Aussie Pondering

Last week I wrote about how I decided to check out the early access Animal Crossing/Stardew Valley-esque mashup that is Dinkum.  I've spent a bit more time playing and I've found myself feeling pretty torn about it.  Sure, it's cute, but I think it has some pacing issues that need to be addressed in the full release.

My character and my sparsely decorated house.

Pros:

+ It's very cute.  The villagers, the animals, the ability to decorate and personalize your town--it all has a pleasant vibe that is a nice break from more serious, demanding titles.  The Australian setting is novel and adds a fun element.

+ There are tons of tasks to do during each in-game day.  Each new day includes a list of three optional "daily tasks" that can be completed and that provide a special currency that is used to buy new licenses that allow you to improve your tools, expand your inventory, or gain new abilities.  You can spend your days foraging for resources, fishing, exploring, catching bugs...or just creating materials and personalizing your town.

+ A huge variety of clothing items to personalize your character.  It's really fun to see all the new options and it's possible to find (or purchase) new items almost daily.

+ Controls are easy to learn and intuitive.  The only thing I had a problem with was the emote system--I couldn't get it to work (which meant I couldn't whistle--something that is used to call farm animals to your character).

+ It has run like a charm and I've had no issues with bugs/crashing.  It seems like the kind of game that would probably run on a potato PC too.

+ Collectibles and a milestone/goal-related system to keep you working toward accomplishments.

Cons:

- I've played for 19 hours and I've gotten bored with it.  I'll admit that creativity based games and sandbox style games aren't really my favorite, but I think the current version of the game has some big pacing issues.  Within a few days of your initial arrival on the island the store owner wants to move in--this is basically a mandatory part of the story because he sells the tools you need to be able to do all those daily tasks I mentioned above.  So, you unlock the tools you need and can start really collecting materials and that's fine for awhile.  Then, your next resident villager arrives--the museum keeper.  You spend some time gathering materials for the museum and paying off the debt.  The museum is a place to collect the bugs and fish that you find on the island--and, again, it's something fun to focus on for awhile.  After this though, there's a serious lack of villagers who want to move to the island and it's seemingly impossible to make much progress on getting them to want to move in--they visit for a day or two at most and you can slightly improve your relationship with them, but it's not enough to convince them to stay.  Then, you don't really know when they're going to visit again and someone new shows up and you go through the whole process again.

Sure, you can spend some time building your own house and extra houses for the town, but it feels very aimless.  One particular thing I've found frustrating is the fact that you need a certain villager to move in before you can learn the plan for the repair bench for your tools--you just have to repeatedly use your tools until they break and then buy new ones.  I've unlocked licenses to improve my tools, but it doesn't seem worth it if I can't repair the improved ones and have to keep crafting them over and over.  This has really stymied my progress because I need better tools to be able to mine new metals and chop hardwood.  It's possible that I've just gotten a bit unlucky because the character who grants the plan for the repair table has only visited once or twice (visitors are random).  It's also hard to farm or raise chooks (chickens) when the villagers who sell seeds or animal feed appear randomly.

I think the game could be massively improved if it was made clearer what you need to do to get villagers to move in (it mentions befriending them and spending money in their shops) and if they visited for longer periods of time.  Hitting this seemingly progress blocking wall has turned me off from wanting to play--which is a disappointment because it is a cute game.

Recommendation:

If you're the type of gamer who is perfectly content grinding out materials and having the ability to personalize environments--I think you'll enjoy Dinkum.  If you're someone who wants something with more specific quest-style tasks or a clear path of progression, there's a good chance you'll end up getting bored.  Dinkum is the years-long work of a single developer and what this person has created is amazing and deserves the praise and love that it has received from many fans.

Dinkin' Around with Dinkum

I decided to bite on a new game and have spent some time playing the Animal Crossing/Stardew Valley inspired Dinkum.  I'm still trying to work out my exact feelings but, for an early access game, it seems to be in a very playable and enjoyable state.  If you're in the mood for something nice and relaxing, Dinkum is a great fall gaming option.

My character doesn't have a permanent home...yet.

What I like (so far):

+ The controls have been very intuitive and easy to learn.  There's no need for a tutorial so players can dive right in.

+ It's set in Australia so there are lots of cute (and dangerous) Aussie creatures that populate your island.

+The map allows you to place and remove custom markers--I wish every game did this (and yeah, there are plenty that do).  It's nice to be able to easily mark the location of a resource so that you can go back later.

+ There aren't a ton of character customization options, but I still felt like I could design a unique, cute character.

