Village in the Shade

Best game in the world!!! The contrast between the beautiful nature and horrific story makes this game so flawless. Even the calming peaceful music that changes over time is just too good and fits this game's theme so perfectly. Never played a game so gorgeous and this is my number one favorite without doubt. :)

Probably the best Harvest Moon-like I've played in the last couple of years. The horror and mystery elements are a nice distraction from watering your fields and everything's nice and pretty in a way that makes building out the farm very satisfying. No complaints.

I adore this game. Between the art, the story, and a broke stock trader repeatedly swindling an elementary-aged student, it seems to obtained cozy game perfection. It also contains a lot of Japanese folklore real and made-up-for-this-game, so you can even have a little fun learning on the side. That said, there are a fair amount of elements to this game that are simply vague or entirely unexplained. I get that you as a player are meant to slowly uncover more and more about the village, the villagers and the secrets they keep, but as for gameplay and actual advancement outside of the storyline? Well maybe I'm used to too much handholding in my farming sims. There are multiple progression systems here seemingly independent of each other -- and some of them you might only find by accident or not find at all in your first playthrough. As an old hand at the Harvest Moon, Rune Factory, and Story of Seasons franchises, I had a pretty good idea about some things, but if I hadn't had that background, I honestly couldn't tell you if I wouldn't have just gotten frustrated and quit after getting bodied by a deer 14 times in a row. I do really enjoy playing this game and will probably run it back now that I know more about how to play the game, but if you are like me (lazy?) and need the game itself to tell you a little bit more about how to actually play it successfully without needing a second monitor with a guide open at all times, you must prepare for hours of "How exactly do I obtain x?" or "This villager asked me for a thing I don't have access to -- is this the game telling me I should have access to it by now and I'm just bad at video games?" or "Should I feel like I'm playing a Souls-like game right now, or is it because the game never even hinted I can actually gain more health through an entirely independent advancement system not tied to anything story-wise?" TL;DR I recommend this game to people who want a new experience while still following some farming sim cliches and if you are the type of player who wants to look at everything, do everything, and talk to everyone. Or people who have a lot of patience.