Publisher: Strange Scaffold
Developer: Strange Scaffold
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: Not Rated
While I can’t say I’ve loved every game that Strange Scaffold have produced, I can’t deny that they have a way of making games that are unique and memorable. From An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs to El Paso, Elsewhere, to I Am Your Beast, they consistently make games that have their own sense of style.
To that list, you can now add Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3. It’s a match-3 game, which isn’t a genre you usually associate with creativity or innovation. That’s not to say they can’t be fun and addictive, but really, if you’ve played one, you’ve played them all.
But you probably haven’t played any match-3 games like Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3. As you may have guessed from the title, it’s the third Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion game…which, of course, is a franchise that doesn’t exist. To add to the meta-ness of it all, it’s the cancelled third game in the trilogy, and all the characters are aware that the game doesn’t exist, so your character – J.J. Hardwell – is doing his best to save it. Along the way he meets clones, cultists, mutant vegetables, clowns, and, naturally, dinosaurs. I’m not going to pretend to be a match-3 game expert, but I’m willing to say that it’s likely that no other game in the genre has ever gone to Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3’s length to build up not just a storyline, but an entire lore for its world.
As for the match-3 gameplay itself, it’s kind of what you’d expect – but, seeing as this is Strange Scaffold, they still find a way to make it interesting and innovative. You’re not just trying to match as many tiles as you can, you’re also trying to meet winning conditions for each board, while also trying to stop your opponents from killing you in the process. Sometimes it’s as straightforward as matching as many knives as you can so you can stab your opponent, but there are plenty of other winning scenarios the game offers – and since Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 has more than trace amounts of RPG and metroidvania DNA, you’re also trying to navigate through a large map with branching pathways, and trying to keep yourself well-stocked with supplies in the process.
Obviously, the match-3 genre isn’t known for producing a lot of innovation – unless you count finding new ways to get people addicted innovative. But Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 is a clear exception to that rule. It’s addictive, sure, but it’s also interesting, and fleshed-out, and funny. Whether you’re a fan of the genre or someone who usually can’t stand it, you owe it to yourself to check this game out.
Strange Scaffold provided us with a Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 PC code for review purposes.
