▲ Recommended
3 hrs
Hello!! This is my first time writing a proper review for a brand new game, so I'm gonna try my best to cover all the bases I've found so far, and write down my notes in a concise and tight way.
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The game's music and artstyle is frankly wonderful. I kept it on the entire time and very much enjoyed the sprites, animations, and overall vibe of the game. It's very relaxed, and was exactly the kinda style of game I have been looking for. Especially the way the sheep kinda waddle around, it's very adorable.
This is advertised as a sort of "cozy" and relaxed sandbox game, and I can say for certain that that is very true! There's a raid toggle in the settings, so you're not forced to deal with raids on certain nights. There is still combat that takes place, but never on the main island if you don't want it, and on the islands where there are a lot of clearly designated enemies, the game lets you know when you purchase the map expansion to that island. Whether or not that is done for ALL the islands, I'm not entirely sure, but from what I've seen so far, islands that don't have the goblin camp designation tend to have mainly docile creatures in the day. Which is still very nice, and it is nice to be able to explore those islands without being bombarded by enemy goblins. I get to just enjoy the ambience and music of the area while I explore, and for someone who was specifically looking for a more "chill Necesse" kinda game, this is something I appreciate!
As for the crafting and building aspect, its about on par for what these games do. It doesn't feel particularly bad in any way, but doesn't stand out in any way either, which is fine! It still feels fun to build out my base, and thats what matters.
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I will say, the combat doesn't feel AMAZING, and I feel like it could be tightened up a bit more. The fact that your character stops in place when using any kind of tool is a big contributor to that, and I definitely believe the combat, and the gameplay in general, would be a lot smoother if your character was allowed to move freely even when using tools.
The sheer amount of enemies in the goblin camps can be a bit challenging as well, and while I'm not strong enough to fully explore them yet, I'm not quite sure if the reward is matched with the challenge. Especially with starting gear, it can be quite tough to clear goblins when they're coming at you in big groups. Which makes me wonder just how tough raids can be when they're turned on. (I wasn't interested in that mechanic during play so I decided to turn it off, but I will probably try it at some point.) I feel like this could be helped with the addition of some armor or healing items, like bandages that can be crafted with cloth or wool. I'm not sure just how many enemies are in the game, but the lack of armor still feels odd, and I feel like combat could be benefitted if there were an armor mechanic implemented. It would also just serve as nice vanity for our characters, which I always appreciate in games.
While crafting isn't necessarily bad, I feel a way it could be improved is by adding a feature similar to Terraria's, where the crafting stations you use are able to take from surrounding chests to craft items, so that you don't need to constantly have your inventory littered with different items. Especially in this game, where the inventory starts out fairly small, I believe it would be a nice QoL feature to have.
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I have a couple more little nitpicks and QoL ideas that I feel would be good to add here. I understand the game JUST released, and is still in early access, so a lot of this stuff may in fact be planned, but ultimately I don't know, so I'll detail my thoughts here just in case.
I think it would be nice to be able to rotate all placeable items and stations. So far it seems that only chests are able to be fully rotated all the way around, while bigger structures and stations, like the reinforced furnace for example, can only be placed in one orientation. This seems like something that is just going to be added over time, but still it did cross my mind.
While listening to the music, I found myself wanting a tracklist feature. In a cozy game like this, I'm sure the music is going to play a big role in setting the mood, and it would be nice to be able to pick and choose which in game music can be played, or looped, etc. Stuff like that! And on the topic of the in game music, I would love to be able to purchase a digital copy of it on steam! I'm really enjoying it and would love to be able to purchase a copy to listen to in my free time.
I'm not sure if this would be possible, if there's certain enemies that drop important materials, but I think a peaceful mode would fit this game very nicely!
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Overall I think Gathera so far has a lot of potential to grow and turn into the next Necesse/Core Keeper-like game! While I haven't engaged with the raiding system yet, I think a tower defense mechanic in a sandbox game like this shows a lot of promise, and serves as a nice alternative to the Terraria level of combat and progression. And the sandbox aspect itself is very enjoyable to just exist in for a while, and I can absolutely see myself coming back for more as it gets updated. Congratulations for the launch, devs, and I hope you both keep up the good work! You got a really solid project here, and I'm excited to see it grow!
