Honest opinions about this game?

[Greywolf]

I heard this game is like Zelda and Stardew Valley, I like both of those games but I am not sure if this has the elements I like about those games, so I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of what to expect? What is this game actually like?

Watched a few lets plays however none of them really got much further than unlocking the initial farm, from what I could see a lot of the game is based around running around and collecting various materials and crafting items for quest givers in order to open new areas of the map where you do the same over again, is there more to the game than that or does that about sum it up?

I do know you can unlock farms in this game but I cant see how deep that aspect really goes as any footage I have seen of the game kind of ends abruptly after they unlock the first farm, is there much in the way of customization in this game, any cool things you can do with your farm or is it mostly treated as a means to an end allowing you to get the items you need to craft the stuff you need to give to villagers to unlock extra areas of the map?


I do want to try the game but not sure I have seen enough to really sell me on it, what is the appeal of the game to you guys?

[No' Name]

When I seen this come up on "new releases" a couple days ago, I thought it the game kind of reminded me of what Harvest Moon would be like, mixed with Zelda. So I bought it.

I don't regret buying it, and enjoyed the 2 hours I have invested in it. But, I think i was sadly mistaken when I thought it was Zelda mixed with Harvest moon, or Stardew valley. And I don't say that in a bad way either.

The game right now, does not feature romances, and from what I can tell crafting/farming wise, the only real sense farming does, is simply help "Regions". The game features multiple regions that all start out miserable, and the ideal objective in this game (from my point of view), is to simply help Regions become happy, by having a farm, clearing "murk" (Purple Miasma), and fulfilling the requests of townsfoik.

The game's "Main objective" seems to lean towards getting rid of all the "Murk", and to do that you need to find these special "Faries/Creatures", as "Murk, can only be cleared out by having "X amount" of them. Which also leads the game down the road of exploration, and searching for these creatures on a large scaled map.

Again, I'm only two hours in, so, I can't really say how much helping out a region actually does. It seems as if I don't really "Have" to make a region happy, and as long as I have enough Fairies from exploring, that would be the entirety of this game. Though I could be wrong.

I won't say the game is boring, but if you're looking to plant/harvest crops, and have a "Romance" with someone, that doesn't seem to be the case here. I loved exploring, and caught a few animals for my farm (the only one I have right now), even hired a Farm Hand, but I still don't feed the need to go back to my farm, and found myself for the most part, running from Npc to Npc, to get quests, which don't really feel all that rewarding (some unlock new recipes), and again for the most part, is just to help raise the regions happiness.

That's my opinion of the game right now, but I'm sure i'll hop into it again, and find more stuff to do.

[Jojo Dolo]

Hey Greywolf,

I haven't played much of the game yet but for what I have seen, it is mainly about exploration yes.
So if you liked to just wandering around in BotW, for the chill or to find a Korogu nut, you'll probably enjoy Yonder.

There are a lot of small things to do (fishing, crafting, farming, ...) but they seem to me more like minigame (as it does not seem any of these activites has a big depth in term of gameplay).

I find this type of game really enjoyable (now that I have played it, I will compare it more to Slime Rancher than Stardew Valley) but it will not suit eveyone.

[Raffa]

I feel like I'm going to refund this game today after impulse buying last night. I'm a HUGE fan of Stardew Valley with hundreds of hours in that game, and I felt like this would scratch that itch nicely... but I was wrong. Unfortunately, this game is more like watching a movie or listening to music. I know that's probably what the developers intended, so if you're looking for a VERY peaceful experience then I strongly suggest you buy this game. If, on the other hand, you're looking for something that offers ANY kind of challenge I would not suggest this game.

While I feel the game is beautiful and I actually like the controls with my Steam controller, the gameplay feels very vestigial. I feel like I could hand the controller to a small child or even just perform random inputs and eventually the game would be won. The first puzzle I ran across had some rotating statues, I clicked 2 of them randomly and the puzzle was completed and I got a reward. To lose a fish while fishing you have to actually try, I know this because I did eventually try and lost a fish finally. Most quests can be completed before even getting them, because the materials are sitting in your bag from being so abundant as you travel. Not to mention collecting some of them doesn't even require you to pause as you run to your next objective, you can click while running full speed and collect flowers/rocks/wood. Many of the quests require you to simply turn around and trade with someone standing several feet away, then return to the person who made the request (5 seconds of work and it gets you entry into a crafting Guild). Basically what I'm saying is, everything is handed to you on a silver platter.

