Bonded Spirits: Shovelware, asset flip, or neither? 

There's just something iffy about a HORSE game using pre-made horse model/animations tbh,, Of course I know that horses are pretty hard to model and animate, but the focus of your game shouldn't be an asset imo

I feel like they hired an Artist / Designer that really tried to put life into this game, the loading animation, the colors everything looks so cute.

Five minutes into the video and I already recognize the horse assets. I've noticed that those animations and models have been used for hundreds of games, and... for some reason I know of at least 4 on roblox with them.

I feel like the game does have potential if they put more time and care into it. Based on their other games I'm not getting my hopes up Loving the sims music in the background

Man, I'm not even into horse games, but I almost want to try making one now just because I feel bad for you guys. Except I'd probably be cursing myself by doing so.

ykw thats actually a really smart way to go about games, though they probably could increase the quality of their games if they made it so that assets in house are meant to be the same kind of style, if they have a consistent (lets be honest preferably less realistic) style throughout the studio it'd probably make things look more cohesive for all games, increasing teh quality mroe without sacrificing cost cutting.

Playing sims 3 music in the background and stopping it with the long loading screen is very fitting. Anyone who has played sims 3 before modern hardware and some fixes will relate Im sure. Also. I think the difference between an asset flip and a game using premade assets is how those assets are used and how cohesive they are. So far from what I see in the video, its cohesive enough? Asset packs are made for a reason, to be used. Not everyone has the skills to model or animate or do it well. (Im learning blender and it makes me want to chew up my desk.) Though it makes the use of drawn art very very jarring. Id suggest they do a 3d style and apply styles to make it look 2d to animate easier. Then again. I can understand why they went for the more realistic look if they need to use asset packs. Its so much harder to find asset packs that share a cohesive style when stylised.

ayeeeee something to watch while I hold a kitten.

8:23 in poland we have a lot of lamp poles like that, its not strange but re-use thing good to "build it" quick - a lot of them are from PRL time so it is posible that the team seen 1 of this somewhere around my country or on old photos or even google maps

Your humour always makes my day better, this game looks.. interesting to say the least.

12:07 "when you're not being a f-" cut to commercial

I had to go back and watch the movements of the horses. Something about how they trot/canter/gallop bothered me and it took me 10 minutes to figure it out. First glance I thought it was based on a different animals movement but no. For whatever reason the animation looks like a horse moving through water IMO. Looks like some weird invisible resistance when they move😂

Lowkey reminds me of Goat Simulator..

Okay, but at least they tried to add some realism with the green ribbon on the horses tail. (For those who don't know, usually means a green horse or unexperienced horse) since the horse that the MC bought seemed new and not very well trained. I'm not sure if they actually were going for that meaning or just said "OOO PRETTY HORSE BOW THING!" and that bow came with the asset, but who knows!

The menu UI for the horse does look pretty nice! tho I think there is a lot of...unnecessary things for say the mood, yes its fun to have lots of things to work with I think maybe it should be slimmed down a bit there energy food and water are fine, but Joy and calmness those to overlap so much, If a horse is happy in its environment it will be more relaxed if not happy it will b less calm and relaxed even the social addition to feels like it overlaps with the happiness a horse that gets to socialize more it will be more happy so I think it also overlaps there as well. Bladder I'm not so sure horses pee wherever they can there not like dogs where you need to out them outside to go pee. I think the developer to slimming those "mood options" down will make it easier on designing the game, There is a reason many horse games with a horse care system tend to only have 4 and that's becasue there is a lot of programing done to make each setting work, and again some of them really overlap to so it can be confusing to people playing the game. Maybe keeping it to just "hunger" "thirst" "energy" and happiness might make it easier to work with remember real life is boring and if a game imitates real life to a tee that's not fun for players( this is why ETG is very boring) you need a mix of realistic with arcade game logic to make the experience most fun.

Love your continued gag with the chickens 😂

To my favourite chicken kicker! Ko-fi’s incoming and “Die chickens die” has made my day! Always appreciate your view on games. Keep up the amazing work you do! ❤

