[Feedback] my thoughts on this game's state
A lot of people have been disappointed in the state of pvz3 since the current soft launch and I'd like to compile my thoughts on how to salvage what we have.
I apologize for being blunt, but every selling point of this game has been done better by previous pvz games. I don't understand how this soft launch is somehow less feature-rich and engaging as the 2020 iteration and has even less justification to be a sequel rather than a spinoff. I don't like the hyper-casual direction the game is taking, it seems like our feedback from the 2020 iteration was misunderstood. One of the selling points is quite literally 'Solve Exciting New Puzzles' but the level design is heavily prioritizing quantity over quality. The game should not be dedicating entire levels to explain mechanics made obvious through gameplay. The previous soft launch had an almanac and short tag-lines for each plant and zombie explaining what they did, this was an infinitely better system as it wasn't intrusive for old players but not too hidden for new ones.
About 80% of these levels seem to be padding for taco tickets to be accumulated for the gardenscapes-esque sequences to play out, which in of itself seems padded out as well shown by some events like 'play with twister'. Between this soft-launch and the 2022 version, the gardenscapes aspect was the only part of the game shown to have elaborated on significantly. The customization provided is also lackluster, selecting from 3 pngs to display isn't too riveting even if 'Restore Neighborville' is another selling point. Customization was done better in Pvz Adventures. I would also prefer if these story segments would play automatically at the end of levels like they did in previous games, there's a lot of dissonance between the story and the gameplay.
The biggest complaint I've seen is the removal of the ability to choose your own plants. Being limited to only a few plants is good for the odd challenge level, it was done in pvz1 and pvz2 well. But limiting it to be the only way to experience this game is just a terrible choice overall. Building a strategy based off the zombies presented to you at the start of the level is the main appeal of the tower defense games. I think the pre-chosen plant levels in this game would make for a good daily challenge as there are some gems hidden in the rough. I wouldn't mind if premium plants or paid upgrades came back if they meant the level design didn't have to suffer in an attempt to sell more power ups.
My personal expectations for a third game would've borrowed from the multiplayer shooter's idea of being able to play on both sides and give a campaign for the zombies that plays out similarly to I, zombie. I also liked the other post on here discussing a possible VS mode. Even if you weren't playing against real players and just battling ghost data, it'd be a great alternative to arena as it doesn't really work in this version without plant levelling.
The story is cute, sometimes charming. I'm not a big fan the flanderization of Dave and zomboss though (Dave's gibberish is annoying). But it's not engaging enough to keep me playing. I feel i play this game out of obligation because I'm a fan of this franchise. I don't expect the best game in the world, but I expect better than this, cmon popcap. Thanks for listening!