I liked Stardew Valley because while it wasn't possible to permadeath or to ruin your farm or to "fail" completely, it was a challenging game because you had limited resources: time, money, foraged goods, seeds, etc. Losing wasn't what you were concerned with, but there was always a challenge and spending time/money could overcome those challenges and make you better. In Yonder apparently I don't even need to sleep and can stay up for weeks at a time smashing rocks without penalty. I realize these are two very different games, but I'm using Stardew as an example of how their can be penalties and challenges without combat (even though SV does have some combat).

I feel like the developers made a very pretty and very simple game that gives you a participation trophy for nearly everything you do. Does not require critical thinking skills or any kind of effort to play. If that's what you want, then this is an A+ buy.

[Ry3er]

well I dont want to write as much as you did guys but
the game is fun , fluid , relaxing , good looking but there is no figthing and it will never have.

[Greywolf]

Originally posted by Walter White:

Hey Greywolf,

I haven't played much of the game yet but for what I have seen, it is mainly about exploration yes.
So if you liked to just wandering around in BotW, for the chill or to find a Korogu nut, you'll probably enjoy Yonder.

I did enjoy BotW and a large part of that was the exploration and how the world was handled, however when talking about the exploration in BotW I think it goes beyond just roaming the landscape taking in the sights and collecting items, I think the strength of BotW's exploration element came from the ways in which it allowed you to interact and traverse the environment, from being able to set grass on fire to create updrafts for your glider, chopping down trees or moving objects to create bridges or even using the wind to navigate your way through the lost woods, there were a lot of clever ways you could interact with the environment in order to accomplish your goals, even the collection of items was done in service of the greater goal of surviving and allowing you to more effectively traverse the landscape with different concoctions bestowing different boons that give different benefits or negate negative environmental effects of a particular area, exploration was about figuring out what items you need to effectively survive and explore and figuring out how best to navigate the landscape and the obstacles within it.

[Greywolf]

Originally posted by Raffa:

I liked Stardew Valley because while it wasn't possible to permadeath or to ruin your farm or to "fail" completely, it was a challenging game because you had limited resources: time, money, foraged goods, seeds, etc. Losing wasn't what you were concerned with, but there was always a challenge and spending time/money could overcome those challenges and make you better. In Yonder apparently I don't even need to sleep and can stay up for weeks at a time smashing rocks without penalty. I realize these are two very different games, but I'm using Stardew as an example of how their can be penalties and challenges without combat (even though SV does have some combat).

Well I wouldn't exactly call Stardew Valley a challenging game at all but there were various power strategies that one could employ to turning your farm into a money making machine in a shorter period of time and part of the fun for me was figuring out those strategies and how to best make use of the space, time and money to make my farm as profitable as possible as well as balancing managing relationships with the townfolks and exploring the surrounding area for the things I needed to upgrade my farm.

I suppose the biggest thing I enjoyed about Stardew Valley was just being able to customize my farm, watching it grow and take shape and seeing how it changed over the seasons, probably more interested in the ways this game is like Stardew Valley and the Harvest Moon games than anything else but really not sure how much depth the farming aspect has to it.

[Raffa]

Yeah, maybe challenging was the wrong word but I think you understand my point completely about managing time, resources, space, etc. to be more efficient and to get more progress. The more efficient you are the more upgrades you get on tools, making you even more efficient and then you can find a partner to marry and have kids with and expand your house and all kinds of cool things with tons of depth.


This game is good if you like to adventure, but it lacks depth to pretty much all of the crafting systems and there's no character development gains from performing any of the actions that I have seen.

[One (1) Lini]

I haven't finished the game yet, but it does strike me as a little bit lackluster in terms of depth. It's still fairly neat, so I'm not going to go off on a rant about it. I just wish that the professions and farming had more of an actual purpose. I was expecting something akin to Fantasy Life from the professions but... well I guess it's hard to implement those profession benefits when there aren't any stats to provide bonuses too.

I do wish however that they would look over the trading vs crafting a bit, because actually crafting things is incredibly tedious compared to just buying what you want. And I did expect more from the farming aspect.

[Dogishappy]

I'm the kind of person that completes all side quests first and saves the main story for the end so take that with a grain of salt. I'm 7 Hours in myself and I'm just under 30% completion. Millage always varies with these games but it just clicks for me.

I am a very task oriented person and find the myriad of checklists, quests, and places to discover very compelling. I also find the process for advancing through the many guilds quite rewarding and very easy to loose track of time. I do not regret the time i have spent in this game, or the time i will be spending in it in the near future.

