Recent reviews by 9of9

I quite liked the idea of this as a very relaxing and chill and alternative to something like Stardew Valley, with no combat, lush art and lots of colourful characters to interact with.

While I've largely enjoyed the moment to moment gameplay, the one thing that really spoils the game for me is that pretty much every character you meet is an absolute, selfish ♥♥♥♥. Nobody in this world ever gets anything done by themselves, and everyone is very keen to exploit the sweat and blood of a little girl at the blink of an eye.

Even the 'nice' characters who are supposedly cheerful and friendly will ask you to do things like go and buy them some produce from the market and, when you do, the idea of actually compensating you for the items that you have either bought or grown yourself, never ever crosses their minds. Everyone is content to take things from you and give you nothing in return, often without even being thankful.

It might seem like a small thing, but the entire world actually feels extremely, ruthlessly capitalist in a very unpleasant way. Everyone seems to be in it largely for their own gain and self-interest, whereas I would expect people to me more helpful and friendly, with more of a communal spirit, especially when dealing with an eight year-old girl who apparently lives all by herself and has no one to help her. It is deeply dispiriting and disheartening.

This extends even to the farming mechanics - while 'wild' crops like apples and berries produce fruit and seeds that can be replanted to spread that crop, all of the vendors only ever sell Monstanto-level genetically modified terminator seeds, meaning that none of your crops ever produce seeds that can be replanted: whether carrots, potatoes, or cabbage or anything else, if you want to grow more of them, you have to buy more seeds from the merchants, you can't keep farming them self-sufficiently.

It's certainly a believable world that Summer in Mara creates, but it is deeply bleak and unwelcoming, especially for a small child by their lonesome.

It has its rough edges and performance problems, but as a VR experience it's a must. The game is supremely playable, and one of the few that actually allows you to interact with virtual characters, making you feel like you're a part of a conversations with AI characters. You can crouch (IRL!) to sneak, and the gun play is incredibly fun.