Garden Story Review (ChanseyChan)
I was really addicted to Garden Story when I first started playing it. The design is lovely and I really liked the environment. As time passed I started to become less enamoured, but I'm still happy I experienced this game.
The music and art style are the strongest parts. From start to finish the developers really nailed the themes. The music is still playing in my head, especially the summer tracks.
The story itself was decent and made enough sense; nothing amazing but it was fine.
The gameplay loop of daily tasks and upgrades is a neutral point for me. I don't mind doing daily missions, and I like upgrading items. But as each in-game day went by, I felt myself rushing through some of the tasks. I didn't like leaving them incomplete! The days don't last very long, and if you want to do other things (like advance in the main story) it can be a bit of a chore. I can see why some people think it's monotonous, too.
Completing tasks will level up the village you're in, which in turn gives you more options for upgrading your items. But some of these upgrades require grinding for materials. A few are not that convenient to collect, which is a drag.
To be honest, you don't have to do all of these daily tasks and upgrades. You can get away with keeping it simple. As I was playing, I didn't feel like I could hang around and focus on those extra things. It's a shame, in hindsight, because I think more value could be placed on the items. Later on I did a couple for the achievements; luckily they weren't too bad. But I did it after the main story was complete, so I didn't really get any benefit from stronger weapons!
I thought the favours mechanic was fun, though. Certain characters will give you a little mission to do. There is no "deadline" and you'll get a reward for helping them.
Even though Garden Story didn't quite hit the mark with its gameplay, I'm not upset that I bought it. The atmosphere and story kept me satisfied. Now that the main part is done, I think I will go and finish all the extra stuff, but with a more chill mindset.