I'm going to start with: this game has a lot of charm in it's art direction, and the world it's trying to construct. However I gotta say: this is a half-baked experience.

Pros:
- Cute aesthetic
- Music is nice (though it popping in and out is less great)
- You can pet the cat

Cons:
- The few people you meet are stationary manikins that don't blink, emote, or even look in your direction properly
- The animal pathing is basically not there; the number of turtles I stunt-rolling into the sea was... too many
- None of the puzzles given on any island are challenging
- None of the mechanics in the game: farming, hunting, potion-crafting, upgrading, etc really matter. You need some resources for plot reasons, and you can use food to restore energy (and literally never sleep)... so why have any of it? By the end of the game I had over 10k gold, and 4000 fabric for example. And I went out of my way to collect none of it. There's no reason for any of it.
- There is so much heady lore and world-building added to the game that has _zero_ impact on the game itself. It's all window dressing with zero substance
- There is literally no reason to actually maintain the lighthouse unless you like solving the same 5 puzzle types over and over
- The finale of the game is confusing, lacks any sense of direction, and doesn't really make sense OR feel good?

I wanted to like this game, I really did! But it just isn't a cohesive experience, and the last bit of it was downright unpleasant to get through.

It could definitely use some polishing.
Despite some bugs, the game is pretty, and has a nice gameplay loop.
It could definitely use some more sound effects, voice acting and polishing but I really like what is here.
The art style is bright and the island feels real enough.
The visitors talk about distant islands with treasures and trade to discover.
Definitely worth checking out at the price.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUiqqRHHGT8

This game had potential but unfortunately it falls short in almost every aspect. World is empty, crafting is useless after hour or two and lore exists but that's about it. Good platform to build a decent game but with current level of content it just feels more like demo.

SO MUCH FUN

I love boats and being able to sail them around it is such an engaging experience.

I wish the game had more in terms of progression maybe a couple tiers of boats and having to build the crafting tables.
It almost feels like I started halfway through the game. I'm also almost totally upgraded on my tools.

Not sure the game time on this but it feels pretty short, a lot of fun though!

I hate downvoting this, but the question is whether or not I recommend it, and I just can't.

You find yourself responsible for taking care of the lighthouse after the previous one responsible has passed away. Your goal is to keep the lighthouse lit each night by repairing panels and keeping oil in stock while also trying to automate it by finding stabilizers across the islands.

And none of this is really any sort of challenge and can be finished in a few hours.

Right away you find a ton of books suggesting vast lore and complicated systems, but you don't really need to bother with any of it. Besides notes scattered around, you don't see much of the supposed history, and aside from a few achievements and quests, there's no reason to do fishing, farming, baking, or potion brewing. You can find plenty of what you need at the start of each day. I never felt starved for resources.

Fixing panels was about the most difficult part of the game, and that's just because each panel has a different puzzle to solve when it breaks. If you find one more difficult than the rest, simply put a stabilizer in it, and it will never break again unless you pull it out. Or don't. There's no punishment for not keeping the titular lighthouse lit. You just don't get gold, which doesn't have much use anyway.

The world is relatively small. A few islands with hints of civilization but nothing else. To name a few: there's a pirate island with no pirates, a market island with no vendors, a tavern with no bartenders nor guests, and a farm island with no farmers, but crops that respawn each day. The only NPCs show up to give you a quest at 6am and leave at 6pm (super frustrating when you're about to turn in a quest and they stop mid-conversation to leave). Once you've finished every quest, you never see another person again.

Travelling from island to island isn't difficult aside from how slow your boat (and eventually and surprisingly early ship) turns, which is only a problem if you manage to pilot into one of the sea creatures swimming around, which smacks you into a different direction.

All in all, this game has potential behind it and could be a lot of fun if more had been put into the world and each system. More things to fix up on the island. More of a need to gather resources. Decorating/customization. Becoming friends with the questgivers or having a spot they go when they're not on your island. Heck, let me pet the cat when it's sleeping!

As it is now, it just feels unfinished.

