Ampu-Tea is a tea making simulator in which the player uses a robotic arm to make a cup of tea. As guessed the title of the game is a pun on words (amputee). The game also uses a robotic hand of the main character who is an amputee themselves to play on the games title.
Even though the premise of this game appears simple to understand and play on. This game is in fact tricky because it uses a keyboard/mouse to control the hand/fingers. Not dissimilar to the control system as used in surgeon simulator. Unsurprisingly, this game is very fiddly to play on, whilst I had no issue with picking up cups. Most of the other tasks that you need to do are awkward just like in surgeon simulator. However, in contrast to surgeon simulator this game is lacking content. On Ampu-tea there is one scenario in the game. This scenario is making a cup of tea in a kitchen. Outside of this there is no other content available to earn/play in the game after you complete the game. Although there are 3 types of tea to make based on the difficulty chosen.
I also think that game is a quick cash grab or even a school project. I think this because of the basic and shallow amount of content the game has to offer. The fact that there is a lack of inspiration/effort going into the design of the game goes against the games favour. Personally, if the game hadn’t had the robotic arm I still think Ampu-Tea would have a little more charm. Mostly because the arm looks so out of place for a game set in the modern day.
Although, this game is a small indie game the overall quality of the game is poor and/or rushed on many fronts. The quality of in game assets is an example of this. The teabags in particular I feel prove my point as the teabags in game appear too full for a tea bag. The aesthetic texture of the teabags is ok, it has details of perforations and uses the expected colours. However, I think that the in game models could be improved upon.
The visual effects in game are poor as assets in game are either in a solid or gas form. I dislike the binary choice of asset forms as this is a game that is about making tea. I think that due to the premise of the game it is obligatory for liquid to be in game. Take the milk machine for example instead of pouring milk in a liquid form. The game will actually spawn the milk in a solid table tennis ball like form instead. The water also is the same but it looks like a blue orb rather than water. It also doesn’t end there as whenever you have made a cup of tea the steam effects that the game uses is more like smoke rather than steam.
However, if this game was set in a futuristic setting the game could have been a better game for many reasons. Mainly because of the potential the game could have had. Since a sci-fi game is easier to create content for than a pick and mix style. I could imagine no shortage of content that could be in the game such as making tea in a spaceship or in another setting where gravity no longer exists. Even in the games modern setting there could have been a mode where you make tea for others against a clock.
Unsurprisingly this game is short as it takes 2 hours to get all in game achievements. However, to get the final achievement it will take you 6.7 hours to complete the game. This is because in order to get the final achievement you have to load the game 500 times. This achievement is a senseless and monotonous task. Generally as a result of the aforementioned factors I feel that this isn’t a game. But instead this feels like a demo or even something for people to mess about on/create videos for YouTube.
I think that the limited content is tragic. Especially, as the game should have taken more leafs from surgeon simulator’s book. Since surgeon simulator has different options/modes. This game could have made similar content to boost the game lifespan and even make the game better. Whether that being different kitchens to play on, extra cups of tea to make. There could even be more scenarios which provide a refreshing and unique way to play the game. If this game would have had more content. I feel that if it was well made this game could have been a better experience.
Inevitably I wouldn’t recommend anyone buying Ampu-tea at all because there are better games available within the wonky controls genre of games.
