I have played several games this year–more than I usually play. Most of them were on Steam because that’s my main game client. There was a game I had heard about and seen the trailer for the sequel, which was actually a prequel, of the game I’m about to bestow an award upon. Give me a second to come up with a a weird name for the award. Here is the post from yesterday in which I talked about two detective games that I really enjoyed, more or less.
The cozy game that wasn’t very cozy until I discovered the Fish Fingers trick, and then it turned out to be easy street with surprising emotional heft and depth
Wylde Flowers (Studio Drydock)
This game was a mobile game first and the developers worked tirelessly to bring it to consoles and PC, and upgraded it endlessly to include things that the community wanted. I did not vibe with the art design because it was too cartoony for me, but I grew to find it low-key charming. It’s still not myy preferred art style, but I don’t hate it, either.
The basic premise is that the main character, Tara, loses her job and her betrothed at the same time. In order to lick her wounds, she rushes off to the farm of her grandmother, Hazel, who is ailing and needs help. The farm is in shambles, and Tara sets her mind to cleaning it up. Romance is a big thing in the game, too, and I really appreciated that there was a nonbinary character who was romanceable. Voiced by Erika Ishii, upon whom I have a huge crush and who is nonbinary in real life.
The big reveal (that is in the trailer) is that Hazel is a witch and part of a coven. They are tasked with turning the seasons and keeping things running smoothly in Fairhaven (the rural town in which they live). One of the early quests is for Tara to figure out who is in the coven and what their title is.
I appreciate that there are people of different ethnicities and nationalities. And sexual orientations. It’s not very realistic given the environment, but I am fine with that. I give the side-eye to people who whine about that not being realistic whereas they are fine wit the idea of mowing down enemies by the dozens.
I was frustrated with the game in the beginning because like lots of ‘cozy’ games (that really are misnamed), life is hard. Real hard. With shit stamina, vigor, and money, I could do like three things before I had to find sustenance.
This is the standard for life sim games, but it’s not fun. There is so much to do, but you can do so little. I was late in the game when I discovered the Fish Fingers trick, and once I did, I broke the game with it. I was never wanting for money after that, and it made the game so much more enjoyable.
This is another game in which I had such highs and such lows. I struggled so much in the beginning that I thought about quitting. It’s not fun to do three things then need to fuel up, do three things, then need to fuel up, etc. Part of the reason I play games is so that I can get away from reality! I have chores I have to do in real life; why would I want to do them in a game as well?
I admire the devs for adding so much content over time. I got the whole thing as one papckage, but I read up a bit about what came when. I think it plays better as a complete game, but who knows? I was not there every step along the way. I usually don’t play games in Early Access because I rather play a finished product.
The romances were interesting, in both a good way and a bad way. I appreciated the diversity of characters who you could romance, but I did not like that the trajectory of each relationship was basically the same. You had to give gifts to the person (which is common in video games) and then at a certain point, that person would ask you out. If you accept and confess your feelings, you’re off the market and dating that one person.
When the game first released, you could only marry one person per playthrough. By the time I played it, you could divorce and remarry as many times as you liked. There was a quaint divorce custom that was, well, cringeworthy, but as one of the achievemnets was to marry all the romanceable characters, I–oh.
Something I found out well after the point where I could do something about it was that there are two characters who, if you do not marry them both before the end of the first season, I want to say, then they hook up and stay together for the rest of the playthrough. Which means you cannot marry both within one playthrough. Which was as annoying as hell. One of them is the hardest character to romance, despite how flirty she is.
There’s a tension in games these days. If you want to even think about doing the plat, it’s best to look at the achievements beforehand. I don’t like to do that, though, because I’d rather my first playthrough be organic. I really regretted not knowing that about the two NPCS, though, because that meant I had to do a whole nother playthrough to get one achievement when I was already done with the game.
In adidtion, the relationships were pretty shallow. Some flirting led to the first date, and then yyou were a couple. A few more dates later, and you were pushed to propose. Then, marriage. Then, they lurked around your house when they weren’t at work.
In addition, when you dumped them, only one showed any real emotion over it. The rest shrugged their shoulders and said, “That’s life, isn’t it? We’ll stay friends” and moved on. In fact, the second I divorced one character, she was already in a relationship with the other character in the very next scene! Yes, I unwittingly chose one of the two characters who romance each other if they’re both single.
I will write more on this tomorrow. I’m done for now.