this video brings up so many interesting questions that compel the heck out of me as an aspiring gamedev! so fun to think about and figure out where the lines are. as someone who's spent a lot of my life watching a lot of criticism of asset flips, shovelware games, and so on-plus the aforementioned aspiring gamedev thing-i wanted to try my hand at putting my thoughts together and answering some of these questions from my own perspective. **"is it an asset flip?"** i think, combined with the discord answer and the hints of details and passion i'm seeing (like the socks), i'm inclined to say it's not an asset flip so much as... rough around the edges? i can see a lot of know-how around horses in some of the details of this game, and asset flips tend to be driven purely by greed; the people working on these games don't tend to know a lot about the things they're making games about, or at least don't care to spend the time editing these assets to better reflect those things. i think you mentioned it in the video, but there's also a difference between an "asset flip game" and "a game that uses outside assets", and i think this game ebbs closer to the latter than the former. i can see WHY people would THINK it's an asset flip, given the (frankly absurd) release schedule the company has, and the VERY rough graphics-both of which are extremely common in asset flip game companies-but something about it just feels a little too... inspired! there's some signs of genuine interest and knowledge in the game's subjects, and that's VERY unusual for an asset flip game. as an aside, i think the stigma around using outside assets is really unfortunate; assets are made by people, and published to be used by others. the principle of the thing is honestly very kind and charitable! they make game development accessible to a HUGE number of people, who otherwise may not be have the skills or money to get into it on their own; and like everything, they can be used well! it's super unfortunate how much asset flip games have sullied the reputation of asset stores, because it could easily discourage people from getting into game development at all. "oh, i can't do xyz, and i'll look like a tool if i use someone else's assets... i guess i just won't make a game." i totally get why people place a higher value on assets made from scratch by a developer to be used in their own game, but i think there's honestly a lot of stigma and bad blood around the idea of asset stores (because of developers who use them badly for a quick buck, which IS a problem in and of itself) that, while totally understandable, isn't really deserved. that's why i think it's so important to take things like the details and hints of knowledge we see in this demo into account; i think there's a lot of potential that this game is just very rough and rudimentary, but ultimately the premise is something its devs genuinely believe in. and i think that's an important distinction from an asset flip. **"is it shovelware?"** again, especially given the company's release schedule, i can totally see where people are getting this idea. it, unfortunately, doesn't LOOK super good graphically-and i don't want to say that's inherently a bad thing, because i think people should be allowed to be "bad at art", you know? but as you said, how a game looks plays a pretty significant role in how it's received. in this game's case, it looks more like what i'd expect from somewhat inexperienced 3d artists and graphics designers-which again, is NOT a bad thing in and of itself-but it does raise some unique issues. not only is it going to be harder to market this game because it doesn't "look good", but it's going to be EVEN harder when it also charges money. of course, everyone needs money, and i'm by no means trying to suggest these devs shouldn't get money because they're "not good enough" at their art medium. it's a really difficult situation for any aspiring artist in any medium, because a lot of us WANT to be able to feed ourselves with our art, but it takes time to develop not just the art skills themselves, but an audience and a reputation. (this is one of the reasons i think asset stores can be such a huge boon to new developers, if not for the bad reputation due to asset flip games.) and, unfortunately, charging money for a game that was designed with inexperience ALSO impacts your reputation, and... not usually in a good way. it can, as evidenced by the talk around this game, get you accused of being a shovelware developer. i think, like with the points i made about "is it an asset flip", there's just a little too much "inspiration" in some of the details of this demo for me to call it shovelware, because shovelware is generally passionless and poorly researched (if it's researched at all). but this game also, unfortunately, does LOOK uninspired at face value, and only when you dig deeper do you start to see signs of actual knowledge and personal investment. *but...* if when this game is fully released, they charge money for it... a LOT of people are never going to find those signs, because they'll have winced at the graphics, and turned tail at the price tag. i totally understand why people take one look at this and think something like, "oh, that's shovelware". it's something i can't really blame either side for-i can't be mad at artists for being beginners (or even just not very good no matter how much they practice), and i can't blame people for trusting their first impressions and saving their money. unfortunately, there IS, i think, a certain bar to meet when making a game you intend to charge money for-and because of that bar, depending on your situation, you may not be able to afford to spend time making a game at all, if it isn't going to "pay you back". but that's getting back into my endless struggle against "i want people to have the means to be able to make games no matter what"-in terms of "is it shovelware", i would say no, i don't think it meets the criteria. i just think, to be totally frank, it looks rough, and that's going to have an adverse affect on potential players' first impressions. (continued in replies because i'm so wordyyyyyyy sorryyyyyyyyy LOL)

You caught me so off guard with Naruto Abridged, I watched that so long ago. I love it, thanks for adding it in I laughed so hard

Also! Realism actually increases the size for textures since they’re meant to be HD by default. Stylization actually helps games be smaller

1:46 *Me who still rides with socks instead of long boots, because I hate boots in general:* 😶 Graphics isn't everything, but the graphics remind me of those horrible Simulator games. x'D I do adore realisitc graphics, but I agree on the style. I think that's a big reason so many people like SSO

I love your videos way too much. ALSO I just realized why the realistic styled games always look so bad! You worded it so well. BTW I tried reaching out to you on Instagram since I have been following a horse game that was never before mentioned by you, but I don't think you saw it. I would love to tell you about it!

