BOOK OF HOURS

I played Cultist Simulator and didn't get far with it, so I decided to give Book of Hours a shot. I was immediately drawn in by the art style and mysterious beginning with its strong narrative, and thought, "This is going to be the answer to everything that frustrated me about Cultist Simulator." I was wrong. The problem with both games is that the devs just don't respect the player's time. There's only the barest hint of signposting and absolutely no tutorializing. You will not figure this game out on your own without serious effort. In theory this should be fine, as there's no imminent death mechanic like in Cultist Simulator. In practice you're stuck watching an endless series of timers drip down, waiting on the one card that will actually let you unlock the next thing. I started wondering if I was part of some bizarre telemetry-gathering experiment to determine how many times a human being can be coerced to wilfully watch a pointless timer. (Frankly, it's hard to imagine the playtesters for this game weren't playing a version with timers fully disabled.) I know a lot of fans see this as intentional design, all part of the "challenge." I know there are guides out there made by fans that supposedly help. If you enjoy watching paint dry, there are options that don't cost $25.

~30 hours in, probably halfway to 2/3rds through the game, and definitely worth the asking price when not on sale, and I got it on sale. (I don't know anything about the DLC.) 4/5 stars. I would add 1/4 star if it had an ingame note-taking method - this is an interactive build-your-own-wiki game, and it is very enjoyable, but you have to use an external note source or else you will be painfully lost. The remaining 3/4s is for an awful UI. Genuinely terrible. Your primary foe in this game is the UI, not your challenges. Would definitely suggest having a second monitor. Surprisingly addictive gameplay loop. Pleasant graphic design with some interesting lore tidbits. Very, very good at giving you AHA!!! moments. Very relaxing - I think it's a shame that I got it in late Spring instead of late Autumn, because this game would be even better with snow outside and some hot chocolate. Don't know about endgame content quite yet, but I've already gotten my money's worth. If the endgame ends up being opaque in how to get the late game items (I've already lucked into the recipe for one, and it felt so good), that would definitely be frustrating, but I want to make a review before I forget to do so. Also, if you are not British, this game will make you want to go back in time to strangle Charlemagne and stop him from coming up with what would eventually become tuppences, shillings, crowns, and the like.

