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The Amazing American Circus review: I hate to say it, but there are better shows in townNot so big top
Not so big top
There’s no turn around coming, I’m afraid.The Amazing American Circusis a deckbuilder with some nice ideas, but it’s far more clown than strongman.
🎪🎪 The Amazing American Circus with new RELEASE DATE! 🎪🎪 == what you can expect in Gameplay ==Watch on YouTube
🎪🎪 The Amazing American Circus with new RELEASE DATE! 🎪🎪 == what you can expect in Gameplay ==
It’s a charming premise, initially sold well. I liked the prospect of playing a card ‘em up where the story had a drive of its own, rather than pieces of the world just prying their way in through occasional multiple choice events. I also liked the idea of making strategic choices that filtered down into tactical ones, like mulling over whether to invest in better recipes in order to more quickly unlock troupe-wide bonuses, or instead use the cash to cure my juggler’s egotism. All of the ingredients for an excellent game are here, with more than enough happening adjacent to the actual card game to have, potentially, made up for it being a little lacklustre - except, argh, it’s not just a little lacklustre. It’s repetitive to the point of being downright dull.
It doesn’t help that the shows themselves often take an agonizingly long time. Performing in big cities means clicking your way through three separate acts, with a new audience to whittle down each time. I yelled at my screen when the curtain rose for act two of a particularly prolonged encounter, featuring both totem poles that could only take one damage at a time and “Indians” with an “endless discontentment” buff that meant I had to deplete their boredom metres four times over. That makes stereotypical representations of Native Americans a doubly questionable inclusion, especially seen as they’re all presented wielding tomahawks. It’s a casual use of a trope that could have been avoided or subverted.
I haven’t even mentioned the bugs, of which there are many. I had moments where spectators would damage me right through my ignore for no discernable reason, a fair few problems trying to wrangle my coach into not picking circuitously long routes, and a couple of occasions where the game simply broke. For me, with the review build, that consistently happens with the first spectator you have to impress for the final performance. He just remains frozen in place once I’ve tried to impress him on the third turn, endlessly contemplating how best to sneer at my efforts. It’s a cruel metaphor for the ultimate disappointment that is The Amazing American Circus, but still an unfortunately appropriate one.
There’s still a certain compulsion to whacking out cards in an optimal order, figuring out the most impressive combos during performances and the most efficient routes through the meta-game camp upgrades. There are endearingly playful touches, too, like the way my strongman quivers when he’s nervous, or how Henry Ford rocked up to that show in a motorised carriage with a plush leather seat. Those joys fade fast, though, and you’re left with a slog to a finale you’ll just have to hope is no longer broken. I hate to say it, but there are better shows in town.
