Recent reviews by Faye Strawberry

Dong-Jin Rice-hime invites you to take up residence in the Taiwanese harbour town of Donggang to care for a super cute rice field.

Even just the concept of personifying a rice field is impressively unique, but I was further impressed by how well they personified it. The character you raise isn't just a generic anime girl who happens to have a vaguely rice-like appearance, she actually has insecurities and concerns relating to being a plant, such as getting upset about her weed companions being killed and her slow growth rate compared to other crops . The story is inventive and the writing is full of warmth, humour and sincerity.

The player spends action points and makes choices in order to successfully raise the young rice girl in their care, so it's a combination of management and visual novel gameplay. It's fun but relatively superficial, so the characters and setting are more likely to be the reason a player sticks around.

Together, the writing and gameplay combine to give the player a sense of working in agriculture. It is romanticised but doesn't shy away from giving details of the relentless heat, the aches and pains, the monotony and the exhaustion. It suggests that rice farming is a tough yet fulfilling job, that working outside in nature to produce food is meaningful. There is a tone of humility, respect and gratitude throughout that appeals to me.

The only negative I ought to highlight is the translation. There is the occasional bizarre line:
"From the country after the small so early, just as early as eighteen college attendance rate of less than half of the."
"Today, I am responsible for teaching you the basics of farming, or hit the snail group without mischievous group is not responsible!"
Those are the most extreme examples though, I promise. Most of the time, it's a single word that goes awry, but it can still cause confusion. For example, the 'Health Status' report is there to let you know how your rice girl is developing, but it repeats the 'intimacy' heading when the second one should say 'extrovert level'. If you don't realise that, you'll be lacking important information. Typos and such irritate me a lot but, in Dong-Jin Rice-hime, they don't affect the overall comprehensibility of the game and they don't detract from my enjoyment of it.

Indeed, I love this game.

Dong-Jin Rice-hime is fun, silly and quirky, but it is also a special and reflective game that makes me feel genuinely happy.

Faye Strawberry Curator

Oh my goodness, I love this game so much!

All five of the girls have cute personalities and cute appearances making them a lot of fun to interact with. Dialogue throughout the game is delightful, not just from the girls but from everyone, including the "professional consultant from the consultant company" (the protagonist). Everyone is quirky and entertaining and I hope they never change <3

The girls and the consultant have endearing and inspiring values. They're so sincere in their team spirit and devotion to their work. It makes me care all the more about saving the street market, as well as making me want to work hard towards my own goals!

One way in which their commitment to the street market is expressed is through the topics covered in conversations. They go into a surprising amount of depth about food and marketing. I love that this game educated me.

Another way it's expressed is through each girl's personal story. Rather than having disconnected personal lives involving extra characters, each girl's route is connected to their food stall. It communicates how invested each of them is in the street market community.

The balance between the visual novel and management gameplay is just right. Making decisions each day about which actions to take is satisfying, and the game rewards you with an impressive number of events to discover. These events are varied, big and small, and make each playthrough unique.

It isn't a perfect game, though. There are numerous errors and bugs. Most are innocuous, like the wrong name being displayed when someone is speaking. But occasionally it is a problem, like when there are untranslated lines or when I experience the consequences of a decision I didn't make! These flaws can be frustrating but they've never affected my affection for this game.

Food Girls is a vibrant, lively, joyous game and I've loved every minute I've spent with it.

Faye Strawberry Curator

Being greeted by the stunning pixel art is motivation enough to fire up ChillPulse and begin a productivity session. The game presents the player with scenes to choose between, set in different locations and time periods, which allows the art to shine and makes sure the setting doesn't get samey or claustrophobic. The player can add their own personalisation by selecting an outfit and accessories for the protagonist as well as choosing a pet companion ^_^ New items are added pretty often in updates, the latest of which was snake-themed for the Lunar New Year!

