Welcome to the YouTuber’s Life grind, a game that takes its inspiration from MMO type titles and has implemented them into a gaming simulator based on internet video website YouTube. It’s an interesting concept for sure, but I don’t think it really resonates with the actual experiences that YouTubers go through during their careers.
YouTuber’s Life tries its best to represent what it’s like to run a full time YouTube channel. Among the day to day of recording videos, editing them and uploading them to the platform, you have to balance a work and social life too. Well, work as in click the door and wait a few hours for your character to return, and social life meaning go to the same cinema or nightclub time and time again.
During video creation scenes your objective is to score the highest number in the analysis screen. You do this by matching up card symbols, which are generally moods in which you portray in your videos. Along with moods there are editing scores, things like writing, film editing, direction, special effects and so on. Get these above the recommended level for that video and the game will generate you a score and comments so you can see how well your video is doing online.
Videos you can create are split up into categories, the first which is Let’s Play. You can unlock more options from the tech tree every time you level up. It gets progressively harder each video category though, so you will need to keep an eye on your talents to be able to make engaging videos. Categories range from things like review, first impressions and collaboration with another YouTuber.
The game’s objective is to own an enterprise under your chosen YouTube channel name. Starting out in your Mom’s House, you move through various stages until you unlock your YouTube Mansion, which seems to be the best house in the game. Unfortunately I never got that far, as the game is such a grind, repeating the same monotonous task over and over again, not to mention the sound effects are so limited, that hearing your character cheer for the 20th time when something good happens during a video, just did my head in.
Socialising is a chore, that I slowly gave up on actually seeing my friends in real life and opted for the over the internet or texting to keep in touch. The social events I did go to saw me wearing the wrong outfit every single time, which meant people hated me and wouldn’t talk to me. Maybe that’s why no one talks to me when I’m out? Oh well, their loss.
Customisation options can’t come quick enough, and even if it’s just a t-shirt change for that GReen themed party you’ve been invited to (yeah, no one liked me there either) it’s a welcoming option. You can also upgrade your PC components so they perform faster, meaning better ratings and views and earnings from videos. You can even invest in consoles and handhelds to use while playing certain games.
Humour is pretty on point too, with game names such as Battlefail 2 or The Walking Pet and a consoles named the Mantendo D-ESS and Honey Playstudios 3. These spoof titles using real life games and consoles give the game a huge amount of character, and again, the options are pretty deep.
Not all of this game is bad, and I feel kind of guilty for speaking about so many terrible minor decisions that went into making this game. I can’t sit here and give it a bad score, or slate it enough to turn you off from ever buying it. Maybe wait for a Steam sale or something. But YouTuber’s Life is accurate for the most part. Yes, making YouTube videos is a ball ache, waiting for them to upload, especially when you’re running dire internet speeds like myself, is a nightmare. But once your video is live and kicking, it worth it. The game is currently retailing for £19.99 on Steam.
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