Astronook

Astronook caught my eye on the Wholesome Games YouTube channel, I was very intrigued and excited by it. I instantly fell in love with this game. You play as a character shackled by their 9-5 job, wanting a more fulfilling life and reminiscing on their childhood with their grandparents. You complete star constellation puzzles, take photos of planets with a telescope and the story slowly revealed over the course of a week or so. The star constellation puzzles do get progressively difficult as you progress through the story, introducing new mechanics for completing the star constellations but never in a rage quitting or frustrating way. The game does give you hints on how to solve the puzzles, but it only enables the hints after you've had a fair go and there are three levels of hints so you can decide how much help you need. The devs have been very active in the Steam discussions and have fixed reported bugs. The 2D art style is colourful and it is easy to see where everything is. The music is relaxing and put a smile on my face every time I opened the game. I wasn't expecting a story whatsoever, but it was surprisingly emotional. The only critism I can think of is that it would've been nice to have some kind of 2D draw cut scene, instead of speech bubbles when the story progressed. The story was still impactful, but it would've been nice to see an illistration of what the characters were saying or doing.

I absolutely adore the aesthetic of this game and overall theme. The puzzles gradually get harder and some of them are actually a bit mind boggling, but there is no rush to figure it out and you can restart as many times as you need until you get it. I also enjoyed the quick time events for taking pictures. The story was sweet and is a good reminder to cherish our loved ones while they are around.

A fun little puzzle game about a fantasy astronomy. I love real astronomy, but always struggled with my telescope, so the idea of searching for cute constellations and planets with a straight forward puzzle game is great if you want to do a few at a time.

It's cute and warm. The controls on Steam Deck are a little strange (Y and Right Trigger are intermittently confirm buttons) but you get used to them. The game loop of connecting constellations and using them to find the planets is a very adorable way to simplify and game-ify real stargazing - it feels reminiscent without being a direct overt copy. Scratches the itch to stargaze for me pretty badly, as it's Winter where I am and too cold to be outside for long. The puzzles themselves are creative, engaging, and fun, nothing exceedingly hard but it's not comically easy easier. Sound design is lovely and gets you in the mood. I didn't really care for the story as it's very family-orientated and that's not my thing. The writing was a bit rough and not super interesting but honestly it's fine, and I think most people will enjoy it. Overall a pretty strong recommend if you like stargazing or stars :)

Ce jeu vidéo est pile ce que je recherchais ! Un petit jeu chill, avec de la douce musique lofi en fond. J'apprécie d'autant plus que l'on parle d'astronomie, une de mes passions. Le fait que l'on puisse découvrir des planètes et même d'autres objets célestes donnent envie de tout découvrir et je m'amuse énormément a faire des photos parfaites. De plus j'apprécie beaucoup le gameplay où l'on doit retracer les constellations pour ensuite s'en aider pour trouver les astres et autres objets célestes. La petite histoire derrière me parait très mignonne et s'insère bien dans un jeu qui semble très nostalgique.

Quite a lovely game - Pretty short, but some of the constellations can be quite tough to figure out the correct order of dots for, in which the hints system does a good job at nudging you in the right direction. Saved me on a few in the later groups. If you're a perfectionist then some of the photo opportunitities might do your head in a little bit, but there is a little bit of wiggle room on adjusting the timing yourself to make it easier. Has a small story attached that adds to its charm as well. This is one of those games that's good to play either just once or every once in a while when it's been out of your mind for a bit :]

I saw another review describe this as a "cozy game for introverts", and I'd say I agree wholeheartedly with that one. This game really captures that quiet feeling in the middle of the night before dawn, when you feel like you have the world to yourself while everyone else is asleep. It's relaxing, and I'd love to see more like it in the future.

Cute game with an adorable storyline. Fun and relatively simple constellation puzzles (I only used the hint system twice). It is a short and cozy game, perfect for unwinding. The music and ambience are very calming, and the visuals are really pleasing. The sound effects also scratched an itch I did not know I had. Overall, a wonderful little game to relax with.

Very relaxing and not overly hard. The game gives grace if you are struggling, but I was determined to finish the game without hints. I did end up using hints on the very last puzzle before the epilogue. I only wish there was more to this game.

Ein schönes gemütliches und entspanntes Spiel, welches man vor allem nach einem stressigen Tag oder anderen stressigen Spielen spielen kann. Ich mag diese ruhige Atmosphäre und sowieso die Gestaltung des Spiels! Auf jeden Fall werde ich das weiterhin immer mal zocken! Empfehlung auf jeden Fall!