TumbleSeed

TumbleSeed is an

While ascending the mountain, the player activates helpful power-up abilities by collecting and planting minerals in marked plots.^[3] While there are over 30 abilities in total,^[5] the player starts with the basic four: Flagseed creates an additional checkpoint (in lieu of regressing further down the mountain upon losing a heart), Heartseed creates additional hearts from minerals, and the Crystal ability generates minerals from multiple plots. Thornvine's single-use, protective thorny vine can hurt enemies if aligned correctly, though some enemies require more than one hit to die, and the player forfeits all thorns upon losing a heart. As the game progresses, the player collects additional abilities, such as Flailflower, which turns the seed into an anchor for a spiky flail, and Floodfruit, which fills surrounding holes with water for easy passage.^[3] Thus the player constantly weighs whether to use minerals offensively (to eliminate enemies), defensively (to bypass difficult sections), or at all.^[3][6]

After completing a portion of the mountain, the player reaches a basecamp intermezzo with multiple opportunities for collecting new abilities. The player can trade minerals for abilities in the store, and choose between two abilities to receive for free.^[3] The basecamp also contains minigames, such as a shooting range, a gambling device, and optional sidequests, which reward the player with shortcuts to later stages in subsequent playthroughs for completing challenges such as finishing a level within a time limit or without receiving damage.^[7][6]

Some enemies move in predictable patterns and others hunt the player. They range in resemblance from larvae and vultures to spiders. While ascending the mountain, the player passes through themed biomes, such as a forest, a desert, and snow, and each section of the mountain introduces new enemies that force the player to modify their strategy. TumbleSeed is depicted in a simple, colorful art style. Its characters are one-eyed, seed-shaped creatures who occasionally have hats. Their dialogue is visualized with speech bubbles, in text and emoji. Additionally, TumbleSeed includes other features including quests, leaderboards, and daily challenges.^[3]

The Four Peaks patch adds several elements to make the game friendlier, including training levels, a Weekly Challenge, and benefits that persist between

The game is based on

Multiple reviewers commented on the gameplay's chafing difficulty^{[20][7][6][2]} and uneven difficulty progression.^[4][2] TumbleSeed stops short of the "masocore" genre of punishingly difficult games, but its imprecise controls nevertheless demand patience to develop proficiency and mastery.^[20] At a fundamental level, Eurogamer found the controls "maddening and mesmerizing",^[6] and Polygon, out of frustration, wanted to directly control the seed.^[1] The multitasking player is made to "never feel safe" between balancing encroaching enemies, unpredictable enemy spawns, precarious controls, and easy deaths,^[3] all while managing crystal resources.^[4] Polygon considered the game's strategic elements, such as deciding whether to go on offense or defense, to be its most interesting aspect.^[1] Others focused on TumbleSeed's art and movement mechanics, as Wired's reviewer appreciated the slow process of learning how it is best to navigate the game and additionally found a new aspect to appreciate each time she played it.^[20] Some disagreed as to whether the game's challenge was appropriate and never malicious,^[6] or often unbalanced and frustrating compared to its rewards.^[4] The randomness of each basecamp's power-up offerings also contributed to uneven difficulty between playthroughs.^[7]

The Guardian saw "an obvious throughline" between designer Greg Wohlwend's prior work and the colorful, simple, and cute visuals of TumbleSeed.^[3] Reviewers wrote that "bright art and cheery music" made the environment inviting^[20] and lively,^[6] though not particularly memorable as to distract from the gameplay.^[19] Some critics struggled to visually distinguish between cosmetic and active objects.^[7][6] It visually recalled the art of Patapon, according to Nintendo Life.^[19] TumbleSeed was an honorable mention for "Excellence in Audio" at the 2017 Game Developers Conference.^[21]

Post-release

A month after release, the developers worked to make the game less difficult, in response to criticism from reviewers.^[23] In a postmortem released alongside a set of updates, TumbleSeed designer Greg Wohlwend credited the game's slow sales to the title's tepid critical reception and stigma of high difficulty. Critics, he wrote, considered the game unfair and unforgivingly hard, as reflected in lukewarm scores from major gaming websites. Players were expected to withstand an overwhelming amount of simultaneous elements and as such, few reached the end of the game. The "4 Peaks Update" added four new areas and abilities to simplify the game, such as reducing incoming damage or increasing stealth near enemies. The game was unlikely to recoup its costs, Wohlwend wrote, and the update was doubtful to change that course, but he felt proud of their development effort and considered the update to be therapy. The June 2017 update was released for Windows and was anticipated for consoles soon after.^[22]

References