Is Plants vs. Zombies 3 still BAD?

A new soft launch for Plants vs. Zombies 3 just released with a ton of new levels! Is the game still as bad as last time? Did they improve? Let's see! This episode, I'll play levels 1 to 39.
Floral Federation server: / discord
0:00 - Intro
1:12 - Level 1
3:50 - Level 2
5:50 - Level 3
7:29 - Level 4
9:06 - Level 5
10:43 - Level 6
12:39 - Level 7
14:47 - Level 8
17:15 - Level 9
19:49 - Level 10
22:45 - Level 11
25:49 - Level 12
27:07 - Level 13
29:59 - Level 14
32:05 - Level 15
34:18 - Level 16
36:28 - Level 17
38:50 - Level 18
41:28 - Level 19
43:44 - Level 20
45:46 - Level 21
48:28 - Level 22
51:09 - Level 23
53:56 - Level 24
55:36 - Level 25
57:43 - Level 26
1:00:34 - Level 27
1:01:36 - Level 28
1:04:54 - Level 29
1:07:20 - Level 30
1:09:37 - Vasebreaker
1:10:19 - Level 31
1:12:40 - Level 32
1:16:48 - Level 33
1:18:01 - Level 34
1:20:48 - Level 35
1:23:10 - Level 36
1:26:07 - Level 37
1:27:41 - Level 38
1:32:56 - Level 39
1:39:46 - Outro

[@TheBuilderEXDEE]

The one thing I really dislike about PvZ 3 is how much the actual gameplay is pushed to the side in favor of the homescapes style story explanation. I don't mind shorter levels, but they don't really give you enough time to make a full setup, especially when the plants are prepicked for you. I feel like within PopCap's 5 years of radio silence in terms of games, they lost the sole reason why PvZ was great in the first place, it allowed for the player to strategize against difficult enemies.

[@nicolaszanon3337]

yeah i agree it feels like its just another homescape-ish game but isntead of candy crush its just 30% the normal pvz experience and the rest is just one big handheld tutorial of some mechanic or some new plant that the game spoon feeds you and doesnt let you naturally learn anything, and the game becomes extremly boring cause of it, after all you dont have to try or experience or even experiment things, cause the game does it all for you i also hate how the writing of sone things are, it feels like borderlands 3 all over again, there is nothing to the point its all "quirky" and "funny" things that just feels like an 12:59 essay with a bunch of word salad just so it has more letters and words and even the shorter levels wich could be good to show new zombies in a way that forces the player to adapt to an problem by figuring solutions, without the long time to prepare a strong lawn with plants that could just overpower any threat incoming (icemellon spam or in pvz2 bannana cannon spam) by having limited time to prepare and setup it could create hard and intresting levels, but instead its just filler after filler eith every other one having basicly a 30 unskipable cutsene

[@Skuydipwapwa]

other than that, they made the stories very similiar like Spongebob, where Plankton want to steal the secret formula, but instead in this game is Secret Plants Formula or some shit

[@TCStink3]

@@nicolaszanon3337ah yes, my favourite plants:‘Icemellon’ and ‘Bananacannon’

[@togeluga_the_cat]

Homescapes my ass this is PVZ Adventures 2: Electric Boogaloo

[@TheAntiBarrel]

PVZ Adventures was so good guys! Let's do it again.

[@vidlover7875]

I have a strong opinion that when Mo gets hacked by Zomboss, you shouldn't be able to have access to him in levels, until he becomes unhacked.

[@TwilightChomperEnthusiast]

Same logic as when he’s still available to use before you’ve earned his trust. The devs seemed to have not had that kind of foresight.

[@Cowz-sz7gj]

​@@TwilightChomperEnthusiastit feels like the devs pushed back gameplay to instead focus on making the game more like garden scapes/any other mobile game

[@TwilightChomperEnthusiast]

@@Cowz-sz7gj Unfortunately.

[@GoodlyData86596]

@@Cowz-sz7gjall of this is clearly a swan’s song, except the song actually sounds like it was sung by a swan so it just doesn’t fucking make any difference in the life or death aspect of the metaphorical swan song.

[@PedroGraca-cu7hk]

Your iq is too high for this game

[@ikerelxungo6808]

In 1:39:00 i think the garg didn't spawn because of dynamic difficulty For those who don't know what that is: if you win a lot the games sends more zombies and tankier zombies, if you lose a lot the game sends less and weaker zombies This is basically made to make you lose lives so you have to either pay for them or wait the refill

[@jirachido3997]

That's such a scummy tactique

[@Mocklate]

Pvz2 used to have that. They got rid of it though. Because it was awful. Clearly the Pvz3 devs aren't taking notes.

[@TCStink3]

You’re pfp is literally everyone’s reaction to this game

[@AnonChuck.ObjectShowViewer]

​@@Mocklate I don't think Dynamic Difficulty in PvZ 2 was that awful...

[@el_mr6439]

​@@Mocklate but at least in pvz2 you didn't have a life system messing with you

[@CorruptedEvangelist]

Man,even the zombie spelling mistakes aren't consistent like in pvz 1. It's just that minor attention to detail that would give it so much more charm

[@CoralReaper707]

Look at this gorgeous assortment of *pain*

[@dice_block]

It’s not pain it’s them trying

[@CoralReaper707]

​@@dice_blockwho...? Popcap or flag zombie?

[@Tankem]

The popcap devolution is real

[@Aranmath]

​​@@dice_block To make a piece of shit that proves the devs won't listen to the community? If so, then they're not trying, they're nailing it.

