At the time of this review, I am 7.7 hours into the game, and that means I am barely into the story and quest-lines.

I love the artwork.
I love the music and sound effects.
I love that I can play in short sessions and not feel like I won't remember where I was when I get back.
I love the slow burn, and build up of dread as the sun starts to go down, but I just have to try for one more fish or one more piece of scrap metal.

The economy is tight- but not unbalanced. If you are low on cash for upgrades or repairs you can go close to home to fish or throw out crab pots and make money at a decently fast pace.
I don't feel rushed into doing anything- the quests have no timers, I finish one whenever and the next one unlocks.
I can explore and get to know the map at my own pace.
End up smashing my boat to smithereens? The game lets me load up my last save or start over again- my choice.
You can turn off the scary stuff if you want to. I don't want to- the encounters add to the creepy Lovecraftian atmosphere. But if you don't like jump scares, or you have a younger child who wants to watch you play or wants to try it themselves- it's a nice option to be able to turn off the really freaky scary stuff.

The game has some good accessibility options, though the color palette the game uses *may* be an issue for people with certain forms of color-blindness.
The story and dialogue is all in text with no voice-overs, so it should be quite playable for Deaf and HoH gamers, though you will miss some subtle audio clues or prompts before monster attacks or wildlife encounters.
The story is delivered in small bits- no lengthy walls of text to deal with. It helps to click through every dialogue option, but they are all fairly short, easy to read and using language that doesn't require an advanced college degree.
The puzzles vary from easy to slightly challenging- trying to get things to fit neatly in your inventory or at shrines. But none have been brain-melters.

It runs really well on an older gaming laptop (with a discrete GPU), an older mid-range desktop, and a beefy newer desktop. I suspect it would run smoothly on a toaster, but I don't have one to test it on. As long as you have a dedicated discrete GPU, and you meet minimum specs (though I always recommend exceeding them, even just a little). No idea how it will run on a laptop with only a integrated chipset.

The only thing that bothers me is how quickly the day cycle runs- day to night a little too quickly. So you'll have to really think about how long fishing or dredging takes if you don't want the nighttime stress and madness to hit you. Remember to dock and sleep to stay sane.

Really enjoying the game, and I can and will whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone who wants a game that isn't high action, is a slow-burn kind of game, requires a little brain power, but isn't overly complex, and that has a really great immersive atmosphere that lets the dread settle in slowly and deeply.

(quick edit to fix some typos only- no changes to the text.)

I just finished The Pale Reach DLC, and reviewed it, if you care to read it:
https://steamcommunity.com/id/IFIYGD/recommended/2561440/
(21 February, 2024)

At the time of this review, I am 7.7 hours into the game, and that means I am barely into the story and quest-lines. I love the artwork. I love the music and sound effects. I love that I can play in short sessions and not feel like I won't remember where I was when I get back. I love the slow burn, and build up of dread as the sun starts to go down, but I just have to try for one more fish or one more piece of scrap metal. The economy is tight- but not unbalanced. If you are low on cash for upgrades or repairs you can go close to home to fish or throw out crab pots and make money at a decently fast pace. I don't feel rushed into doing anything- the quests have no timers, I finish one whenever and the next one unlocks. I can explore and get to know the map at my own pace. End up smashing my boat to smithereens? The game lets me load up my last save or start over again- my choice. You can turn off the scary stuff if you want to. I don't want to- the encounters add to the creepy Lovecraftian atmosphere. But if you don't like jump scares, or you have a younger child who wants to watch you play or wants to try it themselves- it's a nice option to be able to turn off the really freaky scary stuff. The game has some good accessibility options, though the color palette the game uses *may* be an issue for people with certain forms of color-blindness. The story and dialogue is all in text with no voice-overs, so it should be quite playable for Deaf and HoH gamers, though you will miss some subtle audio clues or prompts before monster attacks or wildlife encounters. The story is delivered in small bits- no lengthy walls of text to deal with. It helps to click through every dialogue option, but they are all fairly short, easy to read and using language that doesn't require an advanced college degree. The puzzles vary from easy to slightly challenging- trying to get things to fit neatly in your inventory or at shrines. But none have been brain-melters. It runs really well on an older gaming laptop (with a discrete GPU), an older mid-range desktop, and a beefy newer desktop. I suspect it would run smoothly on a toaster, but I don't have one to test it on. As long as you have a dedicated discrete GPU, and you meet minimum specs (though I always recommend exceeding them, even just a little). No idea how it will run on a laptop with only a integrated chipset. The only thing that bothers me is how quickly the day cycle runs- day to night a little too quickly. So you'll have to really think about how long fishing or dredging takes if you don't want the nighttime stress and madness to hit you. Remember to dock and sleep to stay sane. Really enjoying the game, and I can and will whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone who wants a game that isn't high action, is a slow-burn kind of game, requires a little brain power, but isn't overly complex, and that has a really great immersive atmosphere that lets the dread settle in slowly and deeply. (quick edit to fix some typos only- no changes to the text.) I just finished The Pale Reach DLC, and reviewed it, if you care to read it: https://steamcommunity.com/id/IFIYGD/recommended/2561440/ (21 February, 2024)