What's wrong with me? Why don't I get it?

[Tenderizer]

I've been playing for 6 hours and despite everything I heard about this I'm just not finding myself emotionally engaged. It's got quite a few charming points and the spaceship controls are fun, I don't hate playing it, but it doesn't really convey a mood or story 6 hours in.

Is it not aiming for emotional stimulation, and instead being something you appreciate in theory?
Does the appeal only come through in the end?
Am I just an unfeeling lizard person?

I didn't want to make another post like this, but if anything I hope putting a question mark in the title will make it unique enough to be worth it.

[Bobywan]

The satisfaction should come when you solve "puzzles".
Have you explored all the planets during the early and late stages of the loop ? Did you find out the secrets of the quantum moon ? Did you manage to reach all the explorers ?
Did you find out why there is a loop ?

[Mp3. Mp4]

I never really felt "emotionally engaged" when playing the game. For me the fun came from figuring the story out piece by piece like an archaeologist-space-detective.

[Quillithe]

There are three or four emotional parts maybe, but it's more curiosity driven than anything else emotionally. The big question was mainly what's going on here and how can I stop it.

[MinocFox]

Games like this rely on your own curiosity. It's why people enjoy games like Myst. Who are these people? What happened? Why are they like this? Why is this happening? If you don't care, then you'll find games like this pretty dull. I found it dull myself, but it's a solid game that's just not for me. And I enjoy point and click adventures.

[SMJSMOK]

Yeah as the others said, emotional engagement isn't really the selling point of this game (which doesn't mean that strong moments aren't there, but they aren't that frequent and usually come after some big revelation). What keeps most people engaged is exploration and uncovering of the lore. This game kind of expects you to be curious and want to learn about the universe and the events that happened (and are yet to happen).

[Невс]

This game is about timing, it doesn't matter if you're supposed to like it, the thing is that you need to find the right time to play it. Try and play it when you're really tired of every normal game.

[Fear Ghoul]

I'd also suggest not going in with a mindset to beat the game. Just try to appreciate the aspect of exploration, and don't get stressed about the time loop. Instead, try to observe how things might change as time passes. There's no punishment for how long you take to beat the game, so just enjoy the mystery while it lasts.

[luvbentley]

Tbh the emotional quality doesn't really start until you are in the later part of the game. As you play you might find yourself getting fond of the Nomai whose lives and work you are reading about, but it's not until the end when things start to get personal to the actual player.

引用自 Tenderizer：

but it doesn't really convey a mood or story 6 hours in.

This game is nothing *but* story. But it's designed in a way that you can't see the story immediately after you get released into the willds, and depending on where you explore in what order, it can take some time to find a piece of text that "clicks" with you and you suddenly see what's going on. Once you've caught on, the game does get a lot more interesting. Rather than just passively looking around, you'll now be actively trying to unravel the mystery of what's happening in the universe. I was bored in my first few hours of play too, I don't particularly like exploration games that don't seem to have an actual point.

Exploring the downstairs part of the Nomai ruins on the Attlerock (Timber Hearth's moon) if you haven't yet is very important. It is essentially an introduction to the story and it strongly hints to you what the game is about and gives you initial leads to follow.

One thing to keep in mind is the game doesn't have any "fat" in it. Every lore text you read is 100% relevant to the story. It's important to read all your logs at the start of each loop, they will give you a summary of the main information you were meant to take away from each lore stone, as well as clues.

[ElBarto56]

you must be paying attention to the clues and the mural writings then...

[CrazyJayBe]

It may have been too hyped up for you then. Sorry. I played without knowing anything about it.

I would go from one clue to the next enthralled at what I was discovering so THAT'S what got me emotionally invested.