[@lucastedescosantos8616]

This game looks like a shitty mobile game ad

[@Megajaybreaker4]

I feel so bad for peashooter. Not only was he never very useful, but they decided to nerf him to 14 peas while doing the same damage. My boy snow pea got it even worse. It takes 20 whole peas for snow pea to kill a zombie.

[@EvilMeganium]

Maybe that's why he looks so mad in the seed slot

[@TartagliaThe_11th_McDsEmployee]

​@@EvilMeganiumnah maybe it's like how fire plants like solar flare light up when they're happy and excited, so maybe it's the opposite for ice plants, they have to stay mad to be chilly

[@Fireinthewater]

Snow is really good because of the slow effect😊

[@miimiiandco.8721]

Snow Pea did get a sun cost buff, down to 4 sun.

[@aceae4210]

I remember I did the maths when watching creeps20 stream if the given numbers are pea shooter 14 damage at 1.2 seconds per shot (11.66 dps) and snow pea 10 damage at 1.5 seconds per shot (6.66 dps) that results in pea shooter having 75% more dps than snow pea (snow pea has 62.1% of pea shooters dps) and slow down means the zombies can stack up on each other, meaning damage spread thin

[@showd6229]

I think if you want to change up a game when you go between sequels you can change like 30% of the game, and leave the rest. If you want to do something completely different with the ip, do a spin-off. This is like they ripped out the fun, interesting 80%, and then filled it with horrible stuff. The only new thing I like is the art style, it’s different and interesting, and I also don’t mind having more characters

[@pumpkn1ght700]

the good part is that the new characters are from the pvz comics, so yeah they still got zero sense of originality considering how they just made a Homescapes using the PvZ original gaming style for levels

[@showd6229]

@@pumpkn1ght700 yeah I know, it’s nice to see them in a game though

[@Mariwend]

I don't personally like the artstyle. I think BFN was about the farthest you should go that way before it becomes weird. Because they still have detail, just more in color shade and sometimes depth, than texture.

[@user-pr4cu9tb3b]

Yeah, they could learn from failure of dawn of war 2.

[@RyutaShinohara]

​@@pumpkn1ght700 The bad part is that the already established characters are missing. Zomboss has always had a particular way of speaking due to him being a genius and he acts like a generic villain in this game.

[@NoxinPistol]

They didn't change anything from the beta I remember. All they did is add in the story segments that allow you to customize your base like those "Scape" games. Speaking of shitty mobile games, that's what it reminds me of: Gardenscapes and Candy Crush. PvZ3's gameplay loop is designed to be quick and social friendly so it plays less like a game and more of a time-waster in between your toilet breaks, which is oddly appropriate for this turd. A shame too. I find this art style beautiful and amazing despite the public outcry. Now if only it was used for an actual game rather than a cash-grab to fool all those unsuspecting children and busy-bodied office workers.

[@Quilquala]

I think we just should ignore the outcry about tiny gripes, since that got the older, much better pvz3 canceled

[@crystalwings4520]

Remember, they tested PvZ Match before. This cannot be good.

[@TheOnlyCelciAndDontYouForgetIt]

​@Quilquala I wouldn't call it better but it definitely felt less creatively bankrupt

[@Quilquala]

@@TheOnlyCelciAndDontYouForgetIt how was it not just better, it was pretty similar except you could choose plants and it had longer levels

[@LuigiFan04]

​​@@Quilquala I don't wanna be rude, but these are not "tiny gripes." This game has so many major problems. That older game did as well.

[@TheGreenDigi]

I miss the original pvz3 beta honestly. It felt way better than what we're stuck with now. Yea it had the terrible seed packet and leveling system but the actual combat/missions were way more enjoyable and actually felt like more proper pvz gameplay compared to these obscenely short """puzzle""" levels. There were way more plants and lots of distinct ones, the taco system was interesting, and YOU GOT TO ACTUALLY PICK YOUR PLANTS, revolutionary. And at least it wasn't 50% cutscenes.

[@weeks4]

Original PvZ3 genuinely wasn't even that bad, just the art style was kinda dookie but like you said, the gameplay was way more enjoyable than whatever this excuse of a game is

[@TheGreenDigi]

@@weeks4 The energy and leveling systems were the roughest aspects outside of the actual levels, but everything else was decent enough. And yea the actual levels themselves were fun. There were so many cool zombie designs and new mechanics, as well as a ton of new plants and plant mechanics. I love the big plants and the growing trees.

[@Stuffdollum]

Shit vs poop oh my god

[@jkveri-qu1ur]

How deep this game has fallen, to the point even the old PvZ 3 is even better than this.

[@nutmegdoesstuff1339]

Something that bothers me, Dave has been the zombie army's worst nemesis for like, forever, and they successfully knocked him into a coma and took out most of the surrounding population, but never bothered to finish him off?

[@_-Lx-_]

That's an issue with many series TBH, Not much unique there, Countless series have a hero or villian or such defeated and then just kinda let go in some way in order to have the series continue with them. The logic of actually killing your major rival/enemy is something countless stories ignore to just keep going. Look at Batman and Joker for a famous example, or any other case.

[@nutmegdoesstuff1339]

@@_-Lx-_ Batman is the worst example because he's one of the only characters that does it that actually has a direct explanation.

