April Grove

I went into this wanting desperately to like it. A GBA style cozy exploration and forester game is 100% the kinda thing I love finding. But it's just so DULL! The graphics and sounds are nice, and the spritework is cute. I especially love the forest god lady with flowing water for hair. But that is entirely where the positives end for me. Every time you chop a tree, it is a full unskippable cutscene until such point as you finish all the logs. With no indication how many you'll get (normally 4, despite the inventory space not being divisible by 4), or how long it'll take. No tree health bars, or progress meters or anything, and because you can't cancel it once it's done, you end up waiting and wondering what on earth you're doing. The shop and the badger prices increasing with every purchase is just [i] aggravating [/i] beyond my ability to put into words. Every increase you are just mentally calculating how much time of your life it's going to take to get the next thing, and eventually that math just doesn't side with the game. And if it was five levels between new trees, I could [i] almost [/i] not care. 5 levels is pretty long, it'll take you a good half hour of chopping to…

For a game that takes place in a forest, it is quite barren. I respect the commitment to the giantess thing though

A fun romp, but locking much depth.

An unfortunate case where I am unable to recommend a game with all due honesty. While the visuals are quite cute, the sound is adequate, and the mechanics of moving around the forest are all alright... That's about it. The gameplay loop is nothing much, but requires constant input. The idea of gradually unlocking new areas to explore and new story beats is the key to a idle game, which make it fun, however... This isn't an idle game. It is a "grind fest" if we stretch those meanings a little bit, as the grind isn't exactly horrifyingly long. It is however, unfortunately dull. The unlocks are few and far between and really do not change the gameplay or mood basically at all. I wish I could give a more middling review, but I can't recommend the game for just cute visuals and an alright soundtrack

Chop wood. Get money. Buy tools and buffs. Chop more wood.

Short but interesting. Its a really good base for future updates with plenty of avenues for expansion.