Of course, being a focus tool, the productivity features are important. The essentials are here. ChillPulse provides a pomodoro timer and to-do list, along with the 'hub' that records your focus time each day and which tasks you completed. There are also post-it notes for quick scribbles and a journal. Sadly, the journal needs some attention from the developer. I haven't used it since I realised the formatting gets messed up for saved entries and the only way to scroll is using the arrow keys. This may well get fixed though! The developer is still actively working on ChillPulse.

The music and ambient sounds are also important in productivity tools. This game has a few sound effects, like a fireplace, plus weather effects that add both the corresponding audio and visuals. The selection of tracks on offer is also better than I realised! It took me far too long to notice that there are several genres to choose between, not just lofi. You have to expand the track listing and then click on the music note to see all the available genres. There is a playlist to match each scene <3

There are two extra features that I absolutely adore: the drink making and the love stories. Each setting has its own collection of drinks and the player has the joy of mixing together the available ingredients to discover the full menu. Each setting also has its own romance that plays out between the protagonist and Her. Gradually learning more about their developing relationship is the most cute, heartwarming little reward to keep you motivated between timers.

ChillPulse pretty much has it all! You'll find gorgeous visuals, an excellent variety of music, solid productivity features and enough character to keep you coming back.

Faye Strawberry Curator

Kind Words 2 (lofi city pop) is a virtual safe haven.

Interacting with the game is simple and easy and, in my opinion, it achieves everything it claims. It is a place to give and receive kindness and it caters to any sort of mood you may be experiencing through providing a variety of different settings to discuss pretty much any topic you like. Here's just a small overview of what I've done in this game so far:

I've asked for help and offered comfort on difficult topics.
I've had cute chats about eating lunch and drinking tea.
I've written and read fun and silly poems.
I've recommended hair care routines and been given music recommendations.
I've vented my frustrations into a void (after making sure to tell the adorable wiggling void that my anger isn't directed at them).
I've chilled out to what is pretty much a gorgeous lofi music video.
I've wished upon a star.

I love this community and this little virtual city where everyone is accepting and friendly and they sincerely try their best for each other. It's beautiful that this game exists.

Faye Strawberry Curator

I was over the moon to see a Project Diva game come to PC!

I bought it expecting to use Mega Mix+ as a collection of music videos since I love songs by Miku (and Luka, KAITO, MEIKO, Rin & Len) but I cope much better with games where I can take my time, and rhythm games are the exact opposite of that!

Once I'd bought it, I figured I may as well try out the actual game. At first, even on easy difficulty, I thought it was going to remain impossible for me to ever clear a song. But then I finally managed to get through one and so I kept going and I managed to clear more. I remember how excited I was when I saw I'd achieved 'great' on an easy song for the first time!

I have spent a lot of time enjoying the music videos, but Miku has inspired me to persevere with learning how to play her rhythm game. Now I can even clear a few songs on extreme difficulty. In some ways, I feel like Project Diva has taught me that I can learn anything if I work hard at it!

I adore this game <3

I really enjoy the playlist feature where you can build your own playlist of songs and set different outfits and even different lead singers without affecting how the song appears in the main song list. It's simple but I use it a lot. More features would also be nice, like the diva rooms some of the previous iterations of Project Diva had, but it's not fundamental to a rhythm game.

The only real complaint I have is that Mega Mix+ needs more songs. Some songs from previous Project Diva games are missing, such as Heat Haze Daze by Jin. Although an instrumental version is used for the tutorial, I feel the absence of Miku's Ievan Polkka (originally by Loituma) as a playable song. All the songs from all the Project Diva games should be included in Mega Mix+. There are also some classic songs that would be amazing additions to this game, like Miku by Anamanaguchi.

It would need to be managed so that it doesn't end up costing players a fortune to buy everything, but new DLC packs of songs once in a while would be perfect to keep this game fresh and to make it feel complete. For example, I'd love it if they released a DLC pack of all the Project Voltage (Pokémon x Hatsune Miku) songs. That would be awesome!

If Mega Mix+ were occasionally updated with more songs, I could consider it the definitive version of Project Diva. But I still highly recommend this game because everything that is here is excellent <3

Faye Strawberry Curator

I bought Sakura And The Airyvixen on launch day and was instantly hooked! I've been playing it whenever I've had a spare moment over the last two days.