[@_-Lx-_]

@@nutmegdoesstuff1339 I mean fair, but you get the idea of what I am actually saying, and Batman's whole deal with that became a thing after many years of that trope already existing in the series. Batman's situation went the way it did because it was already a very prime example, so they ended up running with it and actually expanding the concept. They turned the logical flaw into an actual intended character trait/dynamic.

[@Grim_Reaper.]

⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠@@nutmegdoesstuff1339, yeah, Batman has a reason. But what do you say for court? Police? As I know, Gotham is located in USA. Where is lethal injection? Electric chair? Authors so many times showed us that Joker fully realizes his actions. And even if he doesn’t, com’on, blud killed so many people with so many cruel and corrupted methods. So why is he alive in most of the comics? Yeah, ‘cause he is arch villain for Batman.

[@doctornether2885]

Dave haves been sleeping for months, he anyways should be dead by now if he didn't drink or eat, I really doubt the taco also had the components to keep him alive that much time

[@silvernado8644]

Jumpscare warnings 3:42 12:31 22:29 47:50 48:06 50:27 1:07:13 1:12:12 1:20:32 1:40:00

[@mlgodzilla4206]

Thank goodness for the warnings

[@The_Dev_175]

You are a true trooper.

[@KC_Garcia]

thanks for the warnings that would've been absolutely horrifying

[@sirhandsome8070]

Thank you bro I'm watching with the screen pulled down halfway

[@_piranha]

Shoutout to "thisgamesucks" at 40:44 btw, so true

[@randomman2307]

40:46 There's someone naming themselve "SolarFlussy" 💀

[@rmangamerjack82trousy66]

I can already tell that Flag Zombie (You, my guy) you're just... Sitting on your chair, literally, and your face is slowly forming into a face that is... Just feeling disappointed. Like an ice cream melting. I've been watching your content ever since your very first analysis of other zombies part 1 video, and I gotta say, everything you say is just peak logic and brutal honesty that not even me can respect how vaguely truthful it is. Jesus fuck, this game's start isn't going well. Keep doing what you love, man. Stay safe

[@robuxyyyyyyyyyy4708]

This emoji? 🫠

[@LeoBezan]

This franchise peaked in like 2016, yet it's still going somehow. I still play Heroes, but Reflourished is my current favorite PvZ game (mod) to play. This game is PopCap's last chance for this franchise, but it seems like they don't consider feedback at all...

[@lucg4005]

Kind of sad that pop cap is on death row at this point, but not surprised either. I’m glad that I got to enjoy them at their peak though. Garden ware fare 1 and 2 were a massive part of my childhood, and at the very least I can look fondly back at that.

[@superbrainz2357]

​@@lucg4005Imo gw2 in its glory days of 2016-2017 was some of the best pvz content and it has yet to be topped.

[@pjgguy]

Another reflourished player spotted, tho i've completed 95% of the mod by this point and considering on trying out other mods like eclise or garden rush

[@melaniedrobinson]

I mean things are subject to change.

[@LeoBezan]

@@melaniedrobinson Not if they completely ignore our feedback

[@PersonOfRandomnesss]

As someone who played the original Gardenscapes as a kid (not... whatever you see now), I sometimes enjoy games like that. PvZ (the main series) is not a game like that, so the series switching its main focus from tower defense to this is vey odd and trashy. I'm only commenting as you ask (16:08), but this whole set up doesn't even look like a good execution of that gameplay either (only visual changes in your choices). Its very on rails which hurts this style of gameplay as well - you want it to be free form, enabling the player to design eveything in the order they want. You'd think that this being the main gameplay would force them to make it even halfway decent, but nope. Another result of the game switching game style focus is that the traditional tower defense gameplay suffers from this. They made it so that the grindy portion is super quick and honestly very uninteresting. This is because it's the secondary gameplay to that gardenscapes style and thats how that typically goes. Normally its not an issue because most use match 3 or other puzzle style things, but Tower Defense really hates that. This kind of rushy-ness doesnt let you strategize well nor actually build up a defense. Overall, I think the concept could work if executed right. This is not that. If the gardenscapes stuff was the secondary mode to the tower defense gameplay I think itd be nice and work better. I might actually enjoy that, but this is so far from that I dont think PvZ3 will ever succeed in that. Side note: I hate Dave's dialog in this. He goes from slightly crazy rambling that makes sense but feels realistic to smurf talk in this: Very cohesive sentences that have a random word thrown in. I know he has his own words, but the implementation of those words in this awful. Not to mention his words would always be clear how they are but not here: Squirbo=Squirrel vs Jawaba =????

[@crystalwings4520]

I mean, you can't even replay the levels, unlike the first two entries, so that's a red flag for me. And about Crazy Dave, yes, they really done him that dirty.

[@wii-u-enjoyer]

can't believe they would take the Crazy out of the Dave smh

[@weakspirit_]

what was gardenscapes like before it became what it is now?

[@crystalwings4520]

@@weakspirit_ A hidden object game.

[@HienNguyen-cs1md]

The worst thing about the rush-ness of the levels is that you can't rely on the original tactics at all. You can never build a strong enough classic defense because the zombie density ramps up so quickly. They can also throw 1 or 2 Gargs in just to troll with us.

[@mikoistired18]

The main appeal of PVZ was its simplicity without story, while still being captivating without tutorial on top of tutorial. The main appeal of PVZ2 was the large amounts of plants and worlds and gimmick zombies that made the game difficult, but encouraged strategy and kept things fresh and entertaining. It seems PVZ3 has completely lost the plot, as it focuses on story and tutorials, appealing to a younger audience, with a cute art style and easy/short levels, instead of all demographics, like how the original two games were designed. It’s difficult to call it a PVZ game and not a poorly designed ripoff made to garner ad revenue.

