Verdant Skies

I wanted to like Verdant Skies, I really did. But its problems just kept adding up too high for me to ignore. Let's get right into it with the cons. - Immediately you might notice the character sprites on the map are pixel art, but everything else isn't. If the animals were also pixel art I'd accept it as a design quirk, but no, the animals are not pixel too. It's jarring, and I just don't care for it. - The game tries to have a genetic alteration component, but it's largely too simple and I had the best crops possible with very little effort. There are some trade offs for certain traits, but they aren't enough to really consider it for long. - Some of the characters are. Odd. Jade has a sort of "evil upper management" deal going on but expects you to act cordially. Her brother is a hyper aggressive cop in a town of like. Five people. Zaheen is somehow space Christian? The game never specifies so maybe not Christian per say, but if you try to romance them they try and make sure you'll convert to their religion and they use a capital h Him to refer to their god. Altogether a majority of the characters feel bizarrely written, these are just some glimpses into the peculiarities. Admittedly this is a super personal nitpick, but its a steam review on a steam profile so whatever. - This game is long in a not fun way. Do the games events actually take that long to get through? No, not in the slightest. A player can have most stuff done pretty quickly if they're on top of things. But how about all the achievements? Or even just getting certain people to move in? Well, if you miss certain triggers in game weeks will go by and you'll feel like you've done ♥♥♥♥ all. - The game had a decent mail system for quests, right up until halfway through the runtime the game stops giving you directions. Not sure if it's a bug or not, but considering some of those hyper specific triggers it would have been nice to know what to do. It's not my fault I didn't want to befriend some of the sketchier people in town (Miles, the capitalist that acts just like most of the one dimensional capitalists in similar games, only interested in money to an oddly obsessive effect, and Ramon, Rosie's brother who you specifically help end up on the planet who immediately gets weirdly possessive of his sister around you. Well I married her Ramon, so the ♥♥♥♥ are you gonna do now?) and I would have liked to know that progression was tied to that. - So some of the characters are polyamorous, that's neat. But all of them act like the world is going to end if you break up with them. I get it, in a sense, I really do. But the problem comes from the fact that because I broke up with everyone individually so I could marry Rosie after getting the date everyone achievement, I have no idea how the polycule reacts to you choosing one of them to marry. It's also a little troubling to consider that the game sees polyamory as more of a life stage and not a viable family strategy, but again, I broke up with everyone to marry the best character so I'm not sure if that's true or not. - Characters will ask you questions in a way that traps you into potentially answering wrong, and they get viscerally upset if you do. It felt less like a video game and more like a taste of being autistic and being unable to read people. In that sense I can say from experience it was accurate, but wow was it not fun. - Minor gripe, but many people in the game reference catch and release fishing when the in game fishing mechanic is... spear fishing. I shouldn't have to explain why this doesn't work. - There's kind of just a general lack of polish to most of the game that makes it mildly unpleasant at best and completely annoying at worst. A lot of times you'll be talking to someone and their talk sprite, upon shifting expressions, will discolor or resize in small but highly noticeable ways. Ramon is notable here. - Progression feels weird and stilted. You'll burst ahead and then hit a snag for a while only to fly forward and smack into another snag. Also notably, there isn't really a genuine plot and if there's any resolutions to any in game buildup I did not see it. - I have a lot more I didn't care for, but funnily enough I've forgotten a lot of it. That might be this game's biggest crime, it is so damn forgettable. Now for the pros. You might be surprised I have some but I do. - I did actually end up liking most of the characters. They are fairly likeable, with the turnaround on Anthony being notable if incomplete and also just how cute Rosie always was. I ended up liking Jade a fair bit too but I resent the game a bit for that as she's kind of just. A bad person. - The art, when finished, is largely rather cute. The talk sprites are a notable example and I do enjoy the style the game was going for with them. - The music is largely okay with some more than decent tracks throughout. - It is just a little bit funny to break up with your 7 person polycule to go romance the sweet blind latina next door, so I'm giving the game a point for the comedy there. It's losing one though because I won't lie about being romantically invested in Jade. Oh well, gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet. For me, Verdant Skies is a 2/5. This genre is one you can usually expect to return to but with a general lack of a complete story and a replayability that amounts to "why?" I don't think I'll ever swing back to this one. I can't recommend this game at full price, if you'd like to pursue one of a few cute dating options on an alien farm planet than pick it up on sale. Otherwise, you might just want to skip this one entirely.

