i'm seconding all of the reviews that say potion craft simply just gets kind of tedious and unrewarding, although i think the actual gameplay loop is amazing and there's simply no other game like it. i greatly enjoyed the early parts of this game.

potion craft has a system for buying and selling materials: materials will be on sale at random points, so you're incentivized to only buy certain materials, especially in bulk, when they're on sale-- especially because the cost of repairing larger upgrades is quite steep. but that means that you're ALWAYS low on materials to make potions with, and when making potions in later chapters becomes EXTREMELY cost-heavy, it just becomes... more frustrating than fun.

potion craft could've been amazing but is held back by that one simple mechanic. it's really sad, because the art style and early gameplay loop is so unique and fun, but it's bogged down pretty early by what i described. :(

fundamentally not a bad game, thus my 3 star rating, but after having played prose & codes, the original, which is better in every way, i just don't really want to play this one much more.

ciphers are better in prose & codes, not in the way you'd expect: you get unlimited hints in poems, making solving unsatisfying because you can get lost in a moment of frustration and just use up all your hints, something impossible in prose. knowing you can solve the cipher at any point simply by pressing "hint" over and over makes it also pretty boring. there's no stakes.

something i enjoyed greatly about the original was its ability to entice you into finding new reads: it gives you one quote and then links you to the original work if you so choose. i read many short stories after being intrigued by the quote i solved the cipher for; in poems, you slowly unlock the entire poem section by section. because of this, the final reward of the full poem feels "lesser."

so, in short, NOT a bad game (it's still worth playing if you enjoy cipher solving and/or poems), but quite a poor sequel, in my opinion.

what a lovely little game. everything about it can be summarized in the word "charming." the art style is nice, the presentation is clean and professional but not disconnected from the heart present in this game, and the actual gameplay itself is well-done, engaging, and keeps you wanting more. i love how tactile it feels. although the gameplay alone would warrant a high score, the story adds to the experience. it can be played in one sitting, doesn't overstay its welcome, and has all of the boons i already described. i can't recommend this game enough!

much like nexomon, i picked up this game to scratch the itch pokemon doesn't for me any longer, but unlike nexomon i was INSTANTLY blown away by this game. i'm confident anyone would be similarly impressed, and i'd very easily and enthusiastically recommend this game to anyone that likes creature collectors.

coromon's overall presentation is, quite honestly, better than modern pokemon games. the sprite work is legitimately gorgeous, and the animation of the coromon in battle is excellent, charming, and full of life. i think i liked some songs from the ost as well if i remember correctly. the story is honestly kind of insane but i really doubt anyone plays creature collectors for story purposes anyway. at least it's more interesting than pokemon stories i suppose?

another pretty large boon this game possesses is its accessibility to all manner of players. there are difficulty levels, and you can even customize difficulty options yourself and play the game exactly how you want. my favorite setting that i used profusely was letting regular healing items work as revives, for example.

i cannot sing coromon's praises enough. they're still adding content to the game as well. there are daily and weekly rewards now, with equippable cosmetics for your coromon that is a pretty recent thing. afaik there was a major story ending overhaul even just months ago. an extremely rare case of a game that i give a 9/10 PURELY on its objective quality; i truly CANNOT recommend this game enough.

i played zoo tycoon as a kid and i picked up this game thinking it would scratch that itch. it did, and consumed my life to boot. i played more than 40 hours of this game in two weeks. maybe not a lot for some, but for me it's uncharacteristic for one game to consume me so.

towards the end of this game's runtime (around 30 hours or so for most, it seems) this game becomes a pretty extreme drag. it becomes a chore to find the last variants of animals to trade for the last species you need. at one point i completely stopped caring about my zoo rating while i single-mindedly focused exclusively on breeding, so i could "finish" this game.

with it becoming such a chore to finish, you might think i'd rate this game poorly. just the opposite; i still love this game (part of why i was so intent on finishing it was so i didn't come to resent it), and i'm excited to play the aquarium and dinosaur dlc! ...after a long break, of course.

i love the funny gun game with good music

it's real hard to review a collection this massive, so i'll just make a sweeping comment and say that, as all the games are pretty short, all are pretty worth playing, even if some are clunky or not as good.

shelved because i haven't finished odst (when i do i'll move this to completed), although all the games in the collection have extremely high replayability, and the experience changes depending on who you play it with. lots of fun with friends!