Visuals look weird and unappealing (no trolling)

[FrozenYogurt]

Sorry, I don't mean to troll. It's just something with the chosen art direction that seems cheap to me smh. I thought it would be semi-realistic with soft lighting, and not cartoonish-stylized.

[tenkakicks]

Looks like a mobile match 3 bait ad

[Yaguara]

The style choice itself isn't terrible imo, but it is much less detailed/sophisticated then I thought it would be and that is a real shame to me. The animations in particular look very jarring. Choppy and cheap. There's no love in them at all.

[Ap2000]

It's tumblr-tier.
And just like every game with such a cheap artstyle, it's genuinely hideous and ugly looking.

[Octanitrocubane]

I think they were going for a picture book art style, which is fine, but it doesn't seem to look as well in motion and something triggers an uncanny valley sensation with the faces in particular.

[Schutzengel]

Game is missing at least average quality shadows. The interior pics looked like "plastic land". Semi-correct water reflections are also missing. Game looks really bad, but decorating your house, one of the games main appeal, looks the worst.

[READTHEE]

Originally posted by FrozenYogurt:

Sorry, I don't mean to troll. It's just something with the chosen art direction that seems cheap to me smh. I thought it would be semi-realistic with soft lighting, and not cartoonish-stylized.

Honestly, the character design is just awful.

Outside, the game looks like "babby's first game in Unity". Not a single appealing shot or scene in the trailer, just meh.

This is the kind of "game" you see in someone's artstation profile. The most generic looking level design.

[BecketsGD]

the characters are kind of ugly. this is a game i will need to see gameplay of before i would bother buying it. The only thing that can compensate for the ugliness of the characters is great gameplay

[READTHEE]

Originally posted by GloriasDaughter:

the characters are kind of ugly. this is a game i will need to see gameplay of before i would bother buying it. The only thing that can compensate for the ugliness of the characters is great gameplay

Haha, look at this screenshot, and this one as well.

Creepy-ass smile on their faces permanently plastered. Serial killer vibe.

Wondering how many bodies they're hiding in the basement while pretending to be all fun and cheery above ground for random wizards stopping by.

And you know that someone in the meeting recommended this garbage "pastel-like look" cause it'll "LOOK LIKE A PAINTING".

No, no it doesn't. It looks like ♥♥♥♥. This art style always looks like ♥♥♥♥, so many indie games use it for a reason, because it looks like ♥♥♥♥. Only time this art style looks remotely "pleasing", is in screenshots when there is no motion. In 3D, in motion, it looks like ass.

That said, I've wishlisted it to watch what happens on release. I did wishlist Golum as well..

[Ap2000]

Originally posted by READTHEE:

Originally posted by GloriasDaughter:

the characters are kind of ugly. this is a game i will need to see gameplay of before i would bother buying it. The only thing that can compensate for the ugliness of the characters is great gameplay

Haha, look at this screenshot, and this one as well.

Reminds me of the murderous doll Chucky.

[Logovore]

Originally posted by FrozenYogurt:

Sorry, I don't mean to troll. It's just something with the chosen art direction that seems cheap to me smh. I thought it would be semi-realistic with soft lighting, and not cartoonish-stylized.

Would love to know who the art director is for this. I have someone in mind.

[Bade Ioane]

It reminds me of how Tolkien depicted hobbits in some of his drawings.

[アウトコールド]

yeah it looks like a low budget farming simulator. If it wasn't for the title, I think most people would not know it was LOTR or The Hobbit.

[BecketsGD]

I dont like it either. The hobbits are ugly too. I don't think I will be playing this one. I don't like the art style or the character appearance

[READTHEE]

Originally posted by GloriasDaughter:

I dont like it either. The hobbits are ugly too. I don't think I will be playing this one. I don't like the art style or the character appearance

Honestly, I could ignore the art/shader style used in the game if the gameplay is unique and something we haven't seen before.

But everything mentioned in the store page description screams "GENERIC TYCOON GAME" like My Time at Portia, where you talk with boring characters, explore boring environments (esp. looking like THAT) and spend time building workshops/worktables to craft food, wood or metal to craft exciting household items like.. a lamp, a table or *GASP*, a chair.

So unless it's something we haven't seen before gameplay-wise, this game will make sales due to LOTR IP attachment only.

Kinda like Terminator: Resistance, a generic shooter saved by the presence of Terminator IP.

[リアンダ]

Yeah the production value seems to be pretty low. Stiff animations, noisy textures, very little appeal when it comes to character design. That being said though I don't care much about graphics so if the game has a cetain gameplay depth to it I might give it a look.