レビュー

• cittycat

  Sep 27, 2023

  I first saw a trailer of this game at a Nintendo Direct in 2018 and was really excited that it will finally release after so many years. And even though my expectations were quite muted after the underwhelming Demo a couple of months ago, it still left me disappointed. The game is unrecognizable from it's first trailer. The trailer gave an impression of a much fuller, richer and polished game. Farming has been removed entirely, many mechanics like the crafting look much less impressive in the final version and the highlight Night Market with it's minigames are quite lacking too. In addition, the game feels quite rough and around the edges: there are very little sound effects, the same couple tracks loop in the background and the world feels empty and static with little to do besides the fetch quests. My disappointment may also come from the broader games market. Farming and "cozy" type games have become plenty with many big and small players each catering to a niche. Prehaps it just doesn't fit my niche? It pains me but I have to give this a thumbs down. Despite some charming aspects it's a big letdown from prior footage shown many years ago and the final verison only echoes the mixed impressions I got from the demo.
• gamedeal user

  Sep 27, 2023

  I've been following this game since I saw the first trailer in 2018.. and I would absolutely not recommend this game to anyone. If you're looking for a cozy game, there's a ton that do it much better than this one. The game feels hollow. The townspeople feel hollow. The game play is too simplistic even for this kind of genre. All I'm doing is picking flowers, crafting a little thing, and waiting until the night market to sell. And none of it is even engaging. Everything about it feels like it was made for.. a 5 year old? It's just too little substance to charge $20 for. Sure, it's cute.. but that's all it's got going for it. There are so many other games that just do it better. It's really a shame since I was anticipating this for so long.
• an an

  Sep 27, 2023

  Wishlisted this game since last year and immediately bought it once I saw the notification for it! First time leaving a review;; But first of all this game's artstyle is super cute and pretty, the BGM super calming/relaxing as well. Character dialogues are silly at times, and best of all you can have an army of cats following you in an area :D After 3 hr of non-stop playing, I'd say it is pretty fun but it might get repetitive for some, as you'll be spending most of the time collecting items, selling them for either food(replenish stamina) or just to prep for the Night Market(That happens only every Sat). Another thing that is slightly annoying is that you can only sell items one by one OR sell the entire stack. No option for choosing how many you want to sell at the same time. After unlocking new areas(which might take some time), you'll have more things to do. i'll recommend getting Fishing Rod first to unlock the Docks, as fishes are worth quite a lot. Do note that most things only require simple controls (eg fishing just need to press Enter when the fish bites). So far I'll still recommend this game, but perhaps wait for a sale to happen first before getting it. Really hope the developers may consider fixing/ adding new things in updates to come^^ Will update this review when I get further into the game.
• Sporeo

  Sep 27, 2023

  The art is super cute, but unfortunately the gameplay is so easy and uninspired as to be boring. It doesn't deliver on what trailers throughout the years have advertised this game as being.
• LurkinLikeAFlerken

  Sep 27, 2023

  I absolutely love this game. It works perfectly on Steam Deck. It is charming, cozy, and very relaxing. I played 6 hours straight and didn't want to stop. The area you can explore is quite limited to start, but new areas unlock with each tool you buy. Stamina grows by helping your dad fix up the house. Crafting recipes are unlocked by giving items the villagers ask for. It's so nice to have a game that doesn't need tons of trial and error or looking up a guide to know what people want for gifts or how to unlock the next area.
• pissed off ragegamer

  Sep 28, 2023

  While I knew I wanted to review this game whichever way it fell, I really wasn't sure whether I would recommend it or not. At this point, having finished the first season and some change, I think the answer is yes with some caveats. Mineko's Night market was hyped up for years before its release, and I think that's partially responsible for the downfall of its reception. While we've had a flood of entries into the 'cozy' genre, this game made a lot of promises that positioned it as unique and engaging. I think it delivers on the first and fumbles on the second. TL;DR: If you are looking for a full-time replacement for built out games like ACNH or Stardew Valley, you are doomed to disappointment on this one. Mineko's Night Market is beautiful in presentation, but the game loop is grindy and the social system is undeveloped. Listen to what the $15-20 price point is telling you. This is a cute wind-down game, not a full-time endeavor.