+ I haven't had a single crash or bug yet. (*knock on wood)

+ There are plenty of activities to choose from--fishing, catching bugs, foraging for items in the environment, mining....I'm sure I'll unlock even more.

What I don't like:

- I've unlocked licenses for several activities but can't utilize them until I'm able to buy the correct deed and build the correct building.  (Although, it does look like you get new visitors to your island fairly frequently and can somewhat utilize their services)

- To place a new building you need to pay off the debt you incur from buying the deed.  So far it has felt like a real slog to pay off my debts.  It's likely that I haven't discovered the best ways to make money yet, but the time between building a new structure and then paying it off is sort of...weirdly un-anchored.

I'm hoping to spend some more time with Dinkum and see if I can't unlock my inner creativity and design the ultimate Aussie island paradise.

Games to be Excited For...or Not

I'm curiously monitoring the status of several games that I feel optimistic about and also cautiously side-eyeing news about some others.  I'm not really playing anything new (sadly) and due to increased costs thanks to global inflation, I'm trying to limit my non-essential purchases.  It's the perfect storm for thinking about games...while not buying them (insert sad face here).

Feelin' Optimistic

Check out the cute slimes!

1.) Slime Rancher 2.  It recently released in Early Access on Steam and the reviews have been sitting in the "overwhelmingly positive" range since day 1.  Slime Rancher is by far my favorite game about collecting virtual poop to become a millionaire so when I heard there was going to be a follow up--I was pretty stoked.  Slime Rancher is one of my favorite laid back games--it's packed full of super cute slimes, chickadoos, and repetitive activities that are weirdly satisfying.  The newest entry has introduced new, even cuter slimes (umm bunny slimes!) and promises to feature more poop ranching fun times.  I'm going to continue watching the reviews and wait until full release to start the next chapter of my slime ranching journey.

2.) Cook, Serve, Forever.  I have a soft spot for the hectic cooking simulator series and so far, everything I've seen of the upcoming game looks to build on the formula and make it even better.  The food looks amazing (like always--you don't want to play it on an empty stomach because you will find yourself painfully aware of that state) and there looks to be more of a storyline in the next game.  I'm hoping it pulls some of the elements from the original game (building up your restaurant), the second game (working shifts at other restaurant chains), and the third game (having "to-go" orders and the talent point system).  The release date currently says "early 2023," so we'll see what happens.

The Cautious Side-Eye

1.) Just this morning I had a strange urge to take a return Viking journey to Dark Ages England in Assassin's Creed:  Valhalla.  I had to take a mental moment to remind myself that after my first epic playthrough (in which I did all the things--to the tune of a playthrough that was easily over 100 hours long) that I need an AC vacation.  Recently Ubisoft announced a new spate of AC games and they appear to be making some divergent choices for the series.  Some players have lamented that the newer, more RPG-oriented games have veered too far away from the stealth-action games of the past.  It appears that they're trying to keep everyone happy--the more action-y types and the RPG-esque fans by releasing two different games.  Assassin's Creed: Mirage looks to be the "classic" AC-style game while Assassin's Creed: Red seems to be the next entry in the RPG-oriented series.  For me, the AC formula has gotten a bit bland--there are things that I enjoy, but they get drowned out by the absolute overly-gargantuan size of the open-world.

2.) CD Projekt is buuuusssyyy!  It was already widely known that a Witcher sequel was in development, but they also announced several other games set in the Witcher universe as well as a full sequel to Cyberpunk 2077.  Oh, and there's the upcoming Cyberpunk expansion that is going to be released next year.  Look, I'm a big CD Projekt Red fan, so any news from them is exciting...with that said though, I think everyone has to be a bit cautious after the Cyberpunk release debacle.  I'm really hoping that they can redeem themselves (it's worth mentioning that Cyberpunk has been seeing a big bump in activity thanks to the release of the apparently good anime series on Netflix).  Some of the Witcher titles sound a bit odd to me--one supposedly will involve multiplayer, which is something I'm a bit skeptical of.

3.) The 40-series GPU's.  Didn't they just release the 30-series?  There's so much to side-eye--the price, the ginormous size, and the need for a healthily large PSU.  Hopefully this means the prices of the 30-series cards start dropping.  Or, if you're feeling adventurous you could always buy one of the "gently used" former crypto-mining cards (you should definitely check out the video of someone spraying a rack of them down with a hose to "clean" them).  The cost of building a PC just keeps going up--also, sad face.

Have a great week dreaming of cute slimes!

