Hi there!

This post might come as a surprise to you but I'm fulfilling my obligation of writing a review for every entry I played in the RPG Maker Game Jam 2025 and haven't had the time and motivation combo until now. Apologies for the wait.

I'm one of the 6 judges for this RPG Maker Game Jam 2025. I was one of the 2 judges assigned to your game, and we have been assigned to rate your games according to each metric highlighted on the game's main jam page, and submit these ratings to the organisers, who will then appropriate what happens with that. Please contact them in the Q&A if you have any further questions about the judging process. The judges will work on different time schedules, so even if I may have finished playing your game, the entire process might not be finished as of yet. Many of these reviews I am posting while still judging.

All that aside, I'd like to share my VOD of me playing your game, which contains up to an hour of gameplay, and some final thoughts at the end! Depending on whether I stopped the VOD early or not, it will also contain many of the thoughts that I say to you below, which may cause repetition. So just be aware of that.

I will also attach a review below this VOD. I will not disclose my ratings for each category as of yet, but those will be revealed in due time. Not all judges are required to post a review or VOD to each game, but many will do so even if it's optional, including myself.

Here's the VOD:

This entry was very humorous. I enjoyed many of the little encounters Sherman would go on, adventures full of surprise and lots of fun little diversions. I was excited. Even if it did end up being a little repetitive and shallow, it was still extremely funny, especially that hilarious 3d moment. I really loved the character in this one and I enjoyed the overall vibes throughout.

I thought it was a cute adventure with lots of character, and some nice little jokes sprinkled throughout. 

Theme
This entry was quite beyond expectations. It played with the idea of judges having expectations for food, and then the shrimp coming along and exceeding their expectations. The game itself went beyond my expectations in terms of providing hilarious comedy that was beyond what I thought it would be. Further points could be gained from being a bit more clever with the theme.

Gameplay
I thought the gameplay was simplistic and serviceable. The gameplay serves the narrative. It is not meant to be difficult. It is just supposed to be simple and difficult to lose. But it would be nice if it had more strategy required, a more thoroughly refined gameplay loop, and polish around the edges of the system. Maybe adding items and/or equipment to add layers of strategy. Exploration was also rather linear and some parts made the random encounters feel a bit annoying and unnecessary. But it was largely okay because you could just run away easily. More points could be earned here by simply developing this simple system into a more complex and ambitious one.

Engagement
Probably one of the funniest entries I've played. Actually, yeah, probably top 5 funniest. The humour was very funny. That said, it was a joke game and I think by the end I was okay with it ending there. If the developer decided to make something with a bit more story substance, they could make something that would draw me in for longer or affect me on a deeper level. Not all games have to do this, but it is a contest and that would be impressive.

Presentation
Very cute characters with lovely portraits. 1 whole extra point or maybe even 2 for that 3d sequence alone. That was a fantastic way to visually deliver a joke. Even the final shrimp image was a really fun way to do that. So yeah, the portraits are lovely. Maps could use some work, and the general audiovisual standard could be lifted a little for future projects. But for the little joke it was, it worked quite a charm and it is a charming game. I love the shrimp portrait guy.

Polish
No bugs as far as I know.

Conclusion
Overall I thought it was quite swell! Thank you for making this very cute little game and I enjoyed it a lot <3

I saw the final meme coming from a mile away... However, nothing could prepare me for the cutscene, it was peayond expectations

A fun little shrimpventure 🦐 Loved the shrimp sprites! The 3D cutscene was amazing, life-changing even 🤩

The shrimp looked good, battles were nice and there's an epic 3d cutscene.

It was a fun game to play. I wanted to complete the ingredients list to how the judges were going to act. Very entertaining!

I always appreciate a silly and witty game, especially when it culminates into a meme that I enjoy. Thanks for the laughs!

thanks for the fun game, now iam Shrimp!

This was wonderful. A bit confusing at times with how to progress a scene or w/e but like, those gripes don't really matter when a game is this charming.

A thoroughly goofy and fun little game. Thanks for the laughs. :p