[@jossuecabrera8611]

I still wish popcap didn't remove the elemental system from the first soft launch so early on development. It would have been a simple, yet easy way to balance out the game yet still providing variety in your strategy. Plus, it would make the game immedietly stand out from the other pvz games and actually warrants pvz3's existence. Instead, Gardenscapes clone!

[@whiteninji352]

Honestly I think the first demo had a lot of cool ideas but it was covered by it looking hideous, the sun mechanic, the devour tower, it’s quite repetitive and it being in portrait which is a bruh moment if I ever seen one.

[@MainChannel9521]

Aw hell Na, I hate the elemental system. I like my pvz games to not deal with that.

[@IcedNight96]

I do wish pvz3 would stand out more and be less corporate and cashgrabby, but an elemental system was absolutely not the way to do that, especially with how ridiculously strong old PvZ3 zombies would get. It was essentially required to bring plants that were strong against zombies and to level them all up with the horrible gacha system unless you want to get trolled by devour tower.

[@faccezitCroc]

⁠@@whiteninji352It’s people like you why we can’t ever have something different and this is what we get: and full copy and paste of PvZ but it having a boring and uninteresting and unnecessary story and it’s shitty animation or drawing . Definitely the biggest Way a company can go back to their “roots”.

[@thegoldenstation9723]

@@whiteninji352_Perhaps we treated you too harshly PvZ 3 beta_

[@zesnowpea6347]

All things considered, I appreciate them tying the comics into this game (Patrice, tugboat, gumbot, and twister)

[@FURRKoDy]

The only good thing about this game is the art style, apart from that there is nothing barely good, bad and repetitive music, only a few pre-selected plants, excess of repetitive zombies, life system and of course levels inspired by Candy crush's infinite levels system

[@crystalwings4520]

And it's incredibly ironic when you remember PvZ Match...

[@crystalwings4520]

@@somerandomthin54 Tugboat the best boy.

[@scribbleslol1566]

You mean to tell me that zomboss had the PERFECT TIME to kill crazy dave and DIDN'T??? He must just be LOOKING for his plans to be dismantled

[@revooh-hj2nu]

clearly you've never seen megamind

[@scribbleslol1566]

@@revooh-hj2nu there WAS no presentation, his zombies just showed up, and if he's looking for presentation, pulling up with the zombot would've been it

[@revooh-hj2nu]

@@scribbleslol1566 i meant how megamind became depressed after metroman "died"

[@scribbleslol1566]

@@revooh-hj2nu oh. I got no rebuttal for that

[@rdxdd]

I mean supposedly Mo was mulching all the zombies trying to attack Dave

[@LanaIsUnderrated]

0:50 My question is if its been years, why is she STILL carrying around seed packets?? Is that just something you do in the PvZ universe? instead of keeping a gun on you at all times you keep SEED PACKETS?? I mean whatever works works I suppose

[@el_mr6439]

tbf, those seed packets can create an pseudo atomic bomb

[@MainChannel9521]

Think of it as a kid-friendly version of the 2nd amendment.

[@primalpeashooter]

tugboat carries this game so much

[@dragon_400]

I really hope they get this better in the future

[@IH8Reflorished]

Very unlikely

[@JacobKasza]

The game has been in development for 5 years, popcap obviously doesn’t care.

[@purplejc06]

It's too late

[@amethystdance1815]

@@JacobKaszaea* doesnt care

[@KraylebStudios]

​@@amethystdance1815 Popcap makes the game, they develop it. They create levels

[@phantombuchu]

I gotta agree, Tugboat is indeed the best character On a serious note though, I wanted to like this so badly but I just can't, this genuinely looks so boring

[@phantombuchu]

@@levichicwown9760 well the lag thing is probably because this is still a soft launch, as for the artstyle that's really a subjective thing (personally I think it's charming)

[@Grundrisse]

@levichicwown9760 Forget the art style. The animation is what is truly awful here. The animation for the Garg makes me wanna gag.

[@caoinhnamkhanh2795]

I kinda really love that the lawn isnt the same everytime, its more interesting to work with the given lawn (also kinda makes sense cuz overrun land by zombies or whatever) I have not that much opinion on not being allowed to pick plants myself, as its not that impactful yet due to the lack of plants I gotta say patrice's lack of noises and grunts really makes the dialogue reading obnoxious after 2 dialogue boxes Also why did the 'icecream truck siren' sound like a warning siren than anything? Gonna keep editing this messages with things i find weird or thought of: I think why the levels are so damn short is because of the awful 'ticket' thing and the drawn out ''''actions'''' you have to take I have no opinions on the decor, its nice art, but it feels like part of the problem as it draws out more levels and maybe the reason popcap insists levels are short Also Zomboss being more integral to the story is a nice change since the 1st game, he just shows out of nowhere (and is in 1 single level, excluding the one RECYCLED minigame) I just noticed the Grapes' bar being filled up, the top line is just a straight vertical line, not following the curve the bar is in 42:49 literally 'it'll be over before you even know it' They hold your hand to walk you through introducing conehead and buckethead, then just vine boom garg out of nowhere 1:04:55 on this level rn and i had to turn the volume down bc christ they're loud

[@Darky-Loq86]

Noisier than Iceweed

[@Anubonek]