It was my first roguelite, so I was learning about the genre, as well as this game specifically, as I played.

I like the combination of strategy mixed with chance when deciding how to progress through a map. You know more or less what you're getting when you choose 'battle' or 'camp' or 'store', but an 'event' is unpredictable. There is more gameplay than story in this game, but the dialogue that does appear is entertaining and I love getting to meet more characters, so often I can't resist the events!

The characters have super-cute designs and animations and personalities. That applies to the enemies as well as the heroes - everyone is adorable! There are 22 rice-hime to collect and a whole host of other bright and fun characters to encounter. I'm impressed by their variety too, such as the zombie girl, the maid girl and the samurai girl .

***
Edit after having played more:
I have to admit, the overall story could be better. I was intrigued by why the three protagonists had been transported to this other world, and by Shrimpexia's motivations, and by the Airyvixen's role and her apparent authority over Shrimpexia. I was intrigued by the fact that Sakura and Shrimpexia have the same character design - how was that never acknowledged?! Sadly, none of these things were properly explained. This game definitely would have benefitted from the story being developed.
***

Learning the basics of fights is easy, but deciding which characters to have in the team and which of their skills to use at which moment is challenging. I enjoyed feeling like I earned my victories by using my brain. But, this was my first roguelite, so I can't comment on how difficult or easy more experienced players would find it.

I think newcomers and fans of the genre would have a good time playing this, and I would recommend Sakura And The Airyvixen for its joyful art and charismatic cast <3

Faye Strawberry Curator

Food Girls: Bubbles's Drink Stand is so cute!

You could play this as a standalone game and you'd have no trouble understanding it, but I would recommend it primarily to those who have played the original Food Girls game. I like this game because I like the character of Bubbles from Food Girls and I find it fun to experience working in the bubble tea stall I'm familiar with from the original game. That familiarity of the first game helps me to feel invested in this game.

If you haven't played Food Girls, this game might feel a little lacking, but it depends what you're looking for, of course. This game still has a cute girl, bubble tea, and the challenge of quickly and accurately preparing drinks for customers. Plus it has some fun details like a moo sound effect when you pour milk and the most adorable maid outfit you can dress Bubbles in (which players of Food Girls will recognise from the original game).

All of the story is contained in the tutorial so it's a short and simple story but it's sweet. However, you can expect to spend most of your time in challenge mode where you prepare as many drinks as possible in a limited amount of time. Bubbles delivers a few lines of dialogue at the start to give the challenge some context (while making reference to another Food Girls character) but there is next to no story here. Ultimately, whether you'll like Bubbles's Drink Stand really comes down to whether you find repeating the task of preparing drinks enjoyable.

The only other thing to mention is the item seller who appears in the menu area and in challenge mode:
* Shop upgrades can be bought from the menu area. I like getting these for the charm of the items themselves as much as for the perks they provide. For example, you can buy artwork of Bubbles and the other two main characters from Food Girls to decorate the walls. Unfortunately, some of the items are buggy and don't provide the effect they should.
* In challenge mode, serving the item seller a drink provides one of two temporary items that have an effect. However, even after almost 40 hours with this game, I still don't understand the benefit of one of these items. It would be really great if the game explained what the items are for!
Other than these issues with certain items, I encountered no problems with the game while playing it on my PC. I can't comment on the VR version.

Overall, as long as you are aware of what Food Girls: Bubbles's Drink Stand offers and don't expect it to be more than it is, then you should have a good time helping Bubbles to run her business. I really do like this game and find it adorable.

Faye Strawberry Curator

SimCity 4 was my first city builder game. That statement is not nostalgic - I first played SimCity 4 this year rather than 20 years ago, and I am very happy to say that this game is awesome! There is a lot to like.

First of all, I've had no technical problems or annoyances. I play the game through Steam with no mods, no EA account and no crashes! The controls are largely intuitive to me, even though the game is 20 years old and I've never played a city builder before.

