TL;DR-
Gameplay: 7/10
Story & Characters: 7/10
Writing & Dialogue: 6/10
Graphics: 6/10
Music & Sound: 9/10
Length: 1/10
Replayability: 5/10
A Christmas themed game that actually has effort put into it: Christmas miracle/10
-REVIEW-
Christmas time is here, and as I look out my window and think, “Hey, there’s still no snow on the ground! SWEET!” I decide it’s a perfect time to play a game that takes place in a town with the white fluff all over the place.
Maybe I should write an actual carol and call it “I’m dreaming of a green Christmas.” I know Al Gore would get a kick out of it.
In any case, Mrs. Santa’s Gift Hunt is a very short, very sweet game about finding a bunch of missing gifts, laced with RPG elements. In a magical land filled with all your favorite Christmas Characters including Mrs. Claus, Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman, the Tooth Fairy-wait, what? Hold on. *double checks notes* Um, actually, yeah, the Tooth Fairy! And Red Riding Hood! And some clown that tells god awful jokes!…Hey, you know what? Christmas is Christmas, no matter who’s wearing red. Anyway, Mrs. Santa finds herself thrust into a desperate search for missing presents after they all go missing shortly before Christmas, and Santa is unable to be the hero because he’s in bed under the weather, a condition absolutely not caused by getting smashed on eggnog. It’s a simple story that doesn’t offer a whole lot, but it’s nonetheless perfect for the holiday season, especially when you find out that the culprit is taking a stand against Christmas commercialization.
Gameplay is your good ol’ fashioned RPG affair, brought to you by the amazing power of RPGMaker MV. As the game is very short, the battles are pretty simple and easy to deal with, even if you don’t have much in the way of equipment. What I will say is that the sole boss fight in the game is actually pretty exciting, despite the fairly basic tactics that go into the battle. There isn’t much besides that, aside from the gift scavenger hunt, but it’s fine for what it is. At least the devs didn’t try to squeeze in more than necessary; the game clearly knows what it wants to be. The only thing I found a bit annoying was the dungeon. It wasn’t horrible, but it had those ever so wonderful slippery floor puzzles and a “flashlight in a dark room” effect that made it a bit hard to look at.
Graphics are your standard RPGMaker fare, along with some extra artwork done for various sprites and such. Nothing amazing to be sure, but it looks good nonetheless. I found the various footprints you leave behind in the snow to be a clever attention to detail. Sound, on the other hand, is absolutely impressive. For one, the music, which is largely christmas carols, is very well done. Every song is done in a style that suits the area/situation you’re in perfectly. On top of that, there’s voice acting, and it’s all worth listening to. In fact, I’m just going to add a shameless plug: I’M in the game!
No, I’m not joking. See, where I’m from, I have a community theatre that I’m always involved in. Covid shut it down for a year and a half. Eight months into this lockdown, I got sick of not acting and looked around for voice work. I came across this project, auditioned for everything a man was allowed to do, and wound up with three roles. So if you want to laugh at the most nasal sounding voice you ever heard in your life, be sure to pay a visit to the characters named Henry, the yellow snow man, and(if you nab the DLC) Jack the barber.
In the end, it’s a very short game, but it’s worth a look for sure as the game is priced as such(aka FREE without the DLC), and it’s an enjoyable way for every gamer alike to spend an hour on Christmas. Heck, I might even make a tradition out of this!
In addition to thanking everyone who reads this, I want to extend a special thanks to Tuomo Lane for letting me be part of this wonderful project. Merry Christmas to you all, and happy gaming!