So im not the only one that hates her voice? I despise that “uH uH uh uH uH” she does at 2:45

[@aubreyathame]

i love that they're making the most tutorial-heavy basic version of the game the third in the series

[@JoeBobbyStanky]

My biggest issue with this game is simply the fact that this game has no difficulty to it or creativity to it what so ever. Sure there are a few plants in this game, some which are new, some we all know and love, but the game just chooses it for you. I mean, that was one of the biggest reasons why Plants vs. Zombies was a great game. The loadout possibilities to bring to a level was pretty big and unlocking all plants gives you quite the massive option to choose how you want to play a level (refering to PvZ 1). Also, this game completely holds your hand. The waves are insanely underwhelming, they tell you how almost EVERYTHING in the game works which just ruins the fun of the element of "suprise". When they intentionally try to make the game hard, then it just almost too much for the preset they gave you anyways, which then forces you to use powerups like they want you to do it since they added it. Having to use powerups for a level just is just stupid. Overall, this game is just a snoozefest compared to 1 and 2. 1 was perfect, 2 was way too much of a cashgrabber (get OP plants for actual money that take no skill), and 3 is just Pvz 1 with all of the fun and creativity ripped out of it.

[@nikokat]

i like how the niece sounds like Daisy from Mario, except when she yells she sounds like an angry chihuahua

[@antonyiparraguirre2296]

53:54 I am become hacked, destroyer of lawns.

[@Somany_memes]

I feel like at this point might as well make this a gatcha game where u need to roll for plants, cuz they after like 3 re-launches and many years on the making they did not change the gameplay one bit from the previous FAILED attempts

[@user-be8ly2lp4k]

The only reason why this franchise is still alive is its community

[@David_TheSuperior]

Didn't even play the game yet I can hear the dreaded screaming coming from the other side

[@NickTopzeira]

From level 61 the game gets tense, from 111 to 120 it's hell

[@lienesauserde7419]

is it rng hard or stratgy hard?

[@NickTopzeira]

@@lienesauserde7419 Both

[@user-lk4lj2wr8b]

Rng hard and strategy hard

[@lienesauserde7419]

So just rng on good zombies spawns, yay

[@TwilightChomperEnthusiast]

This game is a really interesting case of it having simultaneously less effort put into it, as well as more. The game tried to make a captivating story, better than the previous one, and you can see glimpses of “PvZ-style charm,” but everything else, from the watered-down gameplay to reused assets just hurts to see. Here’s hoping for something big to come through and change it for the better!

[@crazydave5562]

The thing about this game is that they have the potential to make a really good game but they don't and I find that sad but at the end of the day we can't do much about because they are not gonna listen to us. But at least we have Tugboat, one of the best characters in the franchise.

[@whiteninji352]

As much as this game is a letdown, Tugboat is great, definitely enjoyed him

[@jakepeng9962]

I wish they did not stray so far from original pvz 3 gameplay, it had some cool things like the taco phase, instant use plant rework, and the legendary plant system where you could only have one per board (which made you have to strategise around the plant). The building system in that game is better than the current system since you get upgrades for doing so. It had alot of bad too, though mostly not too hard to remove like the level system and stuff.

[@el_mr6439]

In 35 levels, PvZ1 gives you like ~25 plants, 3 minigames, 2 new mechanics, ~10 diferent zombies + the content in the shop. In this game they give you 7 plants, 2 level mechanics, a landscape, power ups and the gargantuar. How the first one has way more content while having way less resources in the development?!

[@saltysalt844]

After seeing your last playthru of this, i noticed how improved your editing, i can't really enjoy the other one because how little is your text which is a charm

[@Wailerman]

I was watching Creeps20's livestream of this game, and everyone starting calling Mo "The Mo Behind the Slaughter"

[@alexcartee6302]

This whole game looks like a little kids version of a family guy cutaway gag

[@LyricJCartoons]

It's obvious through all the decisions that PopCap has made with this game so far (going from a Clash Royale inspired game to... this) that they are trying to tap into that "modern casual" market of moms in their late 30s HARD. Everything here is bog standard for a Gardenscapes clone: short and easy levels, focus on customization and story, overly complex tutorials and costly powerups. The question remains then... why bother to call this game PVZ3??? Core fans of the franchise won't like this new direction, and the casual market they're trying to reach will feel alienated at a numbered series. Why not market it as another spinoff; call it "PVZ: Regrowth" or "PVZ: Home Defense" or something? I think it's clear to see why. This game reeks of executive meddling, even more so than modern PVZ2. EA most likely put pressure on PopCap to develop another "mainline" game after focusing so much effort on 2 and the spinoffs (Shooters, Heroes). The failure of BFN must have been the straw that broke the camel's back. It's a shame, really. Like you said, the art looks really nice and charming, and I like the new story (hot take, I even like the new characters), but it doesn't save lazy gameplay. I guess PVZ kind of reflects mobile gaming in total right now - the fact that 2 still gets updates a decade later is remarkable. This slop is what gets downloads nowadays. Even more so that a PVZ match-3 game was also in soft launch shows us that this is just what brings in money.

[@wii-u-enjoyer]

easily the best and most thought out comment here

[@prinshab1076]

​@@wii-u-enjoyerExept "levels easy"

[@rishiheda8186]

53:33 did not expect an Oppenheimer reference

[@sharktheguy3265]

My favorite part of this game was when Tugboat said "it's tugboatin time" and tugged his boat all over Dave's garden

[@1yno]

😐 so funny bro...