The music is fantastic. In my opinion it strikes just the right balance of being lively and engaging whilst remaining backgrounded enough to not distract you from the gameplay or get irritating even when you play for hours at a time (and it's difficult not to!).

The artstyle is cute and fun. It's obviously not modern but that doesn't stop it from being a treat for the eyes!

The challenging gameplay is both good and bad. It's great to have to think about how to manage your city's growth and how to add new facilities without going bankrupt. I enjoy the difficulty when I understand it or when there is enough information to figure it out. However, some things are left unexplained which makes the gameplay feel frustrating at times. I've played for over 100 hours and still feel at a loss as to how to deal with certain problems that arise. When I've paid attention to the various graphs and data views and still can't understand the source of a problem, I had hoped the team of city advisors would offer guidance or at least nudge me in the right direction, especially considering that I've been playing on easy difficulty. I even read the digital manual that comes with the game and couldn't see any tips in there either. I'm not so keen on challenges that are hard because information is unavailable. Still, I keep learning as I play, so it may be that experience is the best teacher for SimCity 4.

I think the thing that has me so invested in SimCity 4 is the attention to detail that creates a sense of activity and of life occupying the cities. There are Sims spraying graffiti on the walls of commercial properties, farmers on ladders picking apples in the fields, zombies roaming the graveyards. When you look closely, you can see that even duplicates of the same item, such as the bus stops, actually differ. For example, one bus stop may have a hedge, a phone booth and newspaper vending machines, while another may have a fence, a post box and a drinks machine. I really appreciate these little touches; it's adorable <3 The sound effects that correspond to each building, such as the 'shh' when you click on the library, are also great fun. The sense of life is supported by the continuous change and development seen in the buildings. A building can be reconstructed to house more Sims as demand increases in your city, and the architecture changes over the years (if you choose) which gives the city a feeling of history. Similarly, problems in the cities are shown through buildings falling into disrepair or rubbish piling up on the streets. The game does an amazing job of demonstrating your influence.

SimCity 4 is challenging, vibrant, satisfying and so much fun.

Faye Strawberry Curator

Season Of Mystery: The Cherry Blossom Murders is an understated game that shows love for its genre and oozes retro charm.

This was my first hidden object game and the difficulty was just right for me, offering challenge without eye strain. The hint option makes the game accessible and removes any potential sense of frustration from feeling stuck because you are always able to progress. Of course, having the patience to complete the scene yourself is much more satisfying and the art of 19th century Japan is so pretty that taking time over it is a joy. I love the setting in terms of both time and place, and both feel evident throughout the game, with the lovely music adding to the mood of each scene. The inclusion of puzzles to give the gameplay variety is a fun addition too.

The story works well to hold everything together. It's intriguing, making you want to solve the mystery. It gives searching for hidden objects and solving puzzles a sense of purpose. It also manages to be surprisingly touching despite not being an especially deep or developed story.

Having discussed different elements of the game, there is still an appeal to it that I can't quite articulate, kind of like the beauty of cherry blossoms I suppose! Season Of Mystery: The Cherry Blossom Murders is a dark yet light game that is greater than the sum of its parts and I thoroughly enjoyed playing it.

Faye Strawberry Curator

Wytchwood takes place in an enchanting fairytale world with beautiful environments, expressive character portraits and atmospheric music.

The story is intriguing and absorbing, yet it is simple enough that the game can serve as an effective way to unwind. I have spent a lot of time foraging unnecessarily just to have an excuse to stay and relax in this bewitching world.

Gathering ingredients gradually becomes more challenging as you progress through the game, which gives new areas more impact, but it never becomes stressful. After all, you play as a resourceful witch who always has a trick up her sleeve to achieve her objective.

I'll be honest, the game can be a little more crude and silly than is my preference but obviously that's just my personal taste, and it's never been enough to put me off. I have still adored all the magical stories connected to each mission even with the slightly gross details here and there.

I am very much spellbound by Wytchwood <3

Faye Strawberry Curator