Recent reviews by HarlequinCharm

If you do not own this game, I highly suggest you purchase it on sale or not. I bought this quite some time after it's original release. I had seen so many good reviews, but still didn't pull the trigger. I was bored one day and had just read an article about the game, a glowingly positive article...so I decided..."why not?" and purchased it. I was instantly sucked into this beautiful little pixelated world of adventure, farming, and friendship.

Not only is the game beautiful, but it is easy to follow and control. The customization of your farm is probably my favorite aspect. I love being able to plant my crops, tend to my animals, and upgrade my property as I progress through the game. It is far more than just a simple farming simulator though. Farming helps bring in income, but there is a whole world to explore and find new secrets!

Some of my top reasons to love this game are:

Graphics
Changing Seasons
Random Town Events (Usually Season Based, ex: Halloween, Christmas, etc...)
Ability to Customize Farm
Free Roam
Playability (I can jump right in at any moment after not playing for awhile and still get sucked back in)

This game feels fresh from the start and will hopefully charm you the same way it did me...I hope you enjoy your adventures in beautiful Stardew Valley!!!

I was worried about a glitchy game, but I am more than pleased with this early access…

So far I can say that "The Forest" is a pretty fantastic game for the developmental stage it is in. I found the world to be very realistic visually and the fear of being hunted quite motivating. Once you get off of the crashed plane, pick up a few helpful items (axe, food, flashlight, etc.) you can choose to leave the crash site to explore the unknown, or even build there if you'd like. I was forced to run because as soon as I looked up from gathering items from dumped luggage (about 4-5 minutes into the game) I seen tribesmen standing in the forest around me, watching. A bit freaked I turned the opposite direction and ran, when I looked behind me, they were running after.

I finally stopped running and thought this is it, axe at the ready and a tribeswoman stopped before me, not aggressive. Well, that didn't last long because I ended up thrusting my axe into her face and she ran -- and I fought. Realizing I was no match for the slowly growing number of men I ran again, deep into the forest. Now this is when some of the glitches arose.
The game is immersive, you do feel the urge to survive, build, and defend. You need to stay fed, keep warm/dry, and even sleep. My first glitch and I met when I was learning how to chop trees. I swung my axe over and over, but most trees just would not respond. Eventually I discovered that I need to stand the correct distance, on a certain side of the tree, and swing at just the right time -- it is incredibly annoying. What got me even more frustrated was trying to find logs. I was baffled because I could only chop small trees which yield sticks, another hour into the game I finally found a big tree that would allow me to chop. I only lost interest after I started my first cabin, 82 logs required. I picked a place on the edge of the forest next to the beach, placed it and gathered my first two logs. When I brought the logs to the cabin and started to build, the game started my cabin in the air, above my head -- How useful, right?

Other than birds chirping at night (I am sorry, but that ruins the night atmosphere), landscape glitching slightly (flashing or uneven), no save feature yet, building can get a bit glitchy (floating cabin), and trying to chop trees could take an hour; it is a seriously awesome game with so much potential.