[@Random_6565]

@@1ynoI thought it was kinda funny

[@youshouldntaddzombottothisdeck]

It looks like there is dynamic difficulty in this game. if you lose in a level, the next time playing it will be easier.

[@Jarate_gaming]

*TUGBOAT!!!*

[@blixerekdziwnyludz420]

1:05:08 I mean, if I was behind a paywall for over 10 years, I would be mad too

[@youdonotcare]

> still 14 peas per basic Explosion gif Edit: WTF snow pea takes TWENTY

[@el_mr6439]

I guess it's for balance reasons, they gave him a drawback in exchange of reducing his cost (taking pv1 as reference, it would cost 7 suns otherwise).

[@youdonotcare]

⁠@@el_mr6439I figured that, but like. 20 peas is abhorrent

[@SayuuTheSleepy]

I think you've made your point in the campgrounds area where the levels just progress way too fast that you'd need 4 Squashes. You were barely able to set up 5 sunflowers and a huge wave is already thrown at you. It's so unfair! The game runs on a timer instead of zombies killed so it rushes the player and it's so stupid. I think this is all because this isn't even PvZ anymore, it's Gardenscapes atp

[@foxloveer572spears9]

personally I love the first version of pvz3 it looks more fun than the other versions and I like the 3D look of it but I don't mind both looks of it but that's just me

[@buffete3753]

currently , Im not a fan of how it tries to be like those common mobile game , but the game has potential .

[@SmileOlderBro_GodsBrother]

Unfortunately, it's likely Popcap won't care to improve on the numerous issues.

[@vanniudo]

Honestly,i have nothing against the art style of this game,but they could flesh out this style to make it appear like it's a superior game,an evolution,a sequel should be like that. But this one doesn't convince me at all that it's a sequel (WILL NEVER BE),it's much more suitable as a spin-off and I think that's the best way to go,it's ok to be these farm or gardenscape style games but please don't call this a sequel, for me this is an insult and a huge misnomer. literally just remove that "3" from the name and leave the name: "PvZ Welcome to Zomburbia" it suits SO MUCH MORE with a spin-off and surely fewer people would be upset. for me,I'll wait as long as it takes, but I want a REAL SEQUENCE😭😭😭😭

[@Spooksey]

I feel like there should be some big changes, maybe less gardenscapes type gameplay. I like being able to customize neighborville and all, but it would be nice to be able to change what was placed already and buy new decor somehow. Something I love to see, however, is the inclusion of stuff from the PvZ comics. Like Patrice, and the zombie named Tugboat... Who I never thought we'd see again, I'm really happy he's back :) I'd also like to see much more plants. As of now, the game has very very few, despite having an entire arsenal of characters they could work with. Regarding the almanac, I'd like to see it again. It was fun to see everything I've unlocked and all the zombies I discovered :( I say all this as someone who not only grew up with the franchise but as a PvZ OG too.

[@Blend_r]

All I hope is that they don’t forget about Nate from the comics, they’re bringing a few of the comic characters back so it’s definitely plausible

[@plainmilkie]

You are genuinely so much stronger than me because this gameplay bores me to tears watching it but I can’t imagine playing it. I enjoy your commentary a lot which is keeping me on this video, but without that charm I would not have watched gameplay of pvz3 whatsoever ;;;

[@CoolKiller28]

I have like 4 major issues with the game and some minor ones. First off, the levels are too short, in a game about planting plants to defend against hoards of zombies, there isnt enought time in each level to make a propor defence Secondly, the story is too long, I got around this by not using the taco tickets tho Third, you cant select your plants, which was one of the good things about PvZ FInally, the game feels like its mostly tutorials, there doesnt need to be a tutorial for what a plant does, since it should be known by what the plant does I also have minor issues like the sun not having an animation like previous games. Also my first loss in this game was because I couldnt plant enough sun flowers for a proper defence because the final wave came before I could actually make a defence

[@oksat6495]

Yeah we never needed a tutorial on plants because we had the Almanac But looks like the Almanac was removed in this game??

[@therealdeadend]

The story is so stupid, they could've just eaten Dave's brain when he was asleep

[@aidancode]

Okay yes the gameplay is pretty awful but that art style is REALLY growing on me. I always liked it but I think I'm slowly becoming a bigger and bigger fan of it as they add new stuff like Zomboss' design. Also Tugboat's pretty great. Generally pvz3 does two good things for the franchise, being the artstyle and Mo. And everything else is crap. Mo is a really good evolution on mowers though.

[@constantine5028]

Evolution for … worse

[@Zom.bi..]

Huh “tugboat” never thought i’d that name agin

[@branden7555]

You have shit taste, the art style is utter garbage

[@mydogghost]

Story has literally genocide and is hilarious. Also bamboo shot is pretty cool.

[@JoseViktor4099]

Pros: -Art-style looking cool bruh -Characters are funny. Cons: -Music is freaking repetitive -Peashooter got a nerf...Peashooter -Paywalls everywhere! Did you loved instas? Not you shouldn't! -Is this game plagiarizing Gardenscapes? -Paywalls everywhere! Limited lives from now on. -Goofy ahh minute lenght levels -Snowpea costing the same as a peashooter, genius balance. -Why I cant choose my plants? -Ahh yeah, minigames and change of pace were overrated in PvZ1 and PvZ2 -Hope you like characters, because cinematics are part of 60% of the gameplay! Hahaha *cries* -Between all the games they could plagiarize why they choose Gardenscapes? No idea -Bosses also are overrated -Not as much as music variety, I asure you. -Dont you just like when a game stops to give you the slowest tutorials you could get? -Quantity over quality, my favorite. -Again, why Gardenscapes? That game wasn't famous for fraudulent adds?