I loved your video, I was waiting for it since I saw a RU-vidr play this game ! I laughed when you talked about the light poles, because that what phone lines poles look like in some cities in France lmao. I don’t know how it got to them tbh

This game literally bluescreened my pc. My gaming PC. My PC that runs modded RDR and GTA, Fallout, Etc

(edit, look at my relpy) Tbh it does seem like shovelware. While yes they have original assets within it, the bought assets is a main parts of the game (such as the horse being pretty much fully bought) Which in the years of seeing games like this where such bought assets are used to this extent, many of those games end up not removing the bought assets. Unfortunately I highly doubt like they will remove these bought assets by the time the fill game is released as 7:29 they said they would "improve and fix" about these assets. Which isnt forsure meaning they will remove them, and rather make them work 'better'. 18:16 is so on the nose and well worded ♥

I love the whole idea of the story that's been shared here in this game, but I think I'll wait to see what you think once the full game is released before I go looking for it myself.

firstly, the Naruto Abridged clips got a good laugh from me, haven't seen that in years. I tend to hold onto my complete judgement until the full release of a game, some of them can change quite a lot between early access and full release. It does look a little ugly and unpolished, but I am generally willing to overlook some of that if the gameplay and story are really good

rip to the dogs :''(

Honestly glad to see youve seen and enjoyed 'The Spoof Series Show'- one of the finest pieces of media ever to grace youtube I dare say.

I was wondering why the horse models looked alot better than animal shelters horse dlc.

You know it is a great day when you see Rattle uploaded a video.

The fact you learn to ride in a horse walker thing-

The graphics of the game make me want to visit a glue factory

I started with boots when I started to ride horses. However, I never liked it. So after outgrowing them in about 6-12months I got boots and shortshaps. And with that, ofcourse, the socks :D

i mean etg has gone even further into pay to win game now you have to pay 75 coins for a horse that stats dont live upto the price point an tobiano coats cost coins too

The more I think about starstable vs other horse games ( and why it is and more so was so successful and loved) it because it didn’t follow that typical “oh no a broken ranch/horse that you despite being useless can magically fix” there was actually more too it, though they are breaking down this story…

I compleatly agree and understand everything said here, personally though im looking forward to the game, i've enjoyed their animal games quite alot with animal shelter being one of my favourites. The graphic's while i'll admit arent the most amaizing thing even they have some sort of charm they remind me quite a bit of goat simulator in a way, a non cartoony style yet a goofy looking game (if that makes sense, also yes i know goat simulator isnt going for realism with their graphics but i still feel like a comparison could be made) and usually i found games with a style like that genuienly fun (ex. Aforementioned animal shelter or ranch simulator) and quite free-ing, they usually have mechanics and options that-- yeah-- some might find unecessary-- but alot might also find refreshing. I dont exactly like the fact they're using bought assets but at the same time their games arent like crazy expensive with most being under 100 PLN (polish currency which for the game standards is really cheap) and their games do usually have something to offer, it is aquired taste though i'll admit.

They did in fact not use voice actors for the full release lol

4:55 How dare you. My sister in law is a chicken.

Noo I've been looking forward to Bonded Spirits 😢 I'm holding on to hope that it'll be a bit better at least for the full release because man.. I just want a nice selection of good horse games.

Of course, there has to be death for the chickens 😏 Gosh, I laughed a couple of times watching this! Honestly, they made the game seem more than it was, but I like the interactions that you can have with the characters, I like these little panel thingies and the art style they have ♥

So excited to sit down and watch 💕

Let's go, there's nothing better than watching your vids while I draw :]

Rattle! Do you think you'll make a video on the recently announced Windstorm game? It looks novel and exciting, and I'd be eager to see more content creators spreading the word about it.

Youve Heard of fast fashion, and now I present to you, ✨fast Gaming✨

I really hate that horse asset and I hope they make one of their own or at least buy one with a better head shape that doesn't have a badly positioned noseband. The tail and mane are such a turn off too

The amount of LIttleKuriboh clips in this made me smile so much, bless

Ek gaan eerlik wees. Ek sal hierdie video weer moet kyk, want die kommentaar was so snaaks dat ek die hele video net soos 'n siek gans geklink het omdat ek so baie gelag het 😂 But I could not agree more with the graphics thing! The art is so precious and beautiful and if the whole game were in that style, it could be such a cosy, charming, little game. The realistic style makes it feel very clinical and without much soul.

