Recent reviews by Draconem Deae

To be honest, I kind of rushed through this game in one session since I wanted to see how the story ended. As such, I didn't have a ton of emotional investment in any of the characters, although I did find the characters to be likable. I really liked the painting sessions, and I wish I spent more time doing them. The exploration into mental health issues was nice, but I felt that the game could have delved into it more, especially regarding depression.

Possible NPC spoiler interaction:
My favorite NPC interaction was definitely the one at the hotel, where you have to figure out who was responsible for the mess. The ace attorney-like style/music enhanced the experience. Was pretty fun to do. Otherwise, the other stuff like collectatons weren't that interesting. Also, I am very sorry to the depressed NPC (Koala? Can't remember). One day, I'll come back.

The one thing that did bother me while playing was how bright everything was (since the world is white) and I didn't really care how the environment looked so long as I got rid of the glaring white. Places would end up looking all orange or all blue, so it just looked blegh.

Since I rushed through the game, I would say not to give my review that much weight, but in the end, I do recommend the game!

Finally hit 1000 hours. All I need to say is that just when I start to get bored, I've always seem to find something new to enjoy about the game.

For all the mess TF2 is, the core gameplay and community is what keeps me going.

Cya in another 1000.

A classic, why wouldn't you want to support Bart Bonte? Unfortunately, I'm too dumb to complete some of the stars but one day lol.

Forgot that this game was in my library, so I suppose that sums up how I feel about the game.

When I initially bought it, I was interested in its premise. Morals at sake when deciding which person was more valuable dead or alive? I was curious to see what the consequences of my actions would look like. But as I was going through my run, I became more and more bored. At the end of the run, I simply lost all interest. The gameplay just felt repetitive and unsatisfying. Every character I interacted with felt flat, and to be honest, I would have preferred no voice acting for any of them.

In short, I was disappointed and was only left with a nauseating experience.

It's like this game was specifically designed for an unexplainable niche that I have.

Took me under 40 hrs to complete the main story. From the gameplay to the characters, it's clear that the devs were really passionate about the game and worked hard on every aspect of the game. Highly recommend!

bungus

Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend playing it in its current state. I was initially optimistic, but several times throughout my playthrough, everything felt like a grind. Upgrading my gear felt like a chore instead of a reward, and leveling was more of a nightmare (Don't trust me on this, but I believe that getting exp for skills is painful, as seen in mining, where hitting one wall equals 1 exp. As such, dirt and limestone walls are worth the same rather than being scaled). Fighting the bosses was underwhelming, and right now, I'm just re-fighting the same beginning slime boss just to level up my melee skill (also the same problem as mining). Another problem is that I often find my inventory cluttered with different "valuables," resulting in me debating which items to throw away when scavenging areas. The valuables themselves don't mean much to me other than that they hint at an interesting world before you arrive. Finally, as someone who loves worldbuilding, I was intrigued by the beginning cutscene, which promised much more than what the game delivers. After awakening the Core, I was disappointed it had little to say other than pointing the player to which boss to fight next. Worse, the NPCs have nothing to say. The few things you're left with are the valuables and hints of previous civilizations scattered around for worldbuilding.

The only thing motivating me now is getting the achievements (also a grind) and waiting for the game to exit early access, hoping it'll improve its gameplay and story. While I won't recommend the game for now, I do believe that Core Keeper has the potential to be a fun and interesting game!

Back on August 13, 2021, at 12:49 AM, I published a review of this game that merely said, "help i'm sad". At the time of the review, I couldn't fully convey how I felt once I finished the game. But that sentence doesn't do any justice, and even now, there's so much I want to say about the game. One day, I will write something much more substantial but this will do for now:

I loved this game, and I give it the highest praise I can. This game genuinely ruined me, and although there are some achievements left I refuse to do the the keep secret one for obvious reasons and the devs added new characters after the Lily Update, I can't bring myself to go back in fear of more emotional damage :,) But maybe one day.

I felt that every character in the game was fleshed out and interesting in their own ways. The world is beautiful, and Max LL's music was fitting for every occasion. Still listen to the soundtrack! Gameplay was good, sometimes a bit tiring when you have to take care of the characters, but for me, the story was the driving force of the game and greatly overshadows any potential flaws.

SPOILER:
While it was difficult to say goodbye to each one, Stanley was the one that made me cry the most. At first, I found him to be really annoying, but once I realized that he was just a kid, it hurt man. Also doesn't help that the characters are based on irl people! Absolute shoutout to Max LL for the "Last Voyage" piece that plays every time a character goes to the Everdoor. I wish I could eloquently write why that piece is so perfect, especially in its storytelling, but also that will be for another time.

EXTREME SPOILER:
Stella's departure was one of the best endings I've experienced in terms of emotional feeling. The last chance of hugging all past characters before it is time to leave. The depressing and calm piano music. Lily's butterflies flying close by so you won't be lonely (reflecting the in the game's real world of Stella's mother and sister being with her on her deathbed). The last embrace of Daffodil and Stella before they ascend. Both becoming constellations and joining their friends in the sky. Holy crap, there's so much anaylsis I want to do for this game. I could go into all the symbolism and what not, but I want to clearly convey instead of writing messy thoughts. And yes, I was bawling at the end.

However, I do have to note that I was originally experiencing some graphical issues when I was playing on a Macbook Air. The screen would begin to glitch once I entered rooms, and the slowdown was rather annoying. Later on, I switched to a different computer and didn't experience any major issues. Nevertheless, these problems did not deter me from playing the game, which attests to how much I liked it.

In short, Spiritfarer is one of the few games I still think about from time to time. One day, I hope to make this review even longer, write an essay if necessary, about everything this game has to offer.

wildlife scary

Edit: 1/7/2024. Decided to go back give a more serious review.

In all honesty, the game on its own is alright, but it's really the modding community that enhances the experience. Without the workshop, I would not have enjoyed the game as much as I do now. I do appreciate the base colonist interactions and world events, and it's fun to imagine how it would play out irl.

yes