Developer: Maccima Games
Platform: PC (Reviewed)
Genre: Action, Party
Publisher: Monstronauts
Eat the Rich: Greed Games is a social deception party game. The game was developed by Maccima Games and published by Monstronauts. Eat the Rich puts a twist on your average social deception games and brings the fun through its game-show-like setting. Eat the Rich is currently available on Steam in Early Access.
Eat the Rich is a 6-10 player game, where you and your friends embody fallen billionaires that have been forced into playing a sadistic game show. The goal of the game is to quite literally ‘Eat the Rich’. You play through a series of mini-games where you earn money and then get to decide amongst yourselves who is rich and poor. Eat the Rich sets the bar for cruel, backstabbing gameplay where you can betray your own teammates to stand at the top of the ranking. Earn the most money, and avoid getting ‘offed’ or becoming a defector.
Eat the Rich is designed to be played with up to 6 players (at a minimum), but you can play with fewer people and start the game with bots. I quite liked the addition of the lobby being filled in with bots, which still allows you to play the game if you are short of people. The main issue that we had was that in some mini-games, there was no interaction by the bot whatsoever. Our first playthrough of the game was with a total of 4 real players and 2 bots. The first minigame is almost like an overcooked clone, where you need to bake different types of cakes. The players that were paired with the bots had no real way of playing the mini-game, as the bots would just stay in place. In these types of games, having the option to fill in bots is wonderful, but the bots need to be a lot more responsive. They very much act quite literally like bots, which should be fixed for future gameplay.
As we were playing the game prior to its release, we were provided with several codes to play with a whole group, and the experience was quite fun overall. The game itself also includes an in-game voice chat, which is perfect for when playing with randoms in the game. I believe once the game is released, there will be a lot more public rooms for players to join (or find other players through the Discord server), so that lobbies do not require bots. The overall connection of the game server worked perfectly fine. In Eat the Rich, when creating a room, you can choose between three regional servers, but even someone who was playing from Europe hosted an Asian server, which worked perfectly fine. Multiplayer connections were no issue whatsoever.
The visual for Eat the Rich is my favourite part of the game because it adds such a quirky, vibrant game show-like charm that gets the players excited. With its detailed cartoonish features and exaggerated features, the flawless animation that brings forth such great depth to the game is fantastic. Even the lobby is so nicely designed with the big mirror placed dead centre for you to check out your odd-looking character. I mean, the customisation seems endless in Eat the Rich, but it requires players to play the game more and more to unlock different cosmetics. When can you ever enter a game show where your greed lets you take over as you dress up as weird, big-bellied-looking billionaires? By far, what really pulls the visuals together would also have to be the sound design, especially the voice-over of the host. Strong, bold voice acting that really sets the vibe of the game. When I had launched Eat the Rich for the first time, I was introduced to such a thrilling cinematic that got me super excited for the game, and to see the animations and art style be so captivating throughout the game was stunning. At one point, there was a scene where, once you eliminate the player, they get killed in such a horrific way that it was very unexpected, but so nicely detailed. When you go ahead and play Eat the Rich, you will admire the atmosphere this game creates for players.
Now the gameplay for Eat the Rich is straightforward and fun, but I think it needs a bit more variety. Of course, the game is to be released in Early Access, so I am sure the developers have future plans for updates and more content coming to the game, but as of right now, the game has a limited amount of mini-games. Even though it is limited, the game is much more fun than I had expected it to be. As previously stated, you want to be the one with the most money, have that be through winning mini-games, using ‘advantaged items’ or sabotaging your team. There are several options for you to take to become rich. What I enjoyed the most about this game is that even though you may get voted out, you have the chance of becoming defectors, and defectors can also take the crown of being the richest if they play their cards right. I found myself after a few rounds becoming greedy towards wanting to win each game, especially after I felt more familiar with it.
We are very thankful to have been provided with several codes to enjoy this game fully; therefore, some of the other players had the following to say about Eat the Rich. First Seven said the following:” The artwork in Eat the Rich is engaging and showcases the satire well. The mini-games and sabotage parts are fun too, but I felt like the betting system and coins made things a bit too complicated. Sometimes I just wanted to focus on the chaos and messing with other players, but the extra layers of currency and strategy kind of slowed it down for me. Bots may also need a rework as they are a disadvantage on your team and do their own thing.”
Koi Fish said the following, “Eat the Rich is framed as a party game in the vein of Mario Party or Jackbox Party Pack, leaning on a culturally loaded slogan that’s meant to be provocative and a little absurd, a phrase that thrives in online circles as ironic rebellion. Unfortunately, the game only brushes against that theme in the score screens, where eliminated players are served up as meals. Beyond that fleeting nod, the title’s promise is left hanging.
The artistic direction tries for an indie-cartoon look, but the environments feel bland, and the animations are unremarkable. Where the game really stumbles, though, is in its gameplay. For example, once players are “outed” and turned into defectors, they’re stuck with the joyless task of running laps and punching boxes for coins, busywork that feels more like punishment than gameplay. Worse, in some games, active players can spam punches with zero consequences, disrupting others and halting progress entirely. The level concepts offer a spelling challenge and a cooking mini-game, which offer little incentive to return.
Voice acting shows effort but lands amateurishly, and the game’s poor instructions at the beginning of each level leave new players confused about what they’re meant to do. The timing of events never quite clicks, either, making the flow feel awkward. In the end, Eat the Rich has a bold, tongue-in-cheek name that promises sharp satire, but the actual play experience is repetitive, undercooked, and frustrating. Fun for a single chaotic round with the right group of friends, but definitely not worth seconds.”
Finally, Vroggo said the following, “Eat the Rich is a last-man-standing type of game where players play mini games and earn the most money to win the game. I like the social-elimination aspect of the game. It reminds me of Among Us and Goose Goose Duck, where you vote players out one round after another, but there are perks given to you in-game that may incentivise you to keep certain individuals alive for longer. On the plus side, even if you do die, players still have a proactive role in the game to keep live players from winning. I’d also just like to compliment the visuals of the game as well. The 2.5D art style of the game captures the essence that, everywhere the players can freely move around, it feels like some sort of artificial set design.The game may seem a little complicated at first, but it really starts to get fun once you get the hang of it. Betraying and coercing others definitely becomes easier and more fun as well. I had an enjoyable experience with the game, and I’d definitely recommend the game to be played with friends since it’s just more enjoyable that way.”
If you are looking for a high-stakes game where you get to play through a series of mini-games, brawl with your opponents, discuss who should get voted out and betray your teammates all for the sake of being the richest, then this game is just for you. You get to enjoy the greed games with up to 10 players, which offers everyone an enjoyable experience. The game requires a few tweaks here and there, but with future updates, Eat the Rich can become a great, polished social deception game. So be sure to check out Eat the Rich: Greed Games!
Overall: 6.5/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