好玩，游玩时间足以证明。126小时打了两个周目，第一个周目啥也不会就纯粹乱玩，打了五十多个小时把大多数房间都开了，但是没有规划好技能树被卡了，遂重新开启精打细算的九术登顶二周目，主要观感在坐牢一周目和奋进二周目的基础上进行阐发。 首先关于游戏机制，凑齐相应性相等级后来进行读书、开房间、升技能、搓道具等操作，算是继承前作的机制。非常熟悉，减少上手难度，而且就算是没玩过前作的新人应该也能摸索出规律，毕竟不会有各种紧迫事件，可以慢慢探索。开房间这个机制我觉得挺有意思的，尤其是初次游玩且没被剧透的情况下，凭自己的努力开启一个未知房间，再看到风格不一的房间时非常惊喜好吧。不过这机制在二周目的时候就显得很繁琐了，不是为了全成就或者游戏瘾大的玩家，真的不会有很多人在头一个完美档通关后还玩新周目吧，只能说各有利弊。接下来讲讲主要的优缺点。 优点： 1.美术风格独特舒适、物品细节到位。个人非常中意这种风格，像纸质贴纸一样，大多数物品都有介绍，可以调查和移动，还能满足一点装修癖。二周目完美档后已经开始对我的书屋进行装修整理，这么多不同类型的房间和许多功能各异的书籍、道具、工具、食物等，摆好了是真有成就感，还真不比一些装修小游戏差吧。 2.文本内容优秀。这点必须也有汉化组的功劳，一如既往对味的翻译水准，配合神秘学世界观非常贴切，契合的文本风格对游戏的提升绝对是成倍的。不少人物、书籍、道具等也是前作《密教模拟器》里出现过的，既有情怀又拓展了更多内容。对世界观研究爱好者简直倍爽。 3.节奏舒缓，适合放宽心来游玩。这里的“舒缓”是相较于《密教模拟器》而言的，这就是吃公家饭的管理员吧不像教主勤恳打工一个人养活整个教，有编制就是爽啊（？）除了想快速通关的玩家，建议第一次玩都放平心态，体验一下图书管理员一个人独享大house的爽哉生活（因为急也没用前期该坐牢的都得坐）。 缺点： 1.运气不好是真坐牢。坐牢主要体现在前期，不开mod的情况下，前期读书、开房间都需要等合适的天气或可雇佣人员，而且假如开出来的书教诲和技能不能很好配合连升级都难。说好听点是享受随机的乐趣，说不好听就是作者变相强制提高游玩时间。 2.找书难、长书架少、读书繁琐。说实话作为书屋怎么连放书的大型房间都没几个，很多放书的地方又散又短，强烈建议多加几个可以专门放书的房间，摆在一起效率还高还好看。玩这游戏基本必须excel和wiki开着玩，读了什么书开出来什么回忆最好记一下，重复回忆记一本书就好。读书繁琐倒不是指机制繁琐，主要是找对应性相的书桌很麻烦，就不能右键自动把书放入最匹配性相的书桌吗，要是有一键自动添加对应的魂质、回忆、技能就更好了，后期升高级技能看书搓多个回忆的时候腱鞘炎都要点出来了，难道这也是作者拖时间的阳谋？！说真的这套流程越往后面玩就越无聊，我的效率不该越来越高吗怎么越来越麻烦了。 3.书的来源太少了，事件触发太慢。好吧我是个收集党，我都来当图书管理员了当然想要全收集书籍，但是书籍获取除了开房间只有去拍卖会，而拍卖会出现时间间隔又长，前中期还没那么多金币，不开mod根本没办法收集完。特别是有几本书的获取要求苛刻，建议有时候会有访客送未编目的书来，以此增加获取途径。事件触发也是如此，那么多事件每次来借书的人间隔也挺长的，进一步导致后面建立学会的选择不多。建议可以自己调整事件触发的速率，让各个玩家都能拥有自己合适的体验。 DLC： 很有创意的dlc，光是做菜就增添了无数乐趣，把人喊来开宴会顺便赚教诲是极好，就是一个季节只能开一次挺伤的。照着wiki做菜想要全收集菜品，但是能摆的地也太少了，多来几个专门摆书摆东西的空房间吧。学会建立挺有意思的，进一步扩充世界观，不过要达成想要的学会目标完全离不开wiki，而且事件触发又是随机的，导致有可能缺失关键人物建立不了想要的学会，果然又是一个看脸的设计。 本作比起前作风格绝对是慢节奏了很多，喜欢安静享受日子的玩家完全可以不慌不忙每天听着bgm看书、开房间、搓道具、做饭、喂小动物、探索荒野、海岸捡东西等等。当然，这很容易变成另一层面上的无聊，和前作每天在生死线上挣扎和警察斗智斗勇的日子相比简直是两个极端。既然是角色扮演建议沉下心把自己当悠闲图书管理员玩玩，实在玩不下去也很正常。总之，让我们拜请诸位司辰，谅必我们能理解伟大无形之术！

You are the new librarian for an occult book depository on a lonely island. The books themselves are the "combat" encounters that you need to overcome. If you love reading and worldbuilding, you will love this game. If you don't, you won't. Simple as that. The expansion gives you a reason to use the many, many food items that are available in the game. High marks for that. Plays well on the Steam Deck, though people who have deteriorating eyesight like myself might disagree.

This game is ridiculously hard-- not because it's actually difficult, but because you have no idea what's going on. There's no tutorial and no help at all; the only reason. It says the game is very forgiving, because you can take all the time you need to figure it out and you won't ever permanently lose anything, and that's true, but you can still screw up and waste materials you don't know how to get back yet. There's been at least three times now that I was completely stuck, and then discovered whole mechanics I was supposed to have been using from the beginning. That all sounds really negative, but it's not. This game is amazing. Figuring it out gives you an extremely rich sense of exploration, progression, and problem solving. I feel extremely clever playing this game, as someone who theoretically likes puzzle games but sucks at solving puzzles. This game is open-ended enough that you'll be able to approach your solutions in loads of different ways, making use of what happens to be available to you at that moment. I've barely even started this game, by the way. There's a LOT more. I bet you spend *most* of the game having mastery of the mechanics-- but it's going to take a long and exciting period of discovery to get there.

