Let’s face it: Research Story looks and plays a lot like Stardew Valley. You’re the new guy arriving in a peaceful village with lots of townsfolk to chat to. You get a plot of land, where you can grow crops, look after animals, and craft items. There’s a mine to explore, and people to befriend/romance. If you enjoyed all of that in Stardew Valley – you’ll enjoy it here too! But what else does the game have to offer?

Research

The fact that you arrive in Shimmerbrook in the role of a researcher opens up some cool new mechanics. You don’t just go to the store, buy seeds and plant them wherever you like. You first have to observe a plant in the wild, then you get seeds, which you grow in your garden – but careful, each species has different needs! The same goes for the animals/creatures. This system makes the game more challenging than Stardew Valley, and feels a bit more mature. The researched species get beautiful entries in your journal, and there’s a cool mix of real species (chamomille, fox, ...) and fantasy ones (sproutkitten, cloudberry, ...).

Creatures

Once you researched and tamed a creature, it not only gives you some sort of produce that you can sell, it also accompanies you on your adventures and even gives you buffs! I love this concept, the creatures really feel like your companions and not just like livestock. You can take up to three of them with you at a time, for each activity there’s a suited companion.

Romance

The character designs in this game are gorgeous, and let’s say it like it is – most of the townsfolk are really hot! They all have their unique roles in society, and different interests they’ll talk about. You can befriend them by conversing and gift giving, they drop hints about their preferred gifts. You can go on dates with the ones that are single and available. I haven’t had the chance yet to get to know all of them better, but the ones that I pursued so far had very sweet traits and stories to tell!

Special mentions

Here I’ll address a few points that show how Research Story improves on its predecessor.

• Tools don’t clutter up your hot key bar. They have a special slot, and you cycle through them with your mouse wheel.
  
• You can catch fish in the river right in front of your house.
  
• The fishing mini game is less annoying – but that’s a personal preference.
  
• You don’t just carry each item above your head that you select in the hot key bar. You have to press an extra button to take them out of the backpack. Takes a bit of time to get used to, but feels more logical and less messy.
  
• You don’t have to decide between charming local store and evil mega corporation.
  
• You’re a scientist, and your research feels meaningful and helps you solve puzzles.

Critique

This wouldn’t be a well-rounded review without a few negative points. So as much as I enjoyed the game so far, here’s what it could improve on.

• The graphic style is very minimalistic and cutesy, which is certainly not for everyone. Some areas of the map feel a bit monotone and empty, but I only noticed this in a few spots like the upper floor of the Violet Academy.
  
• The journal entries about the species could be more detailed. Again, probably a personal preference – but I would enjoy reading even more about the different species I discovered, apart from the facts that are important for gameplay.
  
• The music in the game is beautiful, varied and fitting, but some of the sound effects sound a bit weird and too loud. Looking at you, watering can >.>
  
• As of now, there’s a limited amount of creatures to discover, people to date and stuff to do. But that’s normal for early access, and the game already offers many hours of fun gameplay! Plus the solo dev published a detailed roadmap of what’s to come, so no worries about the project getting abandoned before completion.

Conclusion

If you enjoyed Stardew Valley, you’ll enjoy this game. You’ll relive the excitement that you first had when exploring everything and learning the mechanics. I yet have to find out whether the mid and late game will deliver – but of what I’ve seen so far, it’s already absolutely worth its price!