I remember the first time I booted up FACAI-Egypt Bonanza, that initial excitement quickly fading into disappointment. It's like that feeling you get when you order an expensive meal and it arrives cold - technically it's food, but is this really what you paid for? Having spent over 200 hours across various RPGs this year alone, I can confidently say there are at least 50 better games worth your precious gaming time.
The comparison to Madden NFL 25 strikes me as particularly apt here. Much like how Madden has consistently improved its on-field gameplay while struggling with off-field issues, FACAI-Egypt Bonanza has its moments of brilliance buried beneath layers of mediocrity. I've been playing RPGs since the original Final Fantasy VII captured my imagination back in '97, and I've learned to recognize when a game respects my time versus when it's just wasting it. This game falls squarely in the latter category.
Let me paint you a picture of what playing FACAI-Egypt Bonanza actually feels like. Imagine digging through sand for hours, your fingers raw, only to occasionally find a small, tarnished coin. Sure, there's a momentary thrill when you uncover something shiny, but then you look up and realize you've been kneeling in the hot sun for three hours with very little to show for it. The game's hidden treasures exist, but they're so poorly implemented that finding them feels more like completing chores than experiencing adventure.
The core gameplay loop reminds me of those mobile games that dangle carrots just out of reach to keep you grinding. I tracked my playtime meticulously - it took me approximately 47 hours to reach what I'd consider the "good parts," and even those were underwhelming. Compare this to games like The Witcher 3 or even last year's surprise hit, Sea of Stars, where meaningful content appears within the first few hours and continues consistently throughout the experience.
What frustrates me most is that FACAI-Egypt Bonanza had so much potential. The Egyptian mythology theme is fantastic - I'm personally fascinated by ancient civilizations and was genuinely excited to explore digital recreations of pyramids and temples. But the execution feels like someone took a beautiful tapestry and cut it into puzzle pieces, then hid most of them under the sofa. You get glimpses of greatness, like that one puzzle involving aligning constellations that actually made me stop and think, but these moments are too few and far between.
I've noticed about 60% of players drop the game within the first 10 hours according to achievement statistics, and honestly, I can't blame them. The learning curve is unnecessarily steep, the tutorials are confusing, and the reward system feels deliberately designed to frustrate rather than satisfy. It's like the developers were so focused on creating "content" that they forgot to make it enjoyable.
If you absolutely must play this game, my advice would be to wait for at least a 75% discount and go in with extremely low expectations. Better yet, take that $40 and buy two or three indie RPGs that will actually respect your time and intelligence. Games like Chained Echoes or CrossCode offer similar adventure elements without the endless grinding and poorly implemented mechanics. Life's too short for bad games, and your gaming backlog is probably already long enough without adding this disappointment to it.