[@crystalwings4520]

Speaking of Gardenscapes, remember, they were once making PvZ Match, which is a match 3 game, back in May. Yeah, good job, PopCap, y'all gonna ignore Bejeweled, your original (?) match 3 game franchise?

[@JoseViktor4099]

@@crystalwings4520Apparently PvZ Match isn´t being developed by Popcap, but by a company outsourced by EA... Yeah EA doesn´t have any respect for PopCap legacy at all, which sucks.

[@Azurethewolf168]

Dude the music is not repetitive. It’s good, stop hating it simply for being unique. I feel the style is a bit overused, most of the songs in this soft launch are actually from the 2020 one, and that one also included a lot more variety in music genres rather than simply orchestral or electronic, it had stuff like country, reggae or disco.

[@JoseViktor4099]

@@Azurethewolf168 So, what do I mean with "repetitive"? Well. PvZ1 offered long sountracks, and every time a big wave come in , the music intensifies a bit, and it were music variation here and there from minigames. PvZ2 offered shorter soundtracks, but as expense of changing it every time a big wave comes it, so you have FF intro, FF wave A,B,C and final, also they has music variation here and there from special levels. As PvZ3 lacks specials levels and only has vasebreaker a completely optional mode, doesn´t have dinamic music and you will be very likely to hear the same soundtrack due to how shorts the levels are. You may like it and thats fine, yet I still think is repetitive. Its not feeling unique, I just genuely think this about PVZ3 music.

[@Azurethewolf168]

@@JoseViktor4099 makes sense, but I mean the mobile version of pvz had the same thing where it was one song over and over. I wonder why they never programmed in variations of music, considering the 2020 version actually had variations of the same theme used in each stage, which they could’ve used as the wave themes in this version. Even if not that, the game uses Wwise, and they could’ve brought back the adaptive music of pvz1 using intensity with drums as the waves go on.

[@MonsterRen]

Level 11 gave me a bit of trouble I had to do it a couple times because of the level design

[@bellezhang1857]

I really have no idea why Popcap wanted to make another Pvz game, like pvz2 wasn't ruined by them enough

[@Darky-Loq86]

Money money money money money

[@noobydanoob123]

I think I know how this game could have a chance. - make zombies have less health since nerfed peashooter - make the level bar speed a little slower - let you choose plants - while you can fix things like the sign you have to survive a horde as you fix the sign and plant plants in pots. - increase knockbacks by 3x - make robot guy lawn mower not help till he earns your trust - Increase zombie spawning by 2x - Remove tutorial stuff - Remove the goofy ahh newspaper part - Add more sound effects for the annoying girl. "AAH-E-A-A-AA" - Remove the 10-minute walking in every single cutscene and replace with a fade into black and fade i with them there - make it give shovel shorter instead after 10 FUCKING LEVELS - add multiple waves in a level (I'm only in 19 minutes so far)

[@HansVinlin]

"AAH-E-A-A-AA

[@user-hr9ud4ni6b]

This game should add a Potato Mine back，he is good at fighting first zombie to save sun，without Potato Mine，this game will be pain

[@nutmegdoesstuff1339]

It still messes with me that they just randomly switched to a single sun meta instead of 25. Like, with the card game it made sense, your mana going up 25 a turn would be weird, but why one sun for a classic tower defense style pvz game?

[@Grundrisse]

It's to appeal to the baby audience.

[@nutmegdoesstuff1339]

@@Grundrisse Fair enough, the target audience pvz3's clearly built for are either too young or too old for double/triple digit numbers.

[@8bitred332]

So nice of Popcap to give us an inside look of PvZ 0.3!

[@Ellee999]

Tugboat makes the game infinitely better even if you only see him twice

[@TheHorrorPlant]

Now we just need Frogpants!

[@Ellee999]

@@TheHorrorPlant and also nigel

[@BaconNoobGaming]

big trouble?

[@TheHorrorPlant]

@@Ellee999 Yes, him too

[@KraylebStudios]

Thank you PopCap for not even trying to make the game better.. holy frick you guys dropped the ball. Do better

[@krystalsitton5857]

I’m sorry for the pain you had to go through Flag Zombie to play this game. In my opinion, it is way to distant of Pvz 1 and even Pvz 2 in gameplay and story wise. Like why is there a life system? Why does waking up Dave or gaining Mo’s trust costs you a taco ticket? Is it me or when Patrice does her version of garble garble (Uhh uhuhuhu when happy) gets annoying after 3 times? Dave has been in a comma for the past 3 months without food or water how is he not dead!? Where’s Penny? I thought she would be very important early in the story since his creator is in a comma.

[@nutmegdoesstuff1339]

The fact that the load times are longer than the levels should be illegal.

[@kidsIIIII009]

It still does look playable but as you progress through later levels it just felt flat

[@treehousegames7903]

The funny thing is that this game wouldn't be too bad if they brought back wave stalling mechanics... and made the explosive instas actual plants instead of powerups... and returned to the multiples of 25 sun system... and let you pick your plants... and made it not be homescapes... and a thousand other little things that I'm not thinking of off the top of my head, probably. What I'm saying is, there is an actual game here. It's just buried under so much crap.