Like other reviews have said, it feels more like a demo to a game than a game itself. The survival crafting section of the game exists, but quickly becomes irrelevant once you start getting flooded with materials. The puzzle section--simple things such as slide puzzles, mirror/laser puzzles, pipe puzzles--winds up mattering less than you would expect, too. Truthfully, you're totally fine just completely ignoring the lighthouse and doing the side quests to see the world and complete the game. There's no real incentive to interact with the lighthouse other than what you self impose, and that's true for the entire game.

The world is empty, so exploration beyond where the quests lead you is largely pointless unless you're going for achievements. There isn't a single character that you interact with out in the world that doesn't just boat up to your dock to introduce themselves and leave just as quickly as you finished their quest.

It doesn't last long enough to overstay its welcome, but it's hard to feel like you're really doing much while you're playing in the first place. Not every game needs to be a grind or have some deeper purpose, but this comes across feeling empty and aimless.

A cosy adventure game let down by bugs and unintuitive gameplay.

I wanted to like this game but ended up frustrated by it.

This is basically an adventure game that consists of a series of fetch quests for various npcs. Although there is some crafting and base improvement in the game it is fairly trivial and can be completed fairly quickly. There are resources in the game but they are fairly useless after a point in the game. This also makes finding treasure pointless since the chests can offer you anything new. Additionally potion crafting seems to be completely unnecessary.

The biggest problem of the game is just the unintiutive nature of it. There is a beginner quest but once you complete it there is no guidance on what to do next. You need to wait until a NPC shows up in a boat to give you the next quest. Most of the game mechanics are not described at all, and there is no tutorial.

There are various bugs in the game, such as items disappearing, quests not working if you do things out of order, and items not working until you reload.

There is a lot of lore in the game but most has no impact on the game since it all relates to places that you can't get to.

The graphics are okay given the cartoony nature.

Lighthouse Keeper is a pleasant little indie game that is a good way to spend an afternoon or two. The game has decent graphics, audio, and is quite easy. The game play is fun has minimal bugs, and is a good experience for all ages. The story line is easy to follow, though there doesn't appear to be a clear ending. The game is a little steep for the price, though if you need a new game and have some spare cash I would say this is a good option to consider. I received the game in a Humble Bundle, and I don't think I would ever spend money on it, but all in all, I would like to thank the developers for creating this experience and giving me the opportunity to play this peaceful little game :)

Graphics

☐You forget what reality is
☐Beautiful
☑Good
☐Decent
☐Bad
☐Don‘t look too long at it
☐MS-DOS

Gameplay

☐Very good
☐Good
☑It's just gameplay
☐Mehh
☐Watch paint dry instead
☐Just don't

Audio

☐Eargasm
☐Very good
☑Good
☐Not too bad
☐Bad
☐I'm now deaf

Audience

☑Kids
☑Teens
☑Adults
☑Grandma

PC Requirements

☐Check if you can run paint
☑Potato
☐Decent
☐Fast
☐Rich boi
☐Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

Difficulty

☐Just press 'W'
☑Easy
☐Medium
☐Significant brain usage
☐Difficult
☐Dark Souls

Grind

☐Nothing to grind
☐Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐Isn't necessary to progress
☑Average grind level
☐Too much grind
☐You'll need a second life for grinding

Story

☐No Story
☑Some lore
☐Average
☐Good
☐Lovely
☐It'll replace your life

Game Time

☐Long enough for a cup of coffee
☑Short
☐Average
☐Long
☐To infinity and beyond

Price

☐It's free!
☐Worth the price
☐If it's on sale
☑If u have some spare money left
☐Not recommended
☐You could also just burn your money

Bugs

☐Never heard of
☑Minor bugs
☐Can get annoying
☐ARK: Survival Evolved
☐The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

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☐10

There is no tutorial for the game. It is frustrating to try to figure out the controls, and how to solve puzzles, and how to complete tasks such as farming, smithing, or navigating. The idea behind the game is fun (if the lore is a bit impenetrable), the graphics are charming, and the soundtrack is soothing, so if there was a tutorial I would definitely recommend this game, but it's just so frustrating that I can't.

delicious seagull meat 10/10