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The Pros
The game's music and artstyle is frankly wonderful. I kept it on the entire time and very much enjoyed the sprites, animations, and overall vibe of the game. It's very relaxed, and was exactly the kinda style of game I have been looking for. Especially the way the sheep kinda waddle around, it's very adorable.
This is advertised as a sort of "cozy" and relaxed sandbox game, and I can say for certain that that is very true! There's a raid toggle in the settings, so you're not forced to deal with raids on certain nights. There is still combat that takes place, but never on the main island if you don't want it, and on the islands where there are a lot of clearly designated enemies, the game lets you know when you purchase the map expansion to that island. Whether or not that is done for ALL the islands, I'm not entirely sure, but from what I've seen so far, islands that don't have the goblin camp designation tend to have mainly docile creatures in the day. Which is still very nice, and it is nice to be able to explore those islands without being bombarded by enemy goblins. I get to just enjoy the ambience and music of the area while I explore, and for someone who was specifically looking for a more "chill Necesse" kinda game, this is something I appreciate!
As for the crafting and building aspect, its about on par for what these games do. It doesn't feel particularly bad in any way, but doesn't stand out in any way either, which is fine! It still feels fun to build out my base, and thats what matters.
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The Cons
I will say, the combat doesn't feel AMAZING, and I feel like it could be tightened up a bit more. The fact that your character stops in place when using any kind of tool is a big contributor to that, and I definitely believe the combat, and the gameplay in general, would be a lot smoother if your character was allowed to move freely even when using tools.
The sheer amount of enemies in the goblin camps can be a bit challenging as well, and while I'm not strong enough to fully explore them yet, I'm not quite sure if the reward is matched with the challenge. Especially with starting gear, it can be quite tough to clear goblins when they're coming at you in big groups. Which makes me wonder just how tough raids can be when they're turned on. (I wasn't interested in that mechanic during play so I decided to turn it off, but I will probably try it at some point.) I feel like this could be helped with the addition of some armor or healing items, like bandages that can be crafted with cloth or wool. I'm not sure just how many enemies are in the game, but the lack of armor still feels odd, and I feel like combat could be benefitted if there were an armor mechanic implemented. It would also just serve as nice vanity for our characters, which I always appreciate in games.
While crafting isn't necessarily bad, I feel a way it could be improved is by adding a feature similar to Terraria's, where the crafting stations you use are able to take from surrounding chests to craft items, so that you don't need to constantly have your inventory littered with different items. Especially in this game, where the inventory starts out fairly small, I believe it would be a nice QoL feature to have.
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Little Nitpicks / QoL Ideas
I have a couple more little nitpicks and QoL ideas that I feel would be good to add here. I understand the game JUST released, and is still in early access, so a lot of this stuff may in fact be planned, but ultimately I don't know, so I'll detail my thoughts here just in case.
I think it would be nice to be able to rotate all placeable items and stations. So far it seems that only chests are able to be fully rotated all the way around, while bigger structures and stations, like the reinforced furnace for example, can only be placed in one orientation. This seems like something that is just going to be added over time, but still it did cross my mind.
While listening to the music, I found myself wanting a tracklist feature. In a cozy game like this, I'm sure the music is going to play a big role in setting the mood, and it would be nice to be able to pick and choose which in game music can be played, or looped, etc. Stuff like that! And on the topic of the in game music, I would love to be able to purchase a digital copy of it on steam! I'm really enjoying it and would love to be able to purchase a copy to listen to in my free time.
I'm not sure if this would be possible, if there's certain enemies that drop important materials, but I think a peaceful mode would fit this game very nicely!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall I think Gathera so far has a lot of potential to grow and turn into the next Necesse/Core Keeper-like game! While I haven't engaged with the raiding system yet, I think a tower defense mechanic in a sandbox game like this shows a lot of promise, and serves as a nice alternative to the Terraria level of combat and progression. And the sandbox aspect itself is very enjoyable to just exist in for a while, and I can absolutely see myself coming back for more as it gets updated. Congratulations for the launch, devs, and I hope you both keep up the good work! You got a really solid project here, and I'm excited to see it grow!
26 found helpful
Steam ↗
