Button City

While there's not a huge variety of gameplay on offer, Button City has enough good story beats and characters to carry the experience.

Perhaps I have been rather critical of Button City; there is something sweet in its cuddly art style and although its dialogue and narrative may be try-hard, it is effective at times. The real issue is that it feels like its developers have relied too hard on simply being cute rather than focusing on creating engaging gameplay. Regardless of how adorable the protagonist and their friends may be, there’s just not enough here to hold my attention.

A sweet adventure game in a diorama world, some of its mini-games aren't great, but they don't detract much from arcade-obssessed animals and a lovely story.

Button City is a pretty decent second outing from the team at Subliminal Games. The fascinating characters and hilarious dialogue make the story really endearing, and it’s all bolstered by the game’s art and music. The minigames are hit or miss, but it’s not enough to ruin an overall joyful experience.

The music is unfortunately lovely, which is only unfortunate because of its composer. Pedro Silva, noted abuser and general toxic person, composed the soundtrack. Though Subliminal released a statement regarding their work with Silva, it must still be noted. That said, it is a beautifully composed soundtrack that fits the game very well, and Subliminal has made it very clear that no money from purchasing the game goes to Silva.

Button City is a good game that most people will have a fun time playing through. For just $20, it's reasonably priced and does a good job of putting a smile on your face. However, there is a missed opportunity to further explore certain topics which holds back the narrative's huge potential to be something more.

Button City is closing down, and it's up to you to prevent that terrible fate! Play as Fennel, a shy newcomer to town just wanting to fit in and play video games. When that happens and everything's looking good, a scourge named Pepperbottom enters the scene and threatens to take it away. Does the journey live up to its appealing low-poly purity?

Button City gets a lot right in its attempt to mesh late 90s low-poly style with narrative adventure gameplay and a heartfelt story full of great characters, but it's undone by numerous and often game-breaking bugs and a tad too much backtracking.

You'd think a game about arcade games with an adorable cast of furry characters would be great so let's explore Button City.

However, I found very little else to like about Button City. I think it’s narratively weak; a few sparks, but never a fire. The games held within are not just overly basic, but often not even fun. Even the quest design is an escort quest and a forced stealth section away from a broken controller. It makes me feel like the bad guy when I say these things to such a cute and innocent game. I absolutely wanted to love Button City, but it gave me no reason to give up another quarter.

A little over a year ago I first became aware of the indie adventure game Button City. In May 2020, a Wholesome Games Direct dedicated exclusively to showing you cute and cuddly games was the first time I laid eyes on it. Showcasing friendly and adorable anthropomorphic characters on a quest to save a closing arcade, it’s easy to see why I was drawn in. It’s also possible that we were in the thick of some form of global crisis at the time and I needed that level of comfort. Who’s to say?