Recommended...but not for everyone.

You can and will lose a lot of progress and be forced to retrace a lot of wobbly, tedious steps to get back to the thing you were trying to do, which itself might be challenging enough that it requires many attempts that will inevitably fail, and if that does not sound like acceptable gameplay to you, you should pass on this.

If you have a weird reserve of patience for things like that and find conquering those challenges enjoyable, though, this is (thus far) pretty enjoyable. It's awkward and funny and sad, bizarre and different. I have no idea if my weird reserve of patience for things like this will last all the way through to the end, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

I played Strange Horticulture and enjoyed it, so I was very happy to return to the brooding, atmospheric little world that this studio has created - to appraise occult objects, no less! A setting and premise that are like catnip for me.

Strange Antiquities is just as enjoyable. It isn't very long, but it's priced nicely. An interesting setting, a nice daily loop of tasks, some familiar faces, and a collection of items with fun lore bits attached.

Given my attraction to the premise, I think I wish there had been more to it, as in some ways it seems to signal that it's going to be more involved than it is (a magnifying glass you don't really need, maps you are discouraged to some extent from fully exploring, a variety of tag colors/shapes/symbols you really won't need outside of the label function), but I really enjoyed what was there as it is. If you liked Strange Horticulture, you will probably like this, and if you haven't played either game but think the premise sounds interesting, you're in for a double treat!

Edit to note: Don't use the hint function if you hate having unresolved achievements. I clicked it just once early on to see what the hint system is like, and didn't even really need the hint, and it locked me out of an achievement that I am definitely not going to go all the way back to the beginning to unlock! RIP.

I played the demo a while ago and had the game on my wishlist afterward, then picked it up as soon as it released. It's such a charmingly chill little cozy game, and it's difficult to put to words how satisfying it is to make book recommendations - especially book recommendations for books you've actually read and personally like. I've been pleasantly surprised by some of the titles that have appeared on my little in-game shelves. I got to recommend a John Langan book to someone! And Max Miller's Tasting History cookbook is here!

I never expected a video game to package up and deliver the unique joy of celebrating books with other people, but here we are. The strategy elements of decorating are very light, very low-key. The characters are cute. You can befriend a dog (yes, you can pet it).

It's so relaxing and lovely that I have a hard time holding its customers' occasional odd assessments of books against them (Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde is ABSOLUTELY science fiction, for instance). I just remind myself that dealing with confidently wrong people is authentic to the retail experience.

A charming collect-a-thon with light management sim elements that you'll remember not because of either of those things, but because of the weird world you'll inhabit, the characters you'll meet, and the story you'll uncover. I find it a lot like Paradise Killer in that way, and I also feel like that's a good thing.

Been humming some of the music to myself for a whole week since finishing it.

-Make a strain of marijuana that gives you ginger hair and is 'thought-provoking'
-Name it 'Van Cough'
-Cackle

I enjoyed Lethal Company, and it was the first to do what it did, so I'll always have a soft spot for it...but R.E.P.O. really adds a lot of (imo) necessary variables to the formula that amp up the replayability. Loot objects having unique (and often very funny) challenges when you pick them up, physics weirdness, half-baked tools, and some decent enemy variety all contribute to creating a delightfully chaotic and satisfying gameplay loop. The little details feel considered (even small things, like the eye tracking to whoever is speaking), and it has a big impact on how the game feels to play. The gameplay even changes a lot in feel based on who I've been playing with - some friends like to save the big loot delivery for the end to avoid hauling a money bag around, some want to deliver as much loot as possible as soon as possible to make recovery deliveries quicker and easier, and some people...well, just getting any loot whatsoever to the delivery zone counts as a win, honestly.

I think some things could be tweaked, but it's early days, and I'm excited to see how things evolve.

A sweet, humorous game with heaviness in it too. It made me laugh out loud more than once (Dirk Warhard is going to live rent-free in my head for a long time), and made me misty-eyed a couple of times, too. Other reviews have said that it's about burn-out and trauma and that's true, but it's not just about those things.

It's about many different ways that we struggle to feel safe, find connection, and forge meaning out the things that hurt us - sometimes good ways, but just as often by making choices that only go on to cause more pain. I'm tempted to be more specific, but I'll just leave it to the story to tell you. If you enjoyed The Beginner's Guide, you will probably like this.

The tea-making mechanics are all very chill. If you're hoping for something you can quickly smash through, this probably isn't the vibe for you, though. I think it's going to be most pleasant as a contemplative experience where you occasionally take a moment to pet a cute, fat little bird called a pluffin just because it's there and the game lets you do it.

I will miss Boro as a character. I wish I had a Boro of my own. And I will be thinking about what I can only assume was a borosilicate joke about sand for...like. Months, probably.

Early review: I've had two friends with technical issues/crashing, but I haven't had any problems myself. One of them seemed to fix his issues by turning off XMP - ymmv. I feel badly for people who are having technical problems :( But, I also expect, based on how every Capcom release goes these days, that they'll be resolved within a month's time, so if you're worried, my advice is to hold off for a couple of patches, and then you should be gtg. **Take the SSD-required thing seriously. They aren't kidding about that.

My early bulletpoints, from someone with thousands of hours in MH, going back to the old handheld days when you didn't have two analog sticks and had to make paint pods and couldn't move and use consumables simultaneously, and had loading screens between every map zone:

-focus mode is weird and might long-term make some weapons non-negotiable for the kind of fun-hating people who care about The Meta, because it eliminates a core skill gate for harder-hitting weapons; on the other hand it means you spend less time whiffing with imperfect play so you can spend more time slapping monsters around which overall is probably good fun too
-talking palicoes are cursed AF, felyne language forever (could probably stand to leave those subtitles on the screen a hair longer tho)
-reviews that say this game looks worse than World are actual nonsense, game is gorgeous even in the brown, dusty wasteland. early monster and I scrap, roll around, come up covered in dust that silts away in the wind, chefkiss
-two distinct versions of each armor set is high excitement for monfashion


Not a final review, but with all of the negative reviews I wanted to get one up that represents my experience so far since it's positive-

Sometimes a game comes along that seems laser targeted to being my jam. This is one such game. I wishlisted, then immediately unwishlisted and purchased, because to wishlist would only be delaying the inevitable.

This is an extremely satisfying deduction/investigation game. If you enjoy this kind of thing, this one is an easy recommendation from me - it's not a genre with a lot of entries, and almost none of those that exist are of this breadth. I found it 'easier' than Obra Dinn when it comes to placing every last clue, but there's enough challenge in putting the pieces together to keep things interesting.

The follow-up bonus investigation contained more random information and false leads, which was good, but I also thought it suffered somewhat from relying on revised elements from the prior investigation -- books that you referenced previously now containing additional passages of relevance even though the books themselves had not been updated in the interim, for instance (awkward, because you in theory read them through previously).

Still, those are minor gripes at worst. I loved learning about this weird family and its less fortunate histories, and the little moments of revelation you experience as you go keep you hooked through the end. I wish there were more games like this one out there.