callmenora
2021
after 63 hours in game (played for 60 days, everyday for roughly an hour, sometimes a bit longer or less) i think i am finally done with this game (the story is not nearly done but, playing this everyday is starting to be a chore for me), i will probably go back to it to decorate / play on offline mode when i'm traveling with the deck because i can play it for hours without charging the steam deck, i'm burnt out and would rather do something else with my 1hour everyday. but don't get me wrong, i enjoyed every single hour i had so far! i was shocked at how much care went into this game, so many different flowers, hundreds and hundreds of them!! the item descriptions, the furniture! i love how decorating your island is basically a puzzle! this was such a refreshing cozy game. not everyone's cup of tea, if you're looking for something to binge-play, this is not it. if you are looking for a relaxing everyday routine, this is totally for you though
2023
i'm torn between 3 stars or 3.5 but i'll be generous this time since it's the first AAA wizarding world game
my experience with this game:
my thoughts the first few hours: omg my character sounds so bad, dialogue is horrible, graphics are very bad, the optimization is HORRIBLE (played 2 weeks after launch and it was barely playable on low settings with 20 fps when it was supposed to be 60 fps on ultra according to recommended settings game set for me), the NPC's are 1 iq and don't react to anything, the class system is disappointing (oh how i wish they made the classes / school friendships like persona... or bully...), there is a huge red screen and alert sound to return back to my quest area when i go and try to explore a bit... IN MY FIRST FEW MINUTES AT HOGWARTS... hmm well THAT IS SUCH A HORRIBLE CHOICE WHOSE IDEA WAS THAT
thoughts after the first few hours, between 7-15h:
woooooow EXPLORING IS FUNNN, hey this is a new puzzle!!! omg what is this? whoa they even thought of this detail! hey the game is getting better and better!! wait am i really gonna explore all of this castle? inch by inch? i can't waiit!!!
thoughts after 20h:
omg. stop it already. when is this gonna end. i don't care about this story. my choices mean nothing. oh it's the same puzzle again, the one that i already did 33 times. uuugh i must be close to the ending (i wasn't even barely close), just hold on...
and it was a love & hate relationship after that point. i wanted to turn off the game & go to sleep for a huge chunk of the game. i was totally invested and excited for another chunk of it. but the bads outweighed the goods in the end. i am glad it's finally over (at 52 hours) i did a fair amount of side quests because they were way better than the main story and gave me a reason to go and explore. i didn't 100% and i don't think i'll be going back to it again. i also couldn't be bothered to do the final quest "the house cup" because it requires level 34 and i'm only 31. maybe if they add a photo mode in the future (they probably will) i might have a reason to go back and graduate. that's all. still feels like a dream though, to be able to finish and write a review for this game after being so hyped for years. i have hope the 2nd game will be way better than this, so now i can start looking forward to that one!
my experience with this game:
my thoughts the first few hours: omg my character sounds so bad, dialogue is horrible, graphics are very bad, the optimization is HORRIBLE (played 2 weeks after launch and it was barely playable on low settings with 20 fps when it was supposed to be 60 fps on ultra according to recommended settings game set for me), the NPC's are 1 iq and don't react to anything, the class system is disappointing (oh how i wish they made the classes / school friendships like persona... or bully...), there is a huge red screen and alert sound to return back to my quest area when i go and try to explore a bit... IN MY FIRST FEW MINUTES AT HOGWARTS... hmm well THAT IS SUCH A HORRIBLE CHOICE WHOSE IDEA WAS THAT
thoughts after the first few hours, between 7-15h:
woooooow EXPLORING IS FUNNN, hey this is a new puzzle!!! omg what is this? whoa they even thought of this detail! hey the game is getting better and better!! wait am i really gonna explore all of this castle? inch by inch? i can't waiit!!!
thoughts after 20h:
omg. stop it already. when is this gonna end. i don't care about this story. my choices mean nothing. oh it's the same puzzle again, the one that i already did 33 times. uuugh i must be close to the ending (i wasn't even barely close), just hold on...
and it was a love & hate relationship after that point. i wanted to turn off the game & go to sleep for a huge chunk of the game. i was totally invested and excited for another chunk of it. but the bads outweighed the goods in the end. i am glad it's finally over (at 52 hours) i did a fair amount of side quests because they were way better than the main story and gave me a reason to go and explore. i didn't 100% and i don't think i'll be going back to it again. i also couldn't be bothered to do the final quest "the house cup" because it requires level 34 and i'm only 31. maybe if they add a photo mode in the future (they probably will) i might have a reason to go back and graduate. that's all. still feels like a dream though, to be able to finish and write a review for this game after being so hyped for years. i have hope the 2nd game will be way better than this, so now i can start looking forward to that one!
