I don't leave reviews very often, but I really enjoyed this game! The basic gameplay is smooth and it has a charming art style and an interesting aesthetic!
I really enjoyed slowly building up my farm and exploring the various locations. The characters are also quite charming and have fairly interesting stories of their own (although as of the last time I played, not all characters are fully fleshed out). Player character-wise, this is closer to a Rune Factory than a Story of Seasons - you play a named character with their own history, and there's very limited customization (mostly just hats or mods). There's the standard relationship levels with NPCs (gifts, chatting, etc.), although most NPCs have fairly limited day-to-day dialogue outside of quests. AFAIK there's no "dating", which probably makes sense since the PC is on the younger side.
Did I mention I really love the graphics? It's a very clean pixel art style, where everything is distinct (if that makes sense). I love my cute deadpan Proti too!
The few negative reviews I see mostly come down to grindiness and certain gameplay systems:
- grindiness: creating certain machines/items/upgrades require a fairly large amount of materials. This is a game that rewards you for constantly foraging, farming, and keeping your machines active. Alternatively, chill out and you'll get your greenhouse eventually.
- "requirements" for finishing the game: the game does require some interaction with most of the systems (e.g. farming, ranching, fishing, fighting, etc.) in order to complete the story, but I don't think it's a particularly onerous requirement. I didn't spend enough time fishing, and I was able to get to where I needed in like, 2 in-game days? I basically haven't interacted at all with the genetics system and I seem to be doing alright.
Ultimately, I think the complaints mainly come down to trying to "rush" completion. There's not really anything stopping you from taking it slow and enjoying the game (or even temporarily dropping it until you feel that itch again). Sure, if you want to min-max and finish the story quickly, you might feel irritated, but I know there are lot of people in the cozy game genre who also enjoy slowly farming their way to completion. That's not to say you can't min-max - there are a number of minor improvements (e.g. building a cellar for "artisan" products) or farming automation that you can do if you're one of those Stardew starfruit production line people.
Of course, the game isn't perfect - I do have a few complaints:
1. Late game you get a way to move buildings, but it'd be nice if there were an easier way to move platforms around
2. There needs to be a way to scroll through interactions - please just let me pet my animals when they're standing in front of crops, I'm begging you
3. More day-to-day dialogue would be nice
4. I don't mind taking notes outside of game, but it'd be nice to have a way to track a recipe/"mission" (you can track quests, but not the faction trades)