Thank you for your honest review!

7:00 WTF LOL your edgey. okay, you have me sold. I will sub, we all need a little edgy in our lives. Dogs have been sorted indeed

The moment I saw the purchased horse model in the trailer, I immediately decided not to follow it. But I'm glad you put in the effort to get more info.

Not done watching yet but: the 2D elements strike me hard as an attempt to replicate the 2D + 3D combo of Rivershine. It's a delightful, quaint concept when pulled off well (Rivershine) but these 2D elements visually contrast the realism style they're going with. If the artwork was leaning more towards semi-realism it'd blend better.

@6:57 LOL! That bit of hermit side of yours is wonderful when it shows. 😆 Anyways, I have not played this game's demo(the bot reviews are hilarious lol). But it does look better already than some others do out there. I will be interested to see what the full version gets to be like if they ever finish this game.

Rattle! I miss you! ❤And what did those poor chickens do to you?! lol

Honestly I kinda like the dreary visual style.

wait hold on whats that 2nd game thats made by one person at 5:41 ??!

What is the name of the game shown at 2:38?

Oh, good.... dogs..... LMFAO!!!! XD XD XD

the more I see these vids the more I start to think maybe I should try my hoof at a horse game of some sort.

This game looks eerily similar to Riding Out which was an absolute flop, its kinda creepy

whats the game that apears at 2:47??

I love you Rattle 🖤🖤🖤

Wait a sec… Rattle are you Polish? Or is that the game? I saw „mój koń” 👀

It has potential I not gonna lie i played demo also had not bad time and yes i hate too when games try go realistic way because they just look awful like i still don't like how Unbridled looks also way toooo realistic trees looks like cardboard more than lush 3D model xD

Other than the obviously purchased and reused horse animations, the human animations are always so stiff in horse games lately. The blank, soulless stare of the player character, even when snuggling their horse, is so weird and offputting. I personally can live with acquired assets being used in games, even if they clash somewhat, but these animations just push the game over the edge for me of being slapped together.

I've played a LOT of 'Animal Simulator', it's super fun.

Love love love your vidoes, Rattle. May I ask because it's gonna kill me, but was 7:07 a reference to certain...political things that were made light in a book here or just a random thing? 🤣

RIP Cricket. I have no real problem with them using bought assets. Horses are hard and it saves time and money in the end. So many games just use things anyway, from their past games or bought. I dont see why it bothers people. The game does feel like just a different version of like Unbridled and - do i have to say its name... - Astride. They are different but still feels along the same lines. No game is perfect and has its issues. Other than that loading screen and my computer sounding like a rocket ship, I liked the demo and will probably get it. Everything was decent from the horses and animation to the play, etc. Horse games have been huge letdowns for the most part so my bar to "good enough" is pretty low these days. Tales of Rein Ravine and Horse Life Simulator are the ones that I'm dying to play.

i have played gamesincubator's other game "animal shelter simulator", ever since it came out with about 30 hours in it, and while its definitely better made than this game, they still use a good amount of assets in that too and have the same "realistic" style that doesn't work out at ALL. the game is QUITE buggy too; i've noticed the devs like to ignore them and instead make shitty dlcs, so then lots of people, including me, get that "scammy" feeling. not to mention, they're for some reason already making a second game which looks the EXACT same, despite having just released 2 dlcs for the first game pretty damn close to each other within the past like 6 months. might i add, one of the dlcs is a horse one, and they of course use the same exact horse models and undesirable animations. one of their damn screenshots showing the dlc has THE HALTER GLITCHED INSIDE THE HORSE'S FACE FOR GODS SAKE! but its not scammy? hmm.. when i played this demo it was just laughable, i couldn't stand the ai voice acting and the same damn cliche storyline in every horse game. also, the conflict isn't really worthy of being called conflict imo lol. its just this dude being an ass right from the start, which is clearly very forced like most horse shows that like to add the stereotypical mean guy/girl to "welcome" the new girl to the barn. i couldn't believe how long it took to WALK across the entire freaking farm for that one quest oh my god. honestly? the only thing i admired about the game was the horse skills/personality aspect and rider's seat and leg position.. until the galloping and jumping lol. MAN they just have a common theme of having very cheap feeling, scammy, boring, and buggy games. they ABSOLUTELY do shovelware.

I reeeally didn't like the "dogs were sorted" joke because it felt like you beat them up or shot them or just harmed them in anyway.

