Recent reviews by Tex

Caveat: The devs stopped working on this in 2020, and they /explicitly/ state that of the covered headsets, mine is not among the list.

All this said:

I cannot interact with a single thing in this game on a Quest 2. Not a thing. I'm stuck in a foyer. I can't open the doors. I can access the menu, and interact in that, but nothing in the game itself. I've tried every button, both controllers and at this point I've only got bodily chucking my head through the interface left to try.

I would not recommend this to players with a Quest.

I LOVE this game. The characters are quirky but down to earth, each NPC's problems are a fun and unique little side quest that are actually part of the main storyline (so it feels episodic instead of one looooooong main quest with little diversions to keep you engaged (*side eyes some more "popular" AAA games*)), and the game has you feel like you're continually making progress through progress bars for relationships, quick visuals on the continue game screen, and even an in-game pamphlet that will let you know where you're at with your collectibles.

As a few other reviewers have noted, Spirittea's main area of less than amazingness is it's controls. By the love of each seasonal king spirit, play this with a controller. Especially on the fishing minigame. The other three minigames can each be passibly played on M+K, but the fishing game is a nightmare with WASD, as it utilizes eight compass points around a circular node and trying to get keys to accurately replicate NW, NE, SW, and SE without releasing one key later than the others (and thus ending up with N,W, E, or S) is a frustrating experience. This game could really do with some key remaping.

Speaking of, you really only use WASD, shift, and E for most in-game actions (with things like your map mapped to the obligatory M key), with no mouse at all. Not game-breaking, but I really do wish I had something to do with my right hand (MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER) while playing this.

If anyone is wondering why there are a few friend-activities that are greyed out, the drinking minigame can only be done while Leigh is at his stall (after dark! no day drinking!), and the hot springs don't open until you repair the bridge north of town.

I'll say this, too, though it's more about the community than the game: If you want walkthroughs and need guides, go to the official discord, and not the steam guides. With the exception of an incredibly helpful seasonal spirit map, there's basically nothing for steam community posted guides. I hope this changes at some point (I guide for how rare all the collectibles are would be super nice!), but for now, it's sadly lacking.

I just wish I could figure out how/when the game saves cause I've lost a few in-game days by closing the game when I THOUGHT it saved (when you sleep), but I seem to be mistaken?

8/10 stars.

This game is an enjoyable, meditative paint-by-numbers experience that allows you to chill after work while listening to podcasts or yt vids.

HOWEVER, 95+% of the content in these games is locked behind DLC. You'll have to pay $40 USD or more to unlock the full game. To be clear, I am wholly in support of devs being paid for their hard work and time. And this is a good game; the controls are great, and you can use a tablet if you want to (my Wacom Intuos 5 works well with it). I'd just like to be told up front if I was downloading 20% of a game for free then expected to cough up money for a 'free' game to get access to the rest of the content you can see in your menu!!!!! but has a paywall in front of it.

Good game, bad marketing strat.

PS - All the achievements for the game aren't bundled with their individual DLC. So now I've got 315 achievements sitting against my completion rate unless I fork over cash

This, and the other 'Coloring Game's are fine in principle. They're enjoyable, meditative paint-by-numbers experiences that allow you to chill after work while listening to podcasts or yt vids.

HOWEVER, be warned that 80+% of the content in these games is locked behind DLC. You'll have to pay $40 USD or more to unlock the full game. To be clear, I am wholly in support of devs being paid for their hard work and time. And this is a good game; the controls are great, and you can use a tablet if you want to (my Wacom Intuos 5 works well with it). I'd just like to be told up front if I was downloading 20% of a game for free then expected to cough up money for a 'free' game to get access to the rest of the content you can see in your menu!!!!! but has a paywall in front of it.

Good game, bad marketing strat.

(and I know it's a small gripe but it AGRAVATES ME that all the achievements for the game aren't bundled with their individual DLC. Now I've got 70 achievements sitting against my completion rate unless I fork over cash)

Look. The concept is really cool. The implementation is really cool!

The community is nothing but pedo images and animations of anime girls getting f**cked. If you want porn, go ahead. Personally, I'd like actual wallpapers, but maybe that's just me. Also, did I mention the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥?

If you've ever looked at Dark Souls III and said 'this could be more anime', you have found your game. I'm not saying this completely reinvents the wheel, but like Bloodborne, it shares so many of the same mechanics. Which makes sense, as it's a Namco product.

The biggest gripe I would say I have about this game is that the animations are a little too long in the wind up and ending. Added to this is the fact that you're animation locked makes this a challenging game to survive. Additionally, the movements have that odd, slightly laggy movement that stops half a beat after you stopped inputting movement commands. Sort of like the Assassin Creed games.

I WILL say that the ability trees are amazingly robust, and the more RPG elements with having to pick a class to use and upgradable skill trees was a treat. If they could just tone down the SFX for those skills though....

4/5, definitely a solid game.

Gods, this game is so soothing! I've barely played 10 minutes of it, all together, but the music and the attention you have to pay to weed and water your tiny little geranium is so relaxing.

I had a complete balls day at work, so stressed, and I come home and can get absorbed in this.

The colour pallet is amazing and there's a very large selection of succulents- honestly a lot more than I was expecting.

10/10 will de-stress again.