Ever since Rockstar Video games tucked the Bully franchise away in its vault, open-world followers have been desperately ready for somebody to seize that nostalgic, chaotic magic of highschool rebel.
So when developer Refugium Video games first introduced Agefield Excessive: Rock The Faculty, the neighborhood understandably perked up (and I undoubtedly rely myself in that group). They confirmed us an open-world recreation that seemed like a real non secular successor to basic Bully, set within the early 2000s and seemingly channeling all that bizarre comedy that solely those that keep in mind making a instructor step on a bag of manure in Bullworth can actually admire.
In fact, inserting all our expectations (and our collective frustration with Rockstar for forgetting Jimmy Hopkins) on an indie undertaking that comes nowhere close to a Bully-sized finances wasn’t precisely smart. However now Agefield Excessive has formally opened its doorways on PC, and gamers are discovering that their first day of faculty is popping out to be way more irritating than anticipated.
A Troubled First Day within the Hallways
Agefield Excessive: Rock The Faculty formally made its debut on Steam on August 12, however participant reactions have been something however welcoming. On the time of writing, the sport sits at a painful “Largely Damaging” ranking, with almost 61% of its 500+ person critiques tearing into its technical efficiency.
A lot of the critiques level out that the sport merely feels tough across the edges and clearly wanted extra time within the oven. This lack of polish leaves the world feeling robotic, the NPC AI outdated, frequent crashes, sluggish fight, and so forth. “It feels prefer it wants extra time in growth,” wrote one person, whereas one other said, “I actually wished to love this recreation, it has been on my wishlist for some time. Nevertheless, I simply cannot advocate this in its present state.”
Agefield Excessive: Rock The Faculty formally made its debut on Steam on August 12, however participant reactions have been something however welcoming. On the time of writing, the sport sits at a painful “Largely Damaging” ranking, with almost 61% of its 500+ person critiques tearing into its technical efficiency.
Nevertheless, it seems like this faculty’s principal would not intend to remain locked of their workplace watching every thing catch hearth outdoors the window. Lower than 24 hours after launch, the crew at Refugium addressed the neighborhood with an announcement exhibiting they’re well-intentioned and desperate to take all suggestions on board to enhance the expertise.
That’s as a result of, reasonably than dropping a company PR apology, the builders determined to deal with the backlash in a method that matches the sport’s highschool setting. Written from the attitude of Principal Carpenter, the top of Agefield Excessive, the studio launched an announcement on Steam simply sooner or later after launch to appease the offended pupil physique.
However most significantly, they acknowledged the reported points and emphasised that they’re working onerous to repair them and refine the general expertise. In actual fact, they already dropped a patch immediately, explaining that some members even pulled an all-nighter simply to get it out the door.
“Pricey College students, Looks as if these first-day-of-school nerves bought the very best of all of us, and we forgot to be sure that the cafeteria was stocked with sufficient snack desserts and power drinks for you all!” they wrote. “We solely have a number of members of the school available, and we’re doing our greatest to make the remainder of this semester as easy and enjoyable for everybody as shortly as potential.”
Whereas the in-character response provides an enthralling, human contact after two and a half years of growth, it would not fully change the truth that charging almost $30 for a buggy launch is a tricky promote for gamers.
Constructing a non secular successor to an all-time basic like Bully is an extremely steep hill to climb, and it’s clear that Agefield Excessive wanted a bit extra time earlier than ringing the opening bell. However the devs appear genuinely dedicated to turning issues round so gamers can ultimately have enjoyable on this back-to-school expertise – and I am rooting for them to drag it off! (Additionally, my honest apologies for all the varsity puns scattered all through this piece, I merely could not assist myself!)
