Rescue Agency: The Kidnapper of Happiness Review

Game: Rescue Agency: The Kidnapper of Happiness
Genre: Adventure, Casual Strategy
System: Steam ((Windows & Linux)
Developers | Publishers: GameMixer LTD
Controller Support: No
Price: US $12.75 | UK £10.79 | EU € 12,56
Release Date: April 6th, 2023

Review code used, with many thanks to GameMixer LTD.

Rescue Agency: The Kidnapper of Happiness is a 2023 time/resource management game by GameMixer LTD in the style of the Alawar resource management game series Robin Hood or Rescue Team, and of Incredible Dracula.

Once upon a Time…

In Rescue Agency: The Kidnapper of Happiness, the player takes control of a fairy, Iris, who must save the magical land of Abonda from the insidious Kidnapper of Happiness. To protect the magical land and help its dwellers, fairies, elves, and unicorns, the player must overcome foes like the spirits of Panic, Fear, and Sadness and the Kidnapper of Happiness himself. 

Gameplay

Rescue Agency: The Kidnapper of Happiness starts at a central area called the main base, the land of Abonda. The player clears parts of the main map, the Mystic Forest, shrouded in the mist by lighting multiple giant lamps. To light a lamp, you need resources, which you get by repairing buildings and farming resources. To do that, the player has to manage a kindle of cute kittens- they collect resources, build things, and carry out tasks.

In the lobby, the player can create boosters to use during missions and decorate a garden by purchasing flowers, wells, cottages, and so on with coins found on the maps. 

Once an area of the main map has been cleared, a list of new objectives appears, as well as secondary missions, which are located in different parts of Abonda, otherwise inaccessible. The secondary missions develop much like the objectives in the central part of the game; however, the player can create buildings and repair them. On the one hand, the fact that the main objectives and the secondary missions have more or less the same conditions is good; that way, the game has less of a learning curve, and on the other hand, it can get a little repetitive.

Resources  

To progress in the story, you need resources, which are fortunately abundant in Abonda. Even without the appropriate buildings, you can still get most of the resources by harvesting. The one thing I didn’t like is that collecting resources is not automatic. If the kittens chop a tree, you need to task them to collect the wood. If one of your buildings manufactures food and you don’t collect it immediately with your mouse cursor, the kittens will eventually collect; however, you will need to wait for them to leave the base camp, collect it and bring it back for you to actually use it. It would be fine if the maps were smaller, but that’s not the case in Rescue Agency: The Kidnapper of Happiness . There is an option to move the camp in each mission or build a cat house to speed up collecting, but space for building is limited.

Boosters and Potions

As mentioned above, you can create boosters in the game’s main map; you can speed up the production time for the resources and the movement of the kittens and activate the automatic collection of resources. You’ll also brew specific potions for some of the missions.

Conclusion

While I liked Rescue Agency: The Kidnapper of Happiness, I wish it was a bit shorter.  The main story took me about 12 hours to complete, and it started getting repetitive at some point. Each mission (including the main story) can be repeated as often as the player wants so it can get long. Afterwards, there are also additional quests. 

The Steam game also includes some extras like concept art and soundtrack. One exciting feature is the inclusion of a help button, which shows tactics on how to get through the level. There are Steam achievements, but no trading cards for now.

In conclusion, Rescue Agency: The Kidnapper of Happiness is a pretty game with lively and colourful animations, cute characters, and a story and game mechanics that provide a relaxing experience for the players. 

Final Verdict: I Like it