Assembly

(Note: this review was based on the mid competition version of the game. Some issues it refers to may have been since ironed out in the latest release.)

This is a really creative parser game, clearly IKEA inspired, that sees you fight dangerous foes with only the power of flat pack furniture. It’s a very amusing concept and largely well realised. If you’re flat pack phobic avoid this game, but for everyone else it is a lot of fun, with some neat puzzles.

However there are some downsides for me. Early on you see quite a lot of items of flat pack furniture, with their descriptions. I did not take proper notes at this point, and you need to remember what the names represent visually later. Take notes folks!

The other downside is there were some disambiguation issues, not least between flat pack assembly instruction booklets and the flat pack items. I had a particularly difficult time at one point trying to physically manage the parts of a flat pack item.

The game is also lacking other characters largely, apart from some rather anonymous ones. And that’s a slight shame. Though there are plenty of flat pack items to interact with.

The ending also feels a bit abrupt. It has a big build up, but then, well, it’s over in a flash. As a player I’d have appreciated some kind of epilogue, or notes on amusing things to try, or author notes. Something for me to decompress with.

In a nutshell this a great game, but one that could have been made a little smoother to play. But a really neat concept, and entertaining. Thank you.