Growing My Manhole Review Summary

Fun, accessible, and relaxing with an addictive incremental loop, but it's too short, boring, repetitive, and lacks progression or replayability.

Fun and quick gameplay: Multiple reviewers describe the game as fun, simple, and quick to play. It offers an enjoyable experience without requiring a large time commitment, making it suitable for short sessions.

Accessible incremental mechanics: The core mechanics are classic, easy to handle, and suitable for players looking for a straightforward incremental experience. Reviewers appreciate the simplicity and ease of learning.

Relaxing and stress-relieving: Players find the game stress-relieving and suitable for relaxation, often describing it as chill and zen-like. It helps pass the time in a calming way.

Positive overall reception: General comments indicate a very good experience, with reviewers enjoying it a lot and considering it a good game. The overall sentiment is positive.

Satisfying upgrade progression: The upgrade system provides a satisfying sense of growing power, with destruction feeling better as you gain more upgrades. The balance between stagnation and explosive growth is praised.

Game Is Too Short: Multiple clusters mention that the game is short, can be completed quickly, and lacks content to keep players engaged. Some finished it in a few hours or even one sitting.

Boring and Repetitive Gameplay: The gameplay is described as boring, repetitive, and lacking depth. Many find it never becomes interesting, with no build variety or meaningful choices.

Limited Progression and Replayability: Many reviewers criticize the game for lacking a sense of progression and prestige mechanics, making replayability minimal. The upgrade structure is often seen as weird and not rewarding.

Lack of Content and Depth: As a pure incremental game with no story, it lacks depth and doesn't bring anything new. The campaign is slower and more boring than the demo.

Poor Upgrade System: Upgrades are linear, expensive, and often unnecessary. The optimal strategy is to ignore most upgrades, making the system feel meaningless and unbalanced.

Upgrade and Card System: Players note a robust upgrade system with various types such as size increase and object count, and unlocks for upgrades and cards. This adds depth and progression to the gameplay.

Booster Pack Mechanic: The game includes booster packs, with a total of 401 available. This provides collectible elements and randomization to the experience.

Incremental Numerical Growth Focus: Reviewers describe the game as an incremental game centered on numerical growth. It is noted as small and brief, emphasizing quick progression.

Campaign Mode and Duration: The game offers a campaign mode that takes around 100 minutes to complete. It is described as an incremental campaign where players earn money for permanent upgrades.

Hunger Timer and Upgrades: A timer mechanic called 'hunger' drains and resets runs to the beginning. Upgrades can reduce hunger drain, mitigating its impact.

Game crashes and stability issues: Players report crash issues, including frequent crashes in endless mode when many items are present. This suggests stability problems that worsen during extended play sessions.

Low frame rates on startup: Frames drop to 10 every time the game starts, while all other features run at 60. This indicates a severe performance issue specifically tied to the startup phase.

Mixed value for money: Some reviewers consider the game not worth the money, while others find it worth it given the cheap price and quick achievements. The low price point is both a draw and a point of contention depending on expectations.

Positive genre fan recommendation: Several reviewers recommend the game to fans of the genre, describing it as a short, cute session. This positive sentiment is consistent across multiple clusters.

Demo recommended over full game: One reviewer suggests playing the free demo instead, calling it more dynamic and fun than the full game. This implies that the demo may offer a better experience for some players.

Wait for expanded gameplay: A reviewer recommends buying only after the gameplay is significantly expanded, suggesting the current content is insufficient. This points to a need for more development before purchase.

Previous game more replayable: One reviewer suggests that the developer's previous game, Identifile, offers higher replayability and is a better pick for those seeking a game they can play again and again.

Game completion: 2.5h.

Session length: 2.0h.

Sentiment is mixed: some players find it great from the start, but the clearest progression signal is that it scales up after an initial phase. The early game can feel slow or boring, and the evidence does not pin down an exact timing.

Friction: slow beginning; fairly useless upgrades; booster pack mechanic; initial phase.

Unlock drivers: getting past the initial phase; quick scaling up.

Chill Incremental Devotee: Casual idle play, dipping in to expand and watch the screen grow more chaotic. Motivation: Relaxing, satisfying progression as the screen fills with objects over time. Stance: buy.

Completionist Achievement Hunter: Systematic optimization, maxing upgrades past 100% and tracking card and purchase completion. Motivation: Fully completing every collection and achievement the game offers. Stance: sale.

Content-Hungry Value Buyer: Playthrough-and-assess, returning once more content is added. Motivation: Getting enough gameplay depth and content for the money spent. Stance: sale.

Short completion time: Many reviewers report finishing the game in roughly 2-3 hours, with some completing it in about 2.5 hours to 100% and others in under an hour if efficient.

Quick and easy achievements: Achievements and the platinum trophy can be unlocked quickly, often within two hours, making it an easy completion.

Frequent comparisons to other incrementals: Reviewers often compare this game to other incremental titles like Nodebuster, Idle cub, and A Game about Feeding A Black Hole.

Upgrade structure criticized: Some negative reviews stem from the upgrade structure; fully unlocking upgrades and cards takes longer than the core game.

Developed by Identifile creator: The game is from the developer of Identifile: Desktop Dungeon, which may attract fans of their previous work.