If you enjoyed Cultist Simulator, give this one a HARD pass. Progression is reliant on assistance and getting an assistant with the correct aspect to move forward is RNG. Boosting assistant aspect is dependent on feeding, watering, and talking about the weather (also random). There isn't a grocer in town (because of course there isn't, obviously). This game is supposed to be "more forgiving" but to counter that, they've made it 100x more grindy than CS. "Read the wiki" I did, for longer than I've played the game. I really want to like this one because I love CS but, I just can't. Makes me hesitant to buy their upcoming title. Obscuring the core gameplay loop and requiring IRL research to progress was a bad call. WF didn't need to reinvent the wheel for this one. Its only saving grace is workshop support. Modding it to a playable, less infuriating state is the only reason I won't be too pressed about buying.e

a case study in why stories generally focus on characters or plot instead of discarding both for setting. also a case study in how to make a video game teeth-grindingly boring. I think it's better than cultist simulator in the second regard but not by much. progression in this game can be halted entirely by rng. you cannot win the game, even if you have done all necessary preparations, until the game randomly decides that it's the right season to do so*. you cannot read a necessary book for your ending until the game randomly decides to spawn in a language tutor. it's not even "punishing," it's just poorly conceived and annoying. the writing is still very good on a sentence level, the sound design is nice, the art ranges from okay to really cool, and the music is solid. as a whole, though, this game fails to be both good entertainment or good art. allegations surrounding AK aside, this game treats matters of oppression, violence, and colonialism in a very strange way. I can't articulate it, but I think it ties into how everything in this game is connected to the hours/principles. there's a statue of a grecoroman style abduction in one of the rooms which is stated to be a possible depiction of "salvation." these abduction myths (e.g. persephone, daphne) are stories about young women being SA'd. there are mentions, too, of the inca empire and mexico, and little wisps of implications that they "fell." still, discussions of colonialism and the trans-atlantic slave trade are completely absent. there's certainly touches of orientalism in this game and cultist simulator, but I'm willing to give grace because in both, your "home base" is britain and you're only really interested in the most fantastical and strange places and aspects of anywhere else. discussions of religion are also strange in this game, christianity and the solar church seem to be one and the same, but we also see that judaism (and antisemitism) exists, and there are mentions (in both games) of islam, but the mechanisms of religion in this universe are just not explained, which makes each reference to painful parts of history more awkward and concerning than the last. did the solar church codify antisemitism into law, declare crusades against muslim powers, authorize the spanish inquisition, and approve of slavery? who knows! maybe! if kennedy and weather factory as a whole care, they certainly don't express it. this last one is just petty, but in this universe the occult as a whole is vehemently against heterosexual, reproductive intercourse. so: why isn't this game more gay? where are the gay people? the corriviality is pretty homoerotic in concept but you won't see it in game. in game you'll see dyads mostly as men and women, "brothers," and fathers and sons (the focus of the last game's exile DLC). why is the only trans person in this game a trans woman aligned to the principle of cannibalism, blood, and to some extent, predation? why aren't transgender people, in this universe, drawn to the forge of days or the moth or any other power concerned with re-making and transformation? this universe is so fine-tuned for gay and trans stories and there's less than nothing. don't make a world where being straight is oppressed and you can change your body with dark magic and then not do anything queer with it besides one concerningly conceived trans woman! I purchased this at an exceedingly low price point via a humble bundle (as the price was split between a handful of other games). I would say that what I actually spent was 50 hours, but to be honest, many of those after the first few were spent on youtube or listening to audiobooks. I will probably play more in the future because I like achievements and second-screening, but I really doubt that this is what WF intended for their game. not worth your time or thought. I think it's really funny that they're making a disco elysium next but I don't even think it's going to be an amusing flop, I think it's just going to be another slog. *note: at around 20 more hours into the game I learned that there is a workaround to trigger Numa. obviously this is not telegraphed. I think the lack of telegraphing would be fine, for the record, if the game was generally less tedious and better designed to let the player know what they can do and how they can play around. it's a "spreadsheet game" and that's fine, but the spreadsheet gameplay is associated with games themed around farming and management for a reason. it doesn't work ludonarratively with horror and cults. look at fear and hunger and darkest dungeon. look at horror card games like occlude and inscryption, look how they center around player input and not waiting around. why is WF making video games seriously pick any other medium.