i got the credit scroll for Wylde Flowers, which shocked me a bit? there's definitively an after game, and it seems to be filled with content, but i'm writing a little review nevertheless while the game is still fresh in my head.

mild spoilers (not for the ending, just for mechanics/locations)

Pros

Aesthetics/Polish

• SHITLOAD of voice acting
• pretty game
• impressive amount of models
• animals are cute
• pleasant ambience with the wind, weather and plants

Diversity

• diverse cast (mostly)
• good queer romance options
• room for vegan/vegetarian living
• recognition of indigenous American perspectives on colonialism
• plural perspective on many topics is displayed + respected, e.g., new age religions, sobriety, grief, spirituality
• different body types shown, with a body positive tone

Gameplay

• impressive amount of content generally
• impressive amount of exclusive content, e.g., content you'd have to replay to see
• lots of different foods!
• characters have complex weekly routines

Writing

• characters are likeable, mostly well-written, and some have decent depth - some standouts are Thomas, Bruno, Vanessa, Westley, & the kids
• child characters are treated respectfully
• dignity is given to disagreeing perspectives within reason
• some of the jokes land well

Music

• beautiful live instruments are used in the soundtrack
• nice touches throughout, like the remembrance music, and Juliet's guitarwork

Cons

Aesthetics/Polish

• characters in Ravenwood Hollow lack proper daily cycles
• game lacks final polish in copy sometimes
• had a number of bugs while playing. None broke the game irreparably, but were frustrating:
  • black screen after skipping cutscenes;
  • audio breaking if I moved camera too far;
  • Tara's model wigging out and facing the wrong direction/gliding;
  • characters uninteractible.
• easy to accidentally skip important dialogue
• characters have unemotive animations sometimes/emotions are inconsistent (e.g., blank/happy expressions in tense/climactic/sad scenes)
• animation exit-enter transitions could be smoother
• animations while seated are awkward

Diversity

• poly would have been nice :(
• though u can be vegan, the game requires non-vegan things to progress
• some characters have "favourite foods" that embody their "culture". after a certain point it was tokenising IMO
• white people in the game don't take accountability for racist behaviour, or systemic racism
• colonialism as a concept in the game is vague. has colonialism happened on the island? what did that look like? what groups were here before?
• nobody uses mobility aids

Gameplay

• fishing is too simple

• touchscreen is unreliable (on Switch), you have to "hold" to get your touch to register sometimes

• mining is a slog

• onsen doesn't have much utility; even early game it's not super convenient because of time/location

• autoselect/targeting is inaccurate and gets frustrating

• you can automate most processes in game. IMO the process is too easy, and it competes with the energy of the game

• some gameplay aspects aren't well explained, e.g.:

  • leaving flowers in pots + how bees work
  • a particular quest deadline (pumpkin pie)
  • selecting optional/particular ingredient for recipes + default recipe selections deplete seasonal items
  • your animal form bedtime is different to your human bedtime
  • why does instant brew powder work on everything?
  • if you can't get feed, u can feed animals with "gifts" of fruit. bc they don't get sick this must be intentional, BUT the game doesn't tell you
  • u need to explore Ravenwood Hollow/go to Zephyr's shop to make sure you keep unlocking things (like the broom!!)

• growing produce is undercut by the late game.

• selling meals < selling the raw produce (except in a few rare cases) which disincentivises trying new recipes

• drinking alcohol = more magic frustrated me.

Writing

• no swearing, or sexual content, really at all
• simplistic plot
• couldn't always empathise with the position of the main cast
• pacing could be slow at times
• the Conscious Mind group is some mix of Scientology & Mormonism, but never reckons with the hateful ideologies of either
• some characters have hokey writing; in particular, Shelby, Zephyr, Aryel, and Peri
• the game has a sobriety group, but you can't actually attend :(

Music

• more music would be great
• music sometimes overscored moments/came across as trite
• more subtle tracks with an ambient feel would be ideal
• some sound effects could be more satisfying (stardew valley style)

i deducted points based on the lack of any sex in this game!! yes sure i havent been married yet but i doubt tara's gonna be slamming her fat ass down on some non binary bad dragons any time soon

oh yeah i forgot the biggest con

Evil

• game is published by apple

anyway it was a pretty good game. though the only non binary person (that i know of) is also the butcher, so you cant date a biney unless u want to date da slice and dicer