Recent reviews by Minmo!

every time i ask the mejai if they're friendly i'm met with a clear and resounding "NO." at least they're honest

So I'm over 60 hours into this game and counting, and I'm close to starting my second run of Hollow Knight, so I feel it's finally about time I've left a review for this game.

Somehow this game has flown completely under my radar these past years, despite it being a game I heartily enjoyed and was captured by immediately. I'm not sure what caused me to pass over it all this time, but I'm really, really glad I got the chance to play it, even if I am very late to do so.

A friend gifted me the game as an early birthday present during the Steam Sale, and from there it was history. While my friend purchased it for me at a discount, and I don't mean this to say my friend *should* have spent more, but it's worth every dollar and more at full price. It really, really is.

This is a $15 game that had me fall in love with the soundtrack, the graphics and gameplay, the ambiance and mood, and with every NPC. I fell for the story, the lore and the world of Hallownest, and I especially fell hard for helping every grub in a jar that just wanted to go home.

This game is challenging at times, but not unfair. And I consider myself bad at any kind or manner of platforming games. Like, *really* bad. My coordination has always been lacking, and this was no different. But through repetition, and maybe the occasional swap of the charms, I improved a lot. I've improved so much and yet I still stumble when jumping and trip onto spikes. If you're not good at metroidvanias or generally don't play them, don't let that dissuade you. This game is a masterpiece in the form of a game, and it's now claimed it's spot as one of my favorite games of all time.

Whether you buy it at full price, or on sale, or even a physical copy if that's your game, give this game a shot. It's well worth the time.

For a game introduced to me by friends as simply "farming simulator," I didn't think I'd be nearly as into it as I am. I actually waited quite a while on picking it up because it sounded really bland and not really my thing, but one night a couple others wouldn't stop talking about it so I finally picked it up for $15 and just went for it.

Stardew Valley, I found, was a lot more than the simple description of "farming sim" that I was given. There's a whole town full of people to meet and get to know, there's so much to do (fishing, mining, crafting), and there's a loose story there that is enough to give the game some depth without being too forward and taking over the whole game.

It reminds me a lot of Animal Crossing actually, except instead of the game using real time every hour in game is one real minute, and you save the game every time you sleep, brining you to the next day. This is nice because it allows the game to use its in game time for a lot of different things without making you feel like you have to check up on it constantly. You can stop playing for weeks and pick it up right where you were before with no penalty at all.

I could say a lot about Stardew Valley, but I'll just say it's one of the most surprisingly fun games I've ever played. I really did not expect to have as much fun with it as I have. If you're on the fence about picking it up I highly suggest you look into the game and what it is, because it's a lot more than what it looks to be on the surface.

EDIT as of Nov. 27th, 2019: Game still rules. 1.4 just released, game has had multiplayer for years. The developer aims to give a great experience to the players and always delivers. I wrote this review when I had 88 hours, I now have some over 200. This is a classic game for me that I can always return to.