Assemble With Care (2019)

I started playing this, decided I could fix my Nintendo Switch Joy-cons, fixed my Nintendo Switch Joy-cons, and then came back to finish this game. I find it to be the most practical of UsTwo's games as it demystifies repairs. However, the game makes you reconcile with your parents, so I must subtract one star.

They could do a sequel where they dive into more complex pieces of machinery. There is very little challenge and even the bonus final espresso machine offered little challenge. I enjoyed it nonetheless.

A force de consommer des jeux cosy et des puzzle games, Steam finit par m'en proposer.

Assemble with care est donc un puzzle game. Cosy. Avec des couleurs pastelles et une petite musique reposante. Et des velléités narratives. C'est dur d'être positionné sur ce créneau sans sentir l'ombre de Unpacking et A little to the left. Contrairement à ce dernier, Assemble with care a choisi de s'étendre sur 14 niveaux uniquement, évitant ainsi la redondance entre les puzzles.

Il faut dire que le principe est risqué puisque vous jouez Maria, réparatrice de son état. Chaque Puzzle vous demande de dégainer votre tournevis, démonter et remonter un appareil en en changeant les pièces abimées. Si le jeu eut été moins court, la répétition ce serait vite fait sentir ! Chaque réparation est suivi d'une scène de dialogue détaillant un souvenir attaché à l'objet et l'importance qu'il a pour son propriétaire.

Les puzzle sont très simples et très straight-forward. Pas étonnant de la part d'un studio qui a accouché des deux volumes de Monument Valley, les puzzle ça les connait ! Certains joueurs seront déçus du manque de difficulté, surtout en prenant en compte que Maria vous guide à la voix si vous galérez un tant soit peu.

Bref une petite ballade sympathique d'une heure qui malheureusement ne laisse pas assez de temps pour installer une vraie intrigue et des personnages qui fatalement en ressortent unidimensionnels...et un peu antipathiques.

3.5 ⭐️ Actual rating

This was a really cute game. I loved the idea of being a fixer upper and I found it to be a unique and enjoyable way to create a puzzle game. Taking things apart and putting them back together can be therapeutic and give you a sense of accomplishment and without the frustrations of real life struggles when you do those things this was a good way to channel a bit of that energy. **I really think the developer found something special here if only it would have been a bit longer and slowly ramped up the difficulty a bit more. **

The story was just smile worthy. A nice small town setting town, Belariva, where everyone know each other. The game wasn’t very long but I still felt close to the characters and felt like I could relate and understand everyone’s different little story.

The voice acting was good and not overly drawn out. The music and sound effects were good and serviceable as well.

I think UsTwo is a great developer and I look forward to seeing what the put out next. My only hope is that it’s something a little bigger in scope the next time out. I think given a budget they can create something incredibly special.

Assemble with Care is a feel good puzzle game. With a nice aesthetic thought not too much content is a nice title that just doesn’t last a while.

In the game you play as a repair woman that travels around and makes her trade by fixing up various things. In your travels you arrive in a cute little town where you end up fixing a bunch of things unknowingly fixing up people's lives as well and in the end helping out yourself. The kind of sappy story I’m too cynical (or old) to care too much. It’s nicely put though and serves its purpose.

Mechanically wise you’re presented with a grand total of 13 items you need to fix up. The fixing part is rather on the easier side, you unscrew some screws, replace some broken parts and put it back together. It’s usually very obvious what needs replacing or if the wiring is done correctly or not. It’s still fun though.

Visually it looks very nice. Pastel colours and nice art direction ties the game up very nicely.

I think it’s also a mobile port, so the controls are a little off at times especially when you try rotating certain things and they snap to incorrect locations but that’s just minor complaints.

Overall I did enjoy the game although I was done with it within an hour or so. Time well spent though.

Cute and short, but I actually felt like it wasn't as full as some people think it is.

I understood what the message was but it didn't impact me like I thought it would. The voice acting is great and I did enjoy the gameplay but it fell a bit flat for me. Maybe if it was a bit longer and had developed the characters more I would have been more attached to the story.

Assemble with Care tells a small, personal story in between short, pleasant puzzles where you must disassemble, fix and reassemble an object. The touch controls are excellent, the presentation is consistent and polished, and the puzzles are pretty fun.

Yet I'm left with a sense of wanting more from this game. More original artwork (there's a surprising amount of re-used images over barely an hour of gameplay), more puzzles, more surprise in the story (which shows its hand very early). As-is, this is a nice little interlude, but its narrative elements do not compare favorably to games like Florence, and its puzzle sequences are less memorable (though possibly more approachable?) than Vignettes or Gnog.