The foundation for something interesting is here, but the execution is pretty awful. For one, the presentation is sub-par. I think the ship design and layout is pretty cool, but the character models creep into uncanny-valley territory. Voice acting is really hit-or-miss as well. The gameplay is lacking: gunplay is very basic and clunky a lot of the time, the inventory system is extremely convoluted for no reason, and its hard to keep track of your relationship standings with everyone on the ship at times. And then, at the end, the game leaves a bad taste in your mouth by cutting the game short right when its about to get interesting, and advertising the sequel instead. Just makes this game feel like one big ad, which is not a good look. Like I said, there are some interesting concepts here, and I think the story they were trying to tell is engaging at a base level, but the team really needed to rein their focus in to just the dialogue/relationship mechanics, because way too much time was spent on the other aspects of gameplay that are genuinely not good. The game did not make me actually angry, but it definitely left a lot to be desired.

I was genuinely shocked by how much I ended up enjoying this game, it feels like such a sleeper hit. Gorgeous visuals that create an incredible atmosphere and vibe, super likeable characters, with Nico really shining through, an emotional story that had me invested throughout its entirety - it really was just a wonderful time. And that was how I felt after playing just the FIRST HALF of the game. Doing Solstice afterwards just cemented in my mind that this was an incredible game.

If I had to make ONE minor complaint, it's just that sometimes it is unclear which items in the world can be picked up/interacted with, which can sometimes hinder progression as that is pretty much the main way to move the game forward. But any confusion I had was solved pretty quickly, and I was too enraptured by the game to let it negatively affect my thoughts about it. Everyone should give this game a shot!

I think this game looks really good, obviously, but the gameplay could have been better. It's a bit unintuitive at times, and gets pretty repetitive, but the game is short enough that it's not really an issue. Of course, the characters and their personalities/designs are the highlight, and make the game worth playing on its own. Just a bit disappointed with the execution of gameplay. And I did tire of listening to the same song over and over again pretty quickly. But it's well-made, and I had a good time overall.

Hands down the best farming sim you will ever play, genre-defining for a reason. Everything about Stardew Valley is expertly crafted: the visuals, the music, the gameplay, the characters - it all comes together so effortlessly to create a game that is extremely addicting and fun. On top of it all, its very affordable, and the game is regular updated with new content FOR FREE all the time. It just keeps getting better and better. It's a game that you can play forever, and is even better with friends. Truly a masterpiece.