Saltsea Chronicles

If you are considering trying Saltsea, because you loved Mutazione ... hang on for a second. In my opinion - and only my opinion - this title leans even harder on its writing (so much of it) than Mutazione, and the quality of that writing is significantly worse. There are too many characters, too many branching story possibilities, too much endgame exposition dump, not enough uniqueness, and too much general preciousness to make multiple playthroughs of Saltsea worth the trouble. The art is simplistic and rendered at the Where's Waldo-meter level. It is also frequently re-used. The world building is even more hippie-dippy and ignorant of actual human nature than Mutazione, without Mutazione's more fully realized scenario. It's almost hilarious in its earnest communalism. The main characters suffer from the same issue as Tacoma - too many psychosexual traits and themes crammed into too small of a group. Everyone is Special. Still, this title is ambitious. The branching story definitely shows its seams (especially when it comes time to select an onshore party), but it feels far less cookie cutter than something like Fallout: New Vegas or The Outer Worlds. Making something like this even appear to have consequential decisions with so many branching choices is pretty impressive, even if the content isn't consistently amazing.

I'm writing this review as someone who actually really didn't enjoy Mutaizone (the previous game by this same developer) and I think they have really addressed some major design issues with that game in Saltsea Chronicles, really delivering on the strong writing and ideas that were already present in Mutaizone. I really disliked my time with Mutaizone because while the writing was strong, it was also very SLOW. Not very much happens in Mutaizone, and you get this slow plot dripped out over very long walks across an island. I'm generally a fan of media that allows itself to linger in spaces, but Mutaizone really pushed that even for me. The garden planting minigame also always felt very shallow and simple. Saltsea Chronicles, on the other hand, is fast and pacy. Things are HAPPENING, you're moving around often and plot is unfolding. You move around the various islands in a very fast way, and it's very quick to get the little drips and drops of writing. The writing is just as strong as Mutaizone, but is aided by the fact that you are actually doing something! Having a purpose gives all of the writing weight, even the things that don't directly move the plot forward matter more because there is a plot to be moved. I cried many times over the course of this game. That isn't to say the writing isn't variable, at its weakest it's reproducing very well-trodden queer romance tropes, and at its strongest it's plumbing the nuance of art, grief, and reparations. My biggest issue is that a game of Spoils (a trick-taking card minigame) takes three hands. It takes too long to play and disrupts the pace of the game too much. Even though I liked it I found myself avoiding it to not disrupt the game flow. In concluision, I highly recommend, especially if you didn't like Mutaizone, as weird as that might sound.

✅ post apocalyptic climate change setting ✅ non-binary they/them main character ✅ ambiguously polyamorous queer relationship ✅ generic corporate Memphis art style ❌ good writing or compelling characters ❌ interesting and compelling music and sounds that complement the story I bought this game because I loved Mutazione. This game is a very poor follow up. I feel like they took every faddish progressive meme and shoehorned it into some poor excuse for a video game. It lacks the deep and interesting characters prominent in Mutazione. I was also expecting some amazing music and sounds but the game seems remarkably quiet.

My review is entirely subjective. This game is so different, I don't think there's a good or bad value to it. It is just personally not for me. The beginning is an overwhelming amount of phrases and slang that I couldn't understand, the art style was not to my tastes. I just don't think this product was for me. That said, it looks to be extremely creative and different, so if you're not put off by trying to decipher what each character means with their world's slang, you're not bothered by very fast moving exposition, and the fact that you're not following any set character, this might be for you instead.

殿堂级电子小说就76个评价也太惨了 + 美术和配色超强，场景还是那么活泼可爱 + 有家庭伦理戏我很满意（但仍然没有告诉我们Ade的野爹是谁 + 进步趣味灾后世界观设定，堪称进步人想出来的理想世界 - 没有电子小说必备的已读跳过功能 - [spoiler]对The Grace的下毒劳改犯我狠狠唾骂对毒死Stew的凶手我缩头乌龟连Stew的尸体都不去要回来。还有Jayantha这个角色是干什么来的？[/spoiler]

A beautiful game with a distinctive art style, incredible writing, and heartbreaking moments. I cried at least a few times late-game from some of the consequences of my choices and smiled a lot and laughed too. I do think the ending I got was a bit abrupt and odd but overall this was a really great experience!

Cute lil crabs...and CATS! and island full of them!...what else is there to say? :D I went through 2 playthroughs and still more to explore. Great storytelling (D&D from GOT should take note), art is wonderful, I love the characters esp. Molpe who stays true to themselves. The card game is very fun. Sad to see what happened to DGF but hopefully some day there will be some resolve there and we will get to see a bit more of the characters. This game made life more bearable for me in a troubled time. Big love and many thanks to the devs, artists, and writers. 10/10 will play again.

A robust conversation-based game allowing for some player agency in where the crew travels and how they resolve conflicts. Solid replayability, since many locations and characters can't be accessed in one playthrough. The illustrations are gorgeous, with a fun, interactive quality, and the characters and story are compelling and well fleshed-out. If you like the look of this game, or you enjoyed Mutazione, I hope you'll give this one a try - it really deserves more love!

Lousy art. Lousy story. Lousy user interface / interaction. Plot holes. Plot line suddenly dropped. Inconsistent characterization. A lot of stuff is just randomness. A lot of stuff is just padding.

I went into this game unsure of the concept. I was a big fan of Mutazione, and trusted that I would like whatever else the developer put out, and I was absolutely not disappointed. Saltsea Chronicles is a beautifully crafted world with engaging writing & characters. If you enjoyed Mutazione, you'll love Saltsea.