[@monokun_6072]

i understand they want to cater for younger audiences but even i an child i hated games that had life limits if you fail or powerups to the point i would not play them, besides, im pretty sure kids are gonna like the older games more than this, its gonna be more popular with the candy crush moms and its likely not gonna be popular

[@JettSpeed21]

They've lost their magic

[@Neon_Here]

the only good thing about new pvz3 is tugboat, prove me wrong

[@cinnamonflavord]

I love the artstyle, I wanna know who the artist is.

[@Artherbit]

The thing that surprises me the most about this is the fact it lacks an energy system, where you essentially have to stop playing for a stupidly long time for it to recharge or "pay" to recharge it

[@freshslider]

This game has like the crash bandicoot 4 art style where they over exaggerated each of the origional character designs and made them a bit more distracting than they previously were, so this makes the game go from pretty decent to just a clone of gardenscapes

[@Dsaberz]

Wait. I knew it. The pea shooter and the snow one are weaker. I thought i was loosing my mind.

[@nutmegdoesstuff1339]

Honestly, if they didn't change the lawnmowers to only having one for the whole level, this would go from being unfairly hard to try and make you use powerups to the easiest one just because of the like one minute level durations lol.

[@Sculler14]

They Design The Levels Like It's A PVZ2 Kaizo Mod Gawddamn

[@whiteninji352]

They added Plantern back now lmao. The sunk-cost fallacy is in full effect

[@dawidek8237]

am i the only fan of that first pvz3 beta? like all they had to do is release to the public and announce that they will be doing updates there will be always people who spend 271901$ to maxing plants, so popcap could get that early money for the game

[@patrovich]

you mean the 2019-2020 one? as much as i hated it, it was way better than this

[@mrdante_]

@@patrovich the 2024 is way better imo, if we could choose our seeds it would be so much better

[@foxloveer572spears9]

I agree I like the first beta way better than this

[@DragonSnp]

The first beta should be like heroes a secondary game

[@AthenaLin-]

Sad that they nerf snow pea. Does less damage than peashooter. Peashooter takes 14 peas to kill a zombie while snow pea takes 20 peas

[@idk7677]

As if they weren’t that good either before

[@AthenaLin-]

​@@idk7677in pvz 1 it does the same damage as a peashooter

[@AthenaLin-]

​@@idk7677also don't use him as your attacking plant. Use him as a support plant to group zombies and squash them all

[@Taceria]

,, He WHAT " research has been said that he was unconscious for 89 days? Oh my god that's like as long it even longer than the day of the bite of 87

[@pineappleonpizza028]

The new gardenscapes update is looking sick

[@Mr_Nightmare419]

Sad to see that popcap don't even listen to our ideas or opinions 😔💔

[@schlankeschlangemitlanze2467]

In theory, the game limiting your choice of what plants to bring yourself should allow the devs to do great level design. As shown with the "Only Wallnut and Squash" level it had a nice idea, but somehow managed to be terrible. I wonder how many level designers they have

[@doctornether2885]

I honestly think not a lot, I think the team is really small at this point, anyways, they should have kept the seeds choosing, if they wated that kind of level design, just do what PvZ 2 was already doing and do pre-chosen plants levels, because some levels just give you anything, without it being really important to the level's strategy

[@SkiftyKitty]

53:34 IS THAT AN OPPENHEIMER REFERENCE 😭😭

[@rugbug531]

If you do more videos on this game, could you turn down or mute the audio for the levels with snow pea in them? I turned my phones audio down to the second lowest setting and my ears still hurt from snow pea, it was just so sharp

[@flagzombie]

I'll try.

[@mintyaquagreen1675]

Patrice! I remember her, she was from the PvZ comics. I sure hope Nate gets his share of the fame.

[@AveryLovesGlitchcore]

I feel like people would have loved this game if it was a spin off instead of a mainline game

[@Stevo.100]

What does the 1, 2 and 3 sign in the background mean? It's not there in the beginning but then becomes permanent.

[@pat1r1ck]

The sins of pvz 3: 1. The life system strikes again 2. Homescapes in general 3. You can't pick the plants (biggest sin and removing the main aspect of pvz) 4. Nerfing the plants in general (like it takes 3 peashooters instead of 2 for a conehead), (if peashooters were nerf by half, snow peas are nerf by half again in damage so effectively more useless since the slow effect is useless since it does almost no damage) and walnuts are much weaker by the looks of it or the zombies are much stronger (but I can tell the zombies are much faster) 5. It's more power up reliant than plants because if the new sun system

[@yuzhongluoyisson9420]

The decoration segments are just extras for me. Nothing too big. Although, they do enhance the atmosphere overall, I guess (unlike the messy stuff before Crazy Dave even woke up after 3 MONTHS)

[@sonicdml4175]

Waves ramping up that fast could actually be a good challange mode... ...If the level didn't end immediatly after.

[@Lowqualitycat]

39:31 it's the Beatles!!!!

[@weakspirit_]

whatever team they have now in popcap is not doing so hot. like even if they have 2 more years, does it even matter if they keep digging deeper into the mobile game shovelware formula...

[@talentlessanimator2831]

Not talking about the obvious problem of the game because everyone already did I just realised how cursed Dave would look if you took is beard away

[@0knothing443]

This game feels like the people in charge of making didn't play a single pvz game beforehand 💀

[@crazyreplaydeath2945]

Every time I see a spam group of zombies in this game it feels like a man in suite is behind me saying to use the power ups and buy more. Never felt that way in PVZ2.