  Pros

  <*>Graphics/visuals: If MNM delivers on one expectation that arose during development, it's the visuals. This game is beautiful and feels hand-crafted, in an art style that departs from both the 3D mobile game bobbleheads and pixel art that seem to be the only two styles the genre can produce lately. Not only is the art style gorgeous, but it's well-suited to the fantastical Ghibli-esque world. <*>Music: After reading the initial wave of rough reviews for this game, I went into it expecting disappointment and was pleasantly surprised. I was particularly blown away by the music and how comfy and unique it makes each area feel. This is a soundtrack I would listen to outside the game. <*>Story: The Ghibli influences are also heavily apparent in the story for this game. It's a simple story simply told, easy to follow and approachable for everyone. As a sucker for folklore and folktales, this hit a lot of very nice buttons for me, and heading to fix up a rural town with your father was a nice departure from the very tired 30-year-old "grandpa died and you inherited the farm" genre tradition. <*>Crafting system and market: While obtaining the recipes for crafting is a pain (more on that in the "Cons" section), I really loved the breadth of things you could craft to sell at the market and the integration of the materials into the game world and seasons. This game does more than most others in making crafting feel like a part of worldbuilding. Characters mention idol groups or shows and you're able to craft memorabilia to go along with them. It's just neat. And I found myself really looking forward to the market at the end of each week, to see what was on sale (although also because it signaled an end to the grinding).

  Cons

  <*>Lag and hangups: Switch players have been vocal online about the load times on their console, but even with a high-end PC and a brand new SSD Steam Deck, I get lag and hangups during loading times and transitions into cutscenes. I don't think the number of loading screens is a problem necessarily (in fact, it's comparable to ACNH in that every time you go into a building or change a zone the game loads a new area), but the fact that the game hangs up and takes 10-20 seconds or longer to produce it is. I don't know if it's an optimization issue that can be solved, but I very much hope they figure out how to address this in a patch, because it's a legitimate pain point. <*>PC controls and key mapping: After playing half the first season on my PC, I gave up and swapped to my Steam Deck because of how egregiously bad the key mapping on PC is. You're expected to play with both hands on the keyboard, and you aren't able to map things onto mouse buttons even if you want to. By default, crouch and sprint are mapped to left and right shift (Ctrl and Shift being the standard in, oh, every single other game), canceling out of menus has no default keybind, and the key remapping screen is absolutely perplexing, with "Default" sprinkled on it eight different times with no clear meaning. <*>Pacing and game loop: I won't belabor the point because many other reviews already have, but this game requires you to grind. Grind (random) recipes, grind collection, grind fetch quests, with a very limited energy system that keeps forcing you to move the clock forward to be able to pick hairballs up off the ground (apparently a task nearly as laborious as chopping down a stump). What's more, you can pick exactly one place to go every day, so you have to plan out the schedule for which materials you'll need in advance. By the end of every week I find myself absolutely dying to get to the market and hopefully make enough money to advance the story. <*>Social system: I actually don't think this is necessarily a con, but I'm putting it here because it does not meet players' expectations. FYI: 90% of the NPCs in this game solely exist to grant you random recipes as a fetch quest reward, with a handful of them having fleshed out personalities. The ones who do are very cute and well-written, but you engage with them in mostly very shallow ways. To reiterate: please, please do not spend your money on this game if your budget only affords you one and you are looking for the next cozy game to fall in love with and dump hundreds of hours into. The game is beautiful with a cute story, but there's not enough content and too much getting in the way of making this your primary cozy game. If you're like me and you're lucky enough to have the expendable income to pick a game with soothing music and 100 stumps to chop that sends you to sleep at bedtime, this is the one.
• artemis

  Sep 27, 2023

  cats, pick flowers, make flower bouquets, wait for sunday, sell for shmoney, repeat
• Lin

  Sep 27, 2023

  The game is a slow cathartic burn. Gather your materials, make the money, and slowly unlock new recipes and bring life and vibrancy back to the island. I've seen reviews complaining that the Night Market is underwhelming, and it is to start! That's the point! You have to grow the market and attract new stalls and visitors! Take this game at a relaxed pace. Its not meant to have everything unlocked and progressed in just a few hours play time. Its incredibly clever, witty, and genuinely had me laughing. The art is beautiful. The sound and music is so great I didn't even notice when the track loops. Looking forward to exploring more and petting every single cat I can find.
• bumbll_b

  Sep 27, 2023

  A very cozy relaxing game. The music and the sounds are great. The rain and the cat purrs are 10/10. Looking forward to unlocking more of the game :)
• idk weeping

  Sep 27, 2023

  Like a lot of others, I've been following this game for a few years. I'm not disappointed by this release, but I definitely think it needs some improvement. TLDR: Worth the price point. Very cute art. The art is lovely and it's definitely got cozy vibes. It does have a grind-y type of crafting mechanic, which is nothing new in this type of game. And while it is tedious (in all games), I'm more aggravated by the stamina + food mechanic. You can only eat or drink 3 times a day (at this point in the game) and it's definitely not enough to keep you going for an entire day. Some things I wish we could have: <*> Sort button for backpack <*> Faster access to Return to Main Menu, Quit Game, and Load Save File (No one wants to navigate through a nested menu for those actions) <*> Mini HUD map <*> Clock that is visible at all times As for bugs, I've only encountered one animation bug where Bobo gets stuck running into a bush during the cat rescue in the Birch Forest, but it's not a breaking bug - and he gets reset once you encounter an agent area.