First of all, I just want to say thank you to Thunder Lotus. I always appreciate devs that "undersell" their game from first impressions. This will be a mostly spoiler free review, especially since the story and writing of the game is the strongest point, by far.
At first, you think you are just going to play some Stardew Valley/Harvest Moon/Animal Crossing game (which is a big part of the game, don't get me wrong). But then it hits you hard with your first true mission as the new Spiritfarer.
I was not expecting how strong the writing is in this game. I found it even more sad and charming that each of the characters/spirits was based off of someone the writers knew in their own lives. I wish I got to spend more time with most of the cast, protagonist included. I'm glad they gave Stella her own voice and story, as opposed to her just bouncing off the other spirits/friends/family members, etc. Astrid, Atul, Daria, Jackie, and Stella's stories were all heart wrenching. I'm not sure what the devs were really thinking with Elena, but you can't win them all. Getting the laundry list of collectathon requests post spirit journey was just the cherry on top with her story/requests.
The music is fantastic. Extremely fitting for the game and the wide variety of areas you get to explore in. I never got tired of it, even after 30+ hours and a 100% run. Aesthetically, it is very cute. You get Daffodil, your cat partner, which you can pet (always a big plus). Stella gets light customization, some hidden behind unlocks some behind story. Whoever designed a lot of the backgrounds and environments deserves to work on many more games. Truly a beautifully and well-intended designed game.
Mechanics of the game can be a little tedious, as at the end of the day they are just a handful of small minigames. My major complaint is with the pacing, since they really hold back on the quality of life and upgrades until its pretty much not necessary in the game. Some of the requests being timelocked led to very quiet parts of the game, especially if you did send off spirits onto their journey (as intended and supposed to). I think the game is worth sticking through, but myself and a few people I know who've played the game have shared the same complaints and even have dropped it. I don't know if I missed something, but I didn't get the fast travel system working either until it was WAY TOO LATE.
Overall, play the game for the comfiness. Come for the cute animals, building their houses, learning about them, farming, cooking, fishing, and living a peaceful "life". Stay for the laughs, tears, gutwrenching moments, and goofiness. Your experience is what you make of it. Beating the game is 100% worth it. Not sure doing a completionist run was worth it.
