The Otterman Empire Review for Steam

A little under a year ago, I was given the opportunity to demo Tri-Heart Interactive’s The Otterman Empire. It was rough around the edges, but I felt it had potential as a casual FPS party game. This year, I took one last look as the game entered its official release.

The Otterman Empire has a cartoonish tone similar to that of Ratchet and Clank but with a diverse, aquatic-themed cast like Overwatch. It’s a 3rd person shooter with each character having a unique set of weapons and abilities.

The game occurs on small, enclosed maps with rivers and various forms of verticality. But the height is used differently than most games. The Otterman Empire has each character fitted with a jetpack and the ability to dive into water. Guns and jetpacks are both resupplied through diving.

When i first played the game, I was impressed with its unique take on shooters and player resources. Giving access to both airspace and the ground, while incentivizing players to play in both areas gives way to a lot of interesting gameplay. However, one of the issues I did have was the existence of unbalanced resupply points. There were clearly defined spaces to resupply every single resource for the player that wasn’t the water. The player could refill on ammo, health, and jetpack fuel just by taking these packs. To further that unbalance, these points would respawn in mere seconds, making leaving them to be an all around bad idea. The player was no longer incentivized to interact with the water or with the skies. Everything they needed was readily at hand. But now, I’m glad to say that this particular qualm was fixed. The resupplies respawn nowhere near as frequently.

One might think that a detailed balance system isn’t required in a casual game, but it’s specifically casual games that need to maintain a system that gives way to fun play for everyone. In my demo, I compared The Otterman Empire to Mario Kart. Although Mario Kart has a wide array of impactful, randomized powerups, they occur at specific times. Players in last place are given the chance to come back with the Bullet Bill or infamous Blue Shell. I’m glad to see that Tri-Heart Interactive are thinking more about how their game balance might affect the more intricate parts of gameplay, despite their casual goals.

Casual games also require a large amount of accessibility. When I first tried out The Otterman Empire, I was disappointed at the lack of information provided when selecting characters. The screen told you very little about their weapon kits or special abilities, only having navigation for cosmetics. Going back to Mario Kart, the game has very clear information displayed about the capabilities of each kind of vehicle the player can choose. In a game where each character has special abilities and unique weapons, the ability to know what kind of character you’re choosing will greatly impact the fun had in casual play. Many players that would play it for the first time would be incapable of choosing exactly how they wanted to play. But once again, Tri-Heart Interactive seem to know where their weaknesses lay, and added a small but efficient information page for each character.

Unfortunately, accessibility doesn’t just end with gameplay. I noticed a frequent drop in framerate during my time playing. It was just enough to be a bit more than noticeable. It’s worrying to me that a game intended for casual, multiplayer fun may have troubles with running on medium to low end computers. I don’t have a high end gaming PC, but I certainly don’t have a 280p microwave either. Casual games are often aimed at casual gamers. I worry that a wide array of potential players for The Otterman Empire will be shut out by technological requirements. It may be a difficult task, but I hope Tri-Heart Interactive find ways to optimize their game for higher accessibility.

The Otterman Empire has a lot of potential. With its unique mechanics involving both the sky and the ground, I see no reason for it not to find a loyal, fun-loving audience.

I rate The Otterman Empire: 7/10.