Don't get me wrong, this is a good game and I liked it, but it's not really replayable to me. I do like that some characters are okay with being poly while others aren't. Unfortunately, the other reviews are right: there just is not much to do. I literally have not thought about playing this game since I "finished" it. It just doesn't have the same draw as other games. I could, theoretically, start all over. There's just very little end or post game content. All of the interesting stuff is at the beginning.

I like Verdant Skies a lot. It's a well done game, but the social aspect far outlives the gameplay which can easily result in a "finished" file long before you get to know anyone. The art is beautiful, the gameplay is simplistic in a way that I think feels good, and the fishing minigame was refreshing to engage in. But as much as I did enjoy my time with the game I can't recommend it to others, as it's simply... a mismatched experience. A good game. A little rough around the edges. The pacing needs work, for sure. But I'd gladly buy another game from this developer if I get a chance to.

I have tried so many times over the years to get into this but I just feel... bored. It’s more like a walking simulator with uninteresting tasks sprinkled in surrounded by uninteresting people. Characters are diverse – on paper. They have nothing interesting to say or do. They often feel like cliche cardboard cutouts. It’s just a couple of boring sentences before moving on to do other boring things. The story is not rich in any way, shape or form you can waltz through it quickly. I’m taking my time (mainly because I’m struggling to remain motivated) and trying to ease my way through it but apart of me kind of just wants to be done. Stamina. I know it gets better as time goes on. But I enjoy endlessly chopping wood, mining and the like but your character is so weak and runs out so quickly that it sucks all possibility of fun out of it for me. Farming is a massive chore with farms scattered across the map. Why? I’ve tried hard to love or just like this but it’s hard. Really hard. [b]Edit: [/b] It's been months since I've given this another go but kudos to the devs for giving this a Steam Deck update it was something they didn't have to do but did and I like that. Whenever I get one or a handheld. I'll likely give this another go. If you are on the fence, try a sale if you need something chill.

"I wish someone would make a point and click style farming simulator where you move slowly, the animations are overly long, and you have to come to a complete stop to interact with anything." - Nobody It's a shame the awesome fishing minigame isn't attached to a better game.

The game has some potential but has such a small amount of content right now. Also found myself wasting most of my day just getting to the fields to water. Even with sprinklers there you still had to go and click on the sprinkler to water plants. Maybe will play this game after expansions to see what content is available.

I'm so far in the game about 3 hours. Seems fun so far, however given the options to customise your character, its fairly obvious that the M.C. is intended to be female, even though they do NOT state that. I went to make a male character at the mirror. You can visually make a male character but the face is clearly female, you can choose a body shape without cleavage, but the face, eyes, still come across as female. Just a general warning to those who like me prefer to play as a male. That the clothing options are mostly female with few which would be unisex. There is nothing that really changes your look to male. It just seems to go from Feminine to Butch. So far the customisation is rather pathetic, I took it as a bad sign at the start when you are told name yourself. So far I am correct on that, unless items get unlocked later.... You don't get to pick a gender or see yourself at the start, as you are in a suit that covers you. Going by the description, Verdant Skies is inspired by: Harvest Moon To The Moon Fantasy Life Rune Factory Seems to have failed with letting you pick the option of male or female like what inspired the game. Or even letting you look male. With that being said, I like games where you get to build a town and so on. Which is why I love games like Azure Dreams, Dungeon Dreams Harvest Moon Rune Factory Chef RPG I can keep going. It helps you out a bit when starting but still leaves some things unanswered. Hopefully will pick up later, its coming across like it will.

Its a great game i only wish the farms would be closer together or the days would be longer. They should've balanced that better.

I played this game almost two years ago and only remember finally giving up on it and hiding it from my library. It's too bad, it had some interesting ideas, but it's not really worth too much of your money.

It feels like an early access. Its kinda ugly for my taste and a bit boring. Resources are easy to find and respawn at the next day I think. It has an energy bar that depletes way too fast when mining/cuting trees, but it moves next to nothing when doing other activities. Hell I didnt even make an hour and I got every fish.