience the game's message, which is interpreted as the importance of trying to achieve seemingly impossible goals and staying human in difficult circumstances. - Gyro controls enhance gameplay (weight 0.54): Some reviewers recommend using specific control schemes, such as gyro controls or controllers with gyro functionality, for improved playability. Specific rebindings and axis inversions are suggested for Steam Deck users, while others recommend playing on hard difficulty. - Cockroaches and egg-frying quirks (weight 0.53): Some reviewers express concerns or humorous observations about specific elements, such as the presence of cockroaches or the core gameplay loop of frying eggs. One reviewer requests a cockroach-phobic mode, while others question the value of only frying an egg or suggest checking if it's possible to fry an egg on Mount Everest within the game. Other player notes: - Surreal, dystopian Antarctic setting (weight 0.17): The game features a surreal, dystopian world set in a futuristic Antarctic environment with low-poly graphics, a CRT-style film grain effect, and bizarre characters. The unique art style and unsettling atmosphere contribute to an immersive and memorable experience. - Poultry prepper in chicken society (weight 0.12): The player takes on the role of a 'poultry prepper' in a society where chickens and eggs are highly regulated. The narrative revolves around cooking and serving food to the population, revealing the world's lore through interactions. - Frying eggs on Mount Everest (weight 0.07): A recurring theme and objective within the game is the question of whether one can fry an egg on top of Mount Everest. This absurd premise permeates the gameplay and narrative, influencing the player's actions and thoughts. - Dark humor and absurdist dialogue (weight 0.06): The game features dark humor, absurdist dialogue, and a bizarre, off-beat style. The narrative is presented with a touch of nihilism and may include elements of social or political commentary. - Impress the Saint of Stomachs (weight 0.04): The player must impress the 'Saint of Six Stomachs' (or similar figure) through culinary talent to progress. This involves feeding various strange characters and ultimately seeking permission to leave the game's setting. - Linear world, unrealized potential (weight 0.02): The game world is linear, but allows for minor exploration within each level. Some reviewers felt that the world-building had unrealized potential. - Mistranslated achievement requirements (weight 0.02): Several in-game achievements suffer from mistranslations, requiring players to perform actions different from what the achievement descriptions suggest. This can lead to confusion and frustration. - Cyberware-enhanced dolphins present (weight 0.01): The game features domesticated, cyberware-enhanced dolphins in a dystopian setting. This element contributes to the game's overall weirdness and cyberpunk feel. Emotions: No emotions}