went back for a bit to do the easter event and reunite with my ffxiv friends, ended up falling even more in love with the game. the more i play it, the more this game amazes me ♡-♡
2023
i named my studio A24 and i'm making all their movies starting from their first release. will do Studio Ghibli next ♡
very well thought out and detailed tycoon game! i rarely play tycoon games so i don't have much to compare with, but as a movie lover this satisfied me, will definitely make new saves and roleplay all my favorite film studios
very well thought out and detailed tycoon game! i rarely play tycoon games so i don't have much to compare with, but as a movie lover this satisfied me, will definitely make new saves and roleplay all my favorite film studios
2023
it's so fun to play it on stream! it's definitely a twitch game, i didn't get to experience it with friends yet but for solo i can say that at maximum 20 hours i'll be bored, right now it's repetitive. the first few hours are very fun but it quickly gets old. still definitely recommend it if you're looking for a different fps
2022
games you can easily play while listening to a podcast/audiobook on the background should be a genre already. and this game fits that genre PERFECTLY
driving a virtual truck while listening to audiobooks is peak happiness
2023
the premise of a dating reality show (with monsters and gods!!!) sounds amazing and i think it's what makes this game unique, so i wish there was more focus on that, i didn't really like how the eliminations worked, i wish we could see the reaction of the person eliminated, and other contestants, such a small change would take the game up a notch i think. i went in with low expectations, but the dialogue surprised me in a nice way, every character had a clear personality to them which was nice. i didn't like the horror elements (meeting lulu) and there was a jumpscare at one point which really killed my mood and made me uneasy when i was just chilling (if you enter the library before inviting fenton) :(
another thing i wish is more versatile characters, the options we had were fine, above average but none of them really stood out for me. even if i really liked a character, they all had a bad trait that stopped them from becoming "the one"
now i will go a bit into some character's details and what stopped them from becoming the obvious choice, it's not major spoilers or anything but if you want to play the game with a fresh eye then don't read this part:
example: vess was my number one at first but i didn't want to wait around 100 years for her when drac was already sad about wasting a lot of time on her ex
another example: i liked fenton and even ended up choosing him because he loved books and cozy things (like me) but he also had a bad side and no self confidence and way too sophisticated for my taste
another one: p.s. elle, i loved how cheerful and optimistic she was and she would be a good partner for me if she didn't want to sleep with EVERYTHING she saw
i can go on and on, every character sadly had something that stopped them from becoming my perfect match.
and finally, i loved the exploration, i was surprised to see how many hidden locations there were and it felt rewarding to find them. ultimately, i'd recommend the game if you're into dating / metroidvania games
another thing i wish is more versatile characters, the options we had were fine, above average but none of them really stood out for me. even if i really liked a character, they all had a bad trait that stopped them from becoming "the one"
now i will go a bit into some character's details and what stopped them from becoming the obvious choice, it's not major spoilers or anything but if you want to play the game with a fresh eye then don't read this part:
example: vess was my number one at first but i didn't want to wait around 100 years for her when drac was already sad about wasting a lot of time on her ex
another example: i liked fenton and even ended up choosing him because he loved books and cozy things (like me) but he also had a bad side and no self confidence and way too sophisticated for my taste
another one: p.s. elle, i loved how cheerful and optimistic she was and she would be a good partner for me if she didn't want to sleep with EVERYTHING she saw
i can go on and on, every character sadly had something that stopped them from becoming my perfect match.
and finally, i loved the exploration, i was surprised to see how many hidden locations there were and it felt rewarding to find them. ultimately, i'd recommend the game if you're into dating / metroidvania games
2022
was a cute little game to play on autopilot whilst listening to audiobooks/podcasts but i think it would be unbearable to play without doing a secondary activity on the side, you basically do the same thing in the same few areas, it's way too grindy. even to level up fishing from level 1 to 2 i had to catch around 100 fish
2022
i finally have a steam deck yuuppiii
2019
follow your heart and you'll be safe ♡
my favorite gaming moments are when i discover a new favorite and i am shocked by everything i am feeling / seeing / feeling. sayonara wild hearts is a new favorite. i love how the story is vague enough so the player can interpret it to what they're going through in their life (transgender main character, heartbreak, drug addict, and many more interpretations i'm sure)
my favorite levels were, well most of them were 10/10 honestly but i loved "begin again" and "parallel universes"
annapurna interactive never publishes a bad game, they're almost always masterpieces or if not they're clearly trying something new and i love them so much for not going out of their way with the games they publish ♡
my favorite gaming moments are when i discover a new favorite and i am shocked by everything i am feeling / seeing / feeling. sayonara wild hearts is a new favorite. i love how the story is vague enough so the player can interpret it to what they're going through in their life (transgender main character, heartbreak, drug addict, and many more interpretations i'm sure)
my favorite levels were, well most of them were 10/10 honestly but i loved "begin again" and "parallel universes"
annapurna interactive never publishes a bad game, they're almost always masterpieces or if not they're clearly trying something new and i love them so much for not going out of their way with the games they publish ♡
2022
don't go into this game hoping to play another disco elysium, that's what i did and i was really disappointed at first, but quickly learned to look at it as its own game. the dialogue is good for a game, but not among the best writing i've seen. your choices don't change much except the different endings. it's more like a visual novel, still, i'm glad i played it. mina & lem ♡
2022
definition of cozy, it's sooo satisfying to organize things
2022
aaah i really wanted to love this game and was looking forward to playing it for months, i wanted to be fully concentrated while playing it so i saved it for a time where i could 100% focus on it, sadly the game kept going down to 1 fps anytime i entered a new area / room, and kept crashing on medium settings when it's supposed to be easily running on ultra. after spending hours to solve those issues, i already played the first half of the game in bits and pieces and was so disconnected from the game itself. i think it would be a completely different experience if i could've experienced it without the constant problems, but i can't take time back sooo, the game is ruined for me, sad.
2022
dark souls of potion crafting games