[Mizutamari]

I'd recommend you watch a lets play or two, in about 30-40 minutes you will see basically everything the game has to offer and if thats enough for you move forward, if not I'd be more cautious moving in. My full opinion is still the top negative review and heres a more well thought out version. https://vidyagaming.com/2017/07/19/yonder-trying-to-catch-something-that-just-isnt-there/

I'm not trying to dissuade you from buying btw, I just wanna make sure you know what you're paying for before you dive head first in.

[defective pancake]

This game is absolutely nothing like any of the existing 3D Zelda games. It doesn't even have the same art direction or gameplay, and the people who are somehow detecting "Zelda" vibes from it either don't know that Zelda games are, for the most part, pretty different from each other, or have probably only seen some trailers for Breath of the Wild. And maybe some wacky dude's Wind Waker emulation letsplay. LOZ games are adventure games at heart that are about exploration as much as it's about combat, and I'm honestly sick and tired of people comparing games to an abstract "Zelda" game or trying to recreate their own "Zelda". Majora's Mask is nothing like Wind Waker which in turn is nothing like Twilight Princess, there's no "true" Zelda game because art styles and general direction of those games are so different. And that's only counting the major 3D LOZ titles while the series is just so much more than them. Wow, I totally got carried away, and LOZ isn't even my favourite game series lol

Not having combat in the game is totally not a bad thing, not it's "special and unique" because it's a gathering-crafting game that's "supposed to be like Harvest Moon" (and its numerous clones) that may or may not feature combat. And this game doesn't even stand close to your average Harvest Moon title either. I am sorry about comparing this game to a different game but when you're competing in the same field of "casual gathering-crafting games" it's bound to be compared to existing games! Especially not when you compare it to the two of the most recent games that have branched into Story of Seasons. Sure they are kind of small and all that, being released on the 3DS, yet they feature a varied cast of NPCs with distinct personalities, and numerous goals you work hard towards completing as a farmer, as well as the opportunity to woo any of the available romantic candidates, take proper care of your farm animals, build stuff and tend to the crops you're growing. All of this requires time and quite a lot of patience. In this game, however? Your main goal is pretty much to cleanse the world of "murk" while there's like... No real goal for you to do it, because the world doesn't really feel like it *needs* your help. It's dead and empty. There's nothing to be gained from it; no friendships or meaningful relationships with NPCs, no seasonal festivals, no real farming action with growing crops and fruit trees, no real reason to make food because your character has no health or stamina bar.There's literally no. meaning. to. everything. you. do. and it's both very depressing and annoying. There are no real reasons to complete any of the quests beyond unlocking new recepies... and those don't matter either! Because your character neither owns a home, or has the opportunity to make friends with NPCs, boost stats or stamina and work towards producing higher quality goods because there's no real reason for trading, selling or buying anything – everything is ultimately useless. I don't know about anyone else, but to me, that's absolutely depressing.
Looking at games of the same crafting-gathering genre, there are just so many of them that are so, so much better than this title/ And it really is disappointing because I liked exploring different areas in the game, they are quite distinctive and pretty thanks to the day/night cycle, even if they feel kinda dead and ultimately insignificant. However, looking "pretty" is definitely not enough for me to play this game – especially not when character and animal models look like half-formed blobs of clay. To me, a person who has plenty to compare to, this game doesn't feel finished at all. It's more of a prototype to show the pretty environments and uh, day and night circle, I guess. Ulitmately I think the game lacks a "reason" for you to play it. There's absolutely nothing in Yonder that managed to sink its hook into me, I honestly can't recommend this game, not when objectively better games than this one already exist.

[Doctor Hades]

It's hard for me to not like this game as it looks so damn lovely but, while enjoyable enough exploring and taking in the sights, the gameplay is very shallow and the game lacks personality/character (not helped by the person you play being a mute). I feel the game would be great for younger children due to the lack of any violence. I just wish it had more substance and depth because it really does look pretty...

[wolfknight]

I like the game but I feel like it is missing somthing like it really wants to be like Dark Cloud. If you have not played that game you should try it out.

[Auxile]

For me, what I feel lacking in the game is the sense of belonging. We moved into the island but we don't even have a home. I mean a year has passed and I didn't even know it, we don't even need to sleep. This game has nice visuals, but if you're looking for something that can give you a sense of accomplishment through working this game lacks it.

[CV_PS]

Originally posted by auxile:

For me, what I feel lacking in the game is the sense of belonging. We moved into the island but we don't even have a home. I mean a year has passed and I didn't even know it, we don't even need to sleep. This game has nice visuals, but if you're looking for something that can give you a sense of accomplishment through working this game lacks it.

Homes have been a big discussion topic and we're looking into this for additional content.