13:18 Why is there just random Polish writing while everything else is in English? 😭 It says "My horse" btw

6:57 😂

I think creating a game that's primarily tounge-in-cheek with it's narrative, as well as going for heavily stylized 2D assets then trying to pull off a hyper realistic 3D environment is a huge miss. The UI as well as the 2D illustrations of the characters have so much personality it's actually quite painful to look at the dull and soulless art style of the game itself. I hope they reconsider it.

I never even got to the good points of this game. The AI narrator, "troubled teen" story, and weird contrast of realistic graphics and illustrated character portraits had me closing the demo before I even saw my horse. Just an example of how presentation is important to a game.

That shoot the dog part looool. I have a feeing that some softy will complain about that, but I like your sense of humor.

TEAM 4 STAR!!!!! I loved Naruto abridged!

Okay but I love the idea that you play as an irresponsible brat who gambled away the family money and are there to be humbled instead of there to “save the farm.” THAT is a unique thing to lean into

The main issue for me is, that they stole the horse 3D Model from The Witcher 3 game.

Well at least is better than Astride... I got REALLY diapointed with them...

Horse games are cursed.

A game every 4 months??? huhhhhh ahahah I would like to go very far from this company please😅 I am not saying they’re bad people but this stat scares me👀 This game always looked a bit sketchy to me so I looked from afar 😁 but hey at least they got a demo out (some less fishy looking game never got a product so yk, could be a good sign) and it’s not all broken. I just don’t think it’s going to be fun or worth it for people that played horse games before or have a specific interest for that but it doesn’t mean it’s going to be bad or a complete flop🤷‍♀️ They tried, like with animal shelter, some people will be happy, some will not be satisfied but could still be worth the price they ask if it’s reasonable. Now that review stuff is not very nice and it clearly leads people to get the product by advertising things that are not in game which creates confusion especially around young players and that I can’t support. I guess they’re just doing whatever other companies do, don’t meant it’s right though. I hope they make a product that is what they want us to believe it is and make it right. We’ll see!

Games don't need placeholder voice lines. There is no excuse for ai voices.

the..dogs? 😰

I've had their Animal Shelter game, I wish I just refunded it and never bought it again. I don't think I can ever trust those devs at all, it was just crap to be frank.

Honestly, the moment I heard it had only been 4 months to make I immediately lost interest. It can't be possible to make a high-quality game in so short a time.

What was the point of the dogs!? 🤣

Before I explain why I agree/disagree, lemme just say this: I am not sure if the converting would work or what it would look like, but the option would remain to make it a mixture of 2D and 3D, cellshaded stuff like Borderlands did and LoL Arcane. I think THAT would be the perfect middle ground and solution for the graphics debate. (Maybe put in a colour option so people can adjust the colours from natural to cartoon ARGH MY EYES! colours. Then we can all enjoy what we like. XD) Either way tho. I'm not sure if I can agree or disagree with the graphics issue mentioned. I can agree that using stylized stuff leaves room for more forgiveness for mistakes and even makes things easier for the people animating/modeling things as well as letting the game age in a better way. But stylized games often make the mistake of just being too sqeaky colourful, more appealing to kids and cliche horsegirls rather than someone that likes natural environments, colours and most of all horse markings. (Oh god how I LOATHE random splotches being called a marking that exists but it not looking like that marking AT ALL - drives me up the walls!) I do not think all games have to go the stylized route, but it certainly makes things more difficult. However, even with more typical Simulator type 3D stylzes the game can still be visually pleasing. I would prefer a game like this over Horse Tales: Way-Too-Green Emerald Valley Ranch. I simply hate the colours being too much. It gets boring very quick unlike these more realistic colours where you get to enjoy sceneries with dozens of colours in small details instead of one big blob of green with a patch of yellow flowers there, white ones here and WAY over there is maybe another colour hiding in the distance. Seen it once? Good, nothing more to marvel at anymore, move tf along soldier. :v I think it's hard to please everybody, but going for a colourful, stylized kiddy option is just not everybody's cup of tea and some audiences might really not care for it as much as some might not care for these realistic Simulator-type styles. I would very much love for this to be worked on well and look great in terms of lighting and whatnot, also house interior and maybe adjusting the indeed misfit 2D avatars to 2D ones. It could certainly be a great game if they work on those issues. The environment looks lovely to me, I'm a sucker for those later summer/early autumn colours of the gras fields alone. Makes me want to take tons of screenshots already.

literally all of their games suck

The whole conversation about asset flips and the use of AI art being the worst, is getting on my nerves a little. Just because someone can code a game, doesn't make them a (3d) artist. And even if they are, if the game has nice gameplay why does it matter? I am not sure this game lives up to that demand tho lol. Looks like shit.