Being a Good Robot in Citizen Sleeper (Spoilers!)

I was pleasantly surprised by the numerous paths and choices available in the very cool, highly enjoyable RPG Citizen Sleeper.  One path in particular stood out to me and I decided to roll with it (even though there were clearly other things that I had missed or hadn't fully experienced).  For my first character I decided to roll an engineer and so found myself gravitating toward the shipyards because of the modifier I received.  It was at the shipyards where I first encountered the father-daughter duo of Lem and Mina.  (Spoilers ahead for one of the endings!)

It was a bit odd to encounter a large, burly engineer holding a small child at a shipyard, so I couldn't help but to want to approach them.  Lem is at the yard because he's hoping to get work on the colony ship that is being constructed--he reveals a juicy little tidbit too--workers who help build the ship will be eligible to be entered into a lottery for a spot on the ship when it is completed.  He desperately hopes to find a spot on the ship for himself and Mina.  Only...Mina is part of the problem--there's no one to watch her while Lem is working.  Here, you have the choice to volunteer to watch Mina while Lem takes a shift in the shipyard.  It's a bit awkward--the robot babysitting scenario, but if you make a few correct choices the shift passes and Mina's relatively content.

After successfully completing your first babysitting gig you are presented with the option to spend some of your daily dice watching Mina while Lem works on the ship.  It takes a few shifts, but after Lem has worked a few days he has saved up enough money to hire someone so your babysitting gig ends.  The downside of spending time watching Mina is that you don't get paid, so that's something to consider.

The best way for my character to make money was working in the shipyards, so I spent quite a bit of time helping construct the colony ship.  Plus, there was always the chance that my character could be entered in the lottery.  It takes quite some time (but much less with the engineering modifier) but the ship is finally completed and ready for departure.

You can meet Lem and Mina at the shipyards where you attend the lottery drawing.  A large, rowdy crowd of workers has also turned up and even before the drawing happens the scene has an anxious feeling.  The drawing starts and you immediately notice that none of the workers are celebrating as the numbers are called...who is actually getting picked?  It's here that you realize that the only people getting picked are the elite, executive workers--the corporation had no intention of ever actually letting the workers on the ship!  Go figure...but Lem's dreams are crushed as you convince him to leave before the violence starts.

Several days later you can re-visit Lem and Mina's house.  It's a hot mess--dirty and unkempt--and it's apparent that Lem has sunken into a bit of a depression about the lottery.  He reveals that he isn't actually Mina's father and that he was part of a military operation being run by a corporation to capture colonists who had escaped from corporate worlds.  His ship attacked a colonist ship and Mina was the only survivor (thanks to someone who sealed her into a locker before the ship lost all its air in the attack).  Lem adopted Mina, quit the corporate military and wound up on the station.  You can talk to Lem and cheer him up.

Once you've explored the Spoke you can find the completed colony ship moored there.  If you visit the ship you discover that it's under heavy guard--there's not much of a chance of sneaking aboard, so you need to find something more legitimate.  Earlier in the game I encountered a man in Lowend named Castor who seems to know a lot about everything that is going on.  You can sell him data in exchange for some decent items (a ship mind and a vial of stabilizer).  After you approach the moored ship, Castor approaches you with a proposal--he can get you forged ID's that will get Lem and Mina spots on the ship, but there's a catch--your character has to steal data from a Celis Corporation ship moored in the shipyards (something that's a bit risky) AND he injects your character with a tracker and tells you that you need to be aboard the ship too.

Stealing the data went smoothly and then it was only a matter of time to wait for the ship to be ready to depart.  After several cycles you can visit Lem and Mina and share the good news--Lem is ecstatic!  As you arrive at the ship it's a bit tense as they scan the ID's...will they actually work, or will you get caught?  Everything goes smoothly and it's here that you can make the decision to stay on the station or to board the ship with Lem and Mina.  The thought popped into my head--what about stabilizer?  If you get on the ship, won't your character die because they won't have access to the drugs they need?

The story ends on a divided note--the colony ship sails through space for decades but never arrives at any planet.  Lem grows old and dies; Mina grows up and is with your character as its systems slowly shut down over time.  It's not really a good ending, but it's not really a bad ending.

I felt good about helping Lem and Mina achieve their dream of leaving the station on the colony ship.  It was a bit of a downer to find out that the ship never actually arrives at a planet.  It felt like a bit of self-sacrifice knowing that your character would die without the stabilizer.  I've resisted the urge to look up all the potential endings and am looking forward to starting up a new playthrough so I can make different choices.