I had to take several days to decide if I even recommend this game or not. For a while, the only thing I had was "some puzzles or neat but the game is mid." Finally, I decided to ditch the story/content portion of my review in favor of gameplay, hoping that would jog me into a rating. As a note, this review does contain spoilers, which will be hidden where appropriate. Let's get started.
First, we'll cover sounds. The sound effects are good, for the most part. As text boxes appear, the clicking sounds of the text entry can get annoying, but there's something satisfying about the squelching sounds of
*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***a mop beating a child, the sound of a knife stabbing a teacher or a bully, or the cha-ching! of money being spent (or stolen). The sounds of the lab are downright creepy, especially as you're releasing mutants.
Music is lively and almost reminds me of The Sims franchise. It does shift occasionally, such as
My only real issue with the soundscape overall is that damn clicky text. As a note, anyone who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing may run into issues sneaking around the janitor's closet. If you don't get out of there the moment you hear the bell, well... you can see for yourself. (8/10)
Graphics are pretty much what you'd expect out of an indie game that's less than a quarter of a gig of hard drive space. If you're looking to have your socks blown off, go elsewhere. That said, I really like the notebook paper aesthetic of the menus, text boxes and HUD. It lends well to the overall vibe of being in kindergarten. Character sprites are nothing to write home about, although I did chuckle when I learned that your teacher's name is Ms. Jigglytits. It's appropriate, in a crude humor sort of way. Then, I remembered it's actually Miss Applegate. Whooooops. The most interesting art overall is probably the Monstermon card art, but even that isn't anything to write home about. The graphics are nothing special, but it works to the game's advantage. Amazing graphics for a game of this design would be a detraction. (7/10)
Controls are simple, and I'll fold this now into my gameplay category in a combined rating. I used my trusty DualShock 4 as my weapon of choice, and no issues arose. You can also bust out a keyboard and mouse with no issue. These work well because most of what you do is movement within a limited area--it is kindergarten, after all. You have a group of apples on the HUD that represent action flags, and choices that consume an apple are represented as they appear. I like knowing exactly how much energy I have to expend in each block of the day; this makes planning much simpler than it could otherwise be. Actions include things like investigating, bribing the bully, buying items, eating slop, and a multitude of other choices you can make as a kindergartener. You have a variety of interesting interactions ranging from the principal, to Miss Applegate, to the creepy janitor, to classmates and even a teenaged hall monitor. There's not much in the way of collectibles, but 25 Monstermon cards are required to unlock the "true" ending. This is all given a coat of paint that is crude adult humor. It's not my brand of crude adult humor, but some moments made me chuckle. And Nugget... good grief, Nugget. (7/10)
Overall, I have to say the game is well-done. It's not really my style of humor, but some of the puzzles you undergo to gather the needed items to complete the game are interesting. I liked running about and collecting Monstermon cards, although I did have to consult a guide to grab my final card (Martian Orbman). I don't know that Kindergarten 2 is exactly a priority of mine to play, but it is in my library and in my backlog. I will get to it eventually. Overall, it wasn't a bad way to kill four hours. (7/10)
3.5