Spirittea Review (Ari)
First all I want to preface this by saying that overall, I do enjoy this game quite a bit!
But I feel I have to comment on some of the misgivings of this game:
1. The lack of visual indicators is quite simply appalling!
I've pumped say about 24 hrs into this game, and only now have I realised there are brooms in your towel room that are there to clean the place up. There are no object/item highlights, nothing to tell one whatsoever that something might be interactable and therefore used. (I bet there are already a number of items in the game that I could be using that I've simply missed out purely because of this)
2. The way the game explains it's mechanics, ie fishing, stamina and overall tutorials is just not good enough. There is also no menu in the UI to go back to in case one needs a refresher of how something works... To me, this is something that really should be there at release...and is inexcusable.
3. Interacting with townsfolk and the activities to increase friendship. Walk up to say Clarence, select prompt that asks him to go for a drink with you... Go to Leigh's drink stand (with Leigh behind the bar), only for the minigame not to initiate. Whether this is a bug or deliberate, I'm not sure. But it sure is frustrating
4. Being on your way trying to solve a quest only for the spirit cat to then constantly bombard you with a spicy noodles quest...It's just really really poor.
5. The mechanics of your backpack and notebook system is just really average. Having to flip between the 2 is plainly annoying.
6. It is so easy to accidentally drop an item out of your hand without realising it. I've done it a number of times with my shovel. No prompt nor visual indicator that you're removing an item. These might seem like really small nitpick things but they all add up.
Overall
+++++++++++
The game has a solid foundation and the Devs clearly made this game with love. I am not doubting this at all!
It's cute, it's fun when your not experiencing the frustrations listed above.
Right now, this game shouldn't be listed as a full release. It's clearly lacking months and months of much needed polish. For me, it really should have been listed as an early access title and I feel a little cheated that it's not.
I won't be refunding this game nor am I recommending not to buy the game either.
There is a great game in here when it actually allows you to play it. I am merely writing this review because many of these mechanics have not been thought through enough and cause more frustrations than not...