User Reviews

There are a lot of ways this show could improve and yet it was a good start. There is emotion and interesting relationships and dynamics and there are some laughs too.

Curious to see where this goes, but it needs to separate itself from similar programs like Silicon Valley and Community to thrive.

I think after 20 years working various game dev jobs, i can call myself a game dev. As such, this first episode was pretty cringe.

Don't get me wrong, it's the best series about game dev i've seen yet, but that's more due to the fact that all others were utter garbage. This is "only" heavily flawed.

First off, it's all very on the nose. The relations and goals of all the characters are smacked right in your face. Which isn't inherently bad, but then the pilot isn't really doing much with it and instead misses the chance to make the viewer figure those out. A little mystey could have gone a long way there.

Second, the source material is treated very superficial. Game dev terms are thrown around like popcorn, but their implications is taken very superficial. For example, a big DLC is released in that episode. This usually represents a huge milestone for any project with millions on the line. Yet here it's merily a small side issue as the main fight is about one asset. As such it feels more like set dressing for average TV drama than actual part of the story.

Third, hardly any of the protagonists is likeable. Worst is that Poppy girl. She's bitchy, she's bossy and she's a horrible game designer, as she's stubbornly clinging to her first design until an awkward talk with her boss, which was supposed to be heartfelt. I hated her character after only half of the episode. Yet the series seems to paint her as the central sympathy point?

The rest of the cast aren't horrible, but are all bad stereotypes of what non-dev people suspect game devs are like. Which is a pity, as i have experienced amazing characters in my field, far from what this superficial screenplay could come up with.

And finally the screenplay. It's so stale and uninspired. Which is sad, as i know that the trio of McElhenney, Hornsby and Day already gave us "Always sunny in Philadelphia". But here it's painfully obvious they didn't do the research and just jumped onto a trend. It's so sad, because i KNOW that you can make a fantastic series about game dev. This one is not it.