izigame.me

This is one of those "I wish Steam had a neutral recommendation" reviews - I just lean more negatively on it than positive. I'll quickly note that I am playing on the easiest mode, if only because I'd like to actually complete the core story. I actually like the easiest mode, but it does take the stake of cancellation out of the game entirely (again, not a complaint but noting for accuracy). TLDR - don't blind buy (unless discounted), I personally find the game too tedious.
Game play wise there's not a lot of nuance. Pick up camera, film the cast you've assembled, occasionally throw in a dutch angle or a tracking shot to appease the cinephiles, and then rinse repeat until season end. You have a randomly selected audience to cater to and random events to go capture for said audience. It's a five day shoot with an extended going away day at season end. Oh, don't jump away from that end of season stage, because you will soft lock yourself and have to reload.
In terms of construction...I mean it's beautiful to play. The characters have some decent dimension, but like reality TV you're watching hookups and breakups across the house and there's only so many ways you can stay engaged with that. There's a mystery, but you only get glimpses of it in during the first few seasons. The character designs really pop, and you're able to quickly read who everyone is within seconds of seeing them and track them down within the house. Each character has a mini task they want to accomplish, which of course can potentially conflict with not only your current filming shoot but future shoots as you may fail to complete their objective before season end. The music is notable, but deliberately background but you'll clock it just enough to know if the vibe isn't right.
The negativity, and thus this negative review, is entirely based on how freaking grindy it feels. You cannot film every moment you want as you need to collect advertiser money to buy more stuff to fill the house which can only happen if the camera's not running. Almost everything at the house costs over five hundred dollars, with most of it being over a thousand, so you need to split your time evenly capturing the audience and then selling the audience. The audience profiles vary wildly - some are easy (feet pics, general voyeurism) while some are more of a stumble into it (glitches). In order to have the most success, you may have to leave someone falling in love to go film a plant to ensure the gardeners don't leave you or cut your filming day early and grind out ads. If you don't cater enough to advertisers, you don't get money. No money, no new stuff for the cast to do and things for the audience to see to increase their interest. Like if you have people who are fans of fish, and you don't own fish, you have limited options to collect their viewership. So it's not really "you are in control and this is your show" because you literally select four cast members and toss them in with a "let the chips fall where they may" attitude and likely an eye towards their lower back.
I think it's a good game, and I think there's a very good chance that a lot of people will have a burning passion to 100% this game and will embrace it with open arms. That person just isn't me, and I will continue to slowly chip away at the story over time.