Ultimate Guess Game Review (PC)

You have a bad case of motion sickness after binging twelve box sets of that oh-so-famous crime drama series. There’s nothing left to watch, and you suddenly feel deprived of digital content. A pencil, a piece of paper, and a lightbulb illuminates an idea. You sketch out what you think is an airplane, and then you glue it to your friend’s forehead. You tell them that they have to guess what it is with simple yes or no questions. They sigh, shrug, and play along. You think of eighteen other things that you could be doing instead, yet you go with it. The questions begin to roll like split-second punches, and the boredom begin to fade.

Almost everyone and their neighbor has played Ultimate Guess Game. Perhaps not DNA ARMY GAMING’s adaptation of it, but some form of paper-threaded version. If not that, then either Monopoly or some alternate card game that only tends to sprout out from beneath the woodwork after the room loses its color. It’s a game that you just know, like Rock, Paper, Scissors, or Blackjack. It’s also a game that you rarely choose to pick up and play unless you’re either bored out of your mind or if somebody suggests it after flipping a Monopoly board.

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, it goes like this: two players receive random images, neither of whom can see their own. With questions, each player is given the chance to deduct their respective image and share their answers. Here’s the catch: each question can only be answered with a simple yes or no. If one player guesses correctly before the other, then they win the round. And yes, it is as simple as that. With that, you have no bonus levels to unlock, no milestones to surpass, and no real objectives to complete. It’s just you, a friend, and a rolling conveyor belt of prompts.

If you’re wondering whether or not a digital version of the classic paper game is any better than the original — no, it isn’t. Given that you can play the game with as little as a pen and a piece of paper in your own front room, you have no reason to go out of pocket for Ultimate Guess Game. That being said, you do have a little extra leeway here. See, Ultimate Guess Game does a lot of the legwork for you; it provides you with the themes, the images, and the prompt cards, for example. And so, you don’t necessarily have to think on your toes here. Instead, you have to select a category, receive an image, and start asking the right questions. Is that worth the asking price? Eh, not really.

While Ultimate Guess Game does carry a lot of the weight here, the simple fact is, there are only so many games that you can play before the novelty wears thin. Although it does offer you the chance to build your own category and tailor the experience with light customization aspects, the truth is, it is still a rather generic PvP game that doesn’t add a lot to the original experience. It’s digitalized — but that’s about as far as it goes.

To give credit where it’s due, Ultimate Guess Game does what it says on the tin. As the closest alternative to the traditional pastime, it provides a transparent gameplay experience that, while evidently without the frills and effects of a big-budget deduction game, still manages to get the job done with the tools it has at its fingertips. Or at least, it does for the first hour or two. After that, I suppose it becomes a little dull and repetitive. But that’s Ultimate Guess Game for you, in a nutshell.

Given that there isn’t a lot to scrape out of Ultimate Guess Game other than the standard mode and the same handful of prompts, there isn’t a lot here that you’ll want to stick around for. Granted, it simplifies the process with its auto-generated themes and objects, as does it provide you with a backdrop to mindlessly gawp at between questions. But, again, that’s about as deep as it gets. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel; it just adds its own little cog to it and hopes that you’ll stick around long enough to see it in action.

While I’d argue that playing a game like this is far better played with pen, paper, and a group of friends at a social gathering, I can still see the appeal in the digital incarnation. Sure, it’s a little light for the average hardcore gamer, and it doesn’t really do a lot to keep you smashing that replay button, either. Still, there is a market for it.  Provided that you can approach it with the right mindset, and of course, with relatively low expectations, you should be able to enjoy it for what it brings to the table. Just don’t expect it to be the next Jackbox killer.

Verdict

Ultimate Guess Game digitalizes a familiar round-robin pastime with the intent to achieve what pen and paper couldn’t: an entertaining conversation starter that can get the room talking and the prompts rolling by the boatload. And, to some extent, it does exactly that, but not before it unveils several poor issues. See, while it does what it says on the tin, it also suffers from one of the worst possible side effects: a lack of replay value and depth. Don’t get me wrong, it has a good selection of themes and objects, but it also lacks the depth of a lofty PvP title. I guess, if anything at all, it’s a little paper thin.

If you have the coin to spare, then I’d suggest giving Ultimate Guess Game a shot, but only if you know what you’re getting yourself into. If you’re more than happy to stick to traditional rules of play, though, then I honestly wouldn’t blame you for keeping to the pad and pencil. It’s a lot better when you’re dealing with opponents who can’t draw. It also doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg to see their interpretation of a whale. Take from that what you shall, folks.