approaching this as someone who has tried and bounced off of each farming sim that i've tried in the past had me unsure. the art design, world building, and general atmosphere looked stellar so i decided to give it a go anyways and i'm glad i did because i had a wonderful experience.

at a glance there's not a lot here but as i spent more time with this i was struck by how strong the sense of place was. familiarizing myself with the maps and establishing relationships with my neighbors while getting a deeper understanding of the game's universe scratched the same itch that a large chunk of my other favorites did. just something about centralized locations that become increasingly familiar does it for me and this was a masterful example.

farming sim elements end up taking a bit of a backseat which might have been the point to an extent. either way it wasn't a massive issue for me as it allowed me to grind away at depositing money early on before eventually settling into something of a routine where i barely bothered with farming at all.

after finding a high value item i blew past the moon ticket price and i still lingered around for weeks because i wanted to make sure i saw most of the events and conversations. i almost didn't leave at all which speaks to the strength of what the devs accomplished here.

something about a place that wasn't the ideal or originally in mind becoming more meaningful due to community or otherwise really spoke to me. genuinely one of the most impactful games i've ever played.