Kokoro Clover Season 1: A Fun Romp With The Saturday Morning Cartoon Spirit

 *Note: I received a free game code for the Nintendo Switch for my honest review of the game. Thank       you to Stride PR for the game code! 

The minute I heard and saw the gimmick of Kokoro clover as an anime game that is styled as a Saturday morning cartoon I was intrigued. I'm sure many of us have fond memories of getting up early, pouring that bowl of cereal, and sitting down to watch our favorite Saturday morning cartoons. The game completely has that vibe and right from the start I found it charming with the bright colors, anime style, and a genre I was absolutely familiar with, magical girls. 

The game itself is set up as twelve episodes which give you pieces of the story that tie in quite well to the overall main story. The main menu has the game set up according to how challenging you want it to be with Story mode being the casual setting, Adventure mode is the story with none of the dressing, and Boss Rush mode which lets you do a challenge fighting all the bosses. There are cute mini games that lets you earn coins to purchase monsters for your monster book in the shop and the Library shows you information on all the characters in the game as well as monsters you have fought. 

Lots of options to choose from. 

The story introduces us to the main character, a sweet spirit summoner named Treffy. Treffy has lived alone most of her life with her grandpa in the woods because the people of the village are scared of her because of her powers. Treffy seems happy and is just living her life with her two spirit summons Undine and Salamander until one day the cartoon super villain of the story Valx Vulcan shows up looking for the mysterious Kokoro Clover gem to use for his evil plan. It's here that the story in Kokoro Clover really takes off. 

Treffy and her grandpa. 

The gameplay in Kokoro Clover is fun! It's not hard to follow either as you jump and shoot things with Treffy's wand. She can also transform with the help of Undine and Salamander depending on what the area requires. It plays like a classic side scroll game, but with its own elements with a catchy musical soundtrack, bright colors, and dancing. Yes, dancing. In some fights Treffy can dance and win a battle which is in itself pretty amusing. The episodes aren't terribly long and yet you can replay them to get collectibles such as character trading cards, monster cards, new elemental forms, and new character assists. This makes the game fun for everyone, but not too challenging so you don't feel frustrated. 

Treffy battles a monster. 

Just like a real Saturday morning cartoon, there are also commercial breaks. These are short and adorable with scenes from the game itself setting up the next chapter and showing characters that are part of the story. It blends in really well with the whole aspect of the cute cartoon vibe. There is usually one commercial break per episode so it doesn't wear out its welcome.

One of the cute commercial breaks. 

I liked the story because it was entertaining with comical villains and interesting friends Treffy meets on her adventure. It was easy to follow which works well for younger kids who play the game and it's lighthearted. Even villains like Valx Vulcan aren't so bad as the story reveals why he's a villain and I laughed about it because it was rather silly, but quite amusing. There are also gacha style games in some of the episodes which add a layer of whimsy that makes it a blast to play. I loved the art style and design of the monsters and elemental transformation. The fact that Treffy's hair color and color of her outfits change with them really sells the magical girl aspect and it's very cute. 

A cute monster trading card. 

Kokoro Clover Season 1 isn't a long game, I finished it in about an hour. Don't let the shortness of it fool you however. It brings a lot to the table with the cute anime style, charming characters, fun gameplay, and some very cool extras with the minigames and trading cards. You can even go back and replay episodes to get any collectibles you missed which I did and it was still a great time for me. Kokoro Clover Season 1 is such a cute game and it's a fun romp with the Saturday morning cartoon spirit. Channel that inner child and check it out for yourself because you will have a great time!

Treffy having fun with her spirit summons.

*Kokoro Clover is available on the following platforms: Nintendo Switch, Steam

*Join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

God Of War Ragnarok: A Beautiful Journey

 I'm not sure I even have the words for how excited I was for God Of War Ragnarok. I couldn't wait to hang out with Kratos and Atreus again. First, the game does give you a recap of the previous game if you need a memory refresher. Next, I went over the accessibility settings in the game and they're fantastic. I was happy to see that I could adjust the controls, subtitles, and audio to where I was comfortable, but that I could also go back and change them according to what I needed to play comfortably. I was able to adjust the difficulty settings as well so I could just enjoy the story which is what I like to do in my games. 

The story takes place a few years after the events of the previous game and it is Fimbulwinter which lets us know that Ragnarok is coming. Kratos looks even older and more tired and Atreus has grown a lot into a teenage boy. He's trying to figure out more about his giant self as Loki and trying to get Kratos to understand he's not a little kid anymore. There's a lot of push and pull between the two that is beautifully done showing that need for independence and that difficulty of a parent letting their child grow up.  Right from the beginning the game does not pull its punches with an epic wild battle and a bit of a confrontation with Odin himself. This sets up the path of them leaving Midgard and start their quest in searching for a missing god among the nine realms.

Kratos and Atreus are back! 

At the center of the story is prophecy and fate raising questions about if the characters in the story have to follow it or if they can make their own fate. I was blown away by how beautiful the game is and kept stopping to admire every area I was in because they were all so vastly different and yet each had its own unique beauty. My personal favorites were the branches of Yggdrasil and the forests of Vanaheim. I loved exploring everywhere and besides the main story, there are tons of side quests to do in each area. I took my time doing everything, savoring every single moment.

I loved this treehouse! 

Combat is a blast with the Leviathan axe and the chaos blades and then a new weapon is added and that is even more fun. Kratos has some new moves that add some wonderful layers to these fight, but he's not the only one. Atreus has some new tricks too with his archery that lend amazing support skills, but also let him hold his own. This of course gives both of them materials for armor pieces and weapon upgrades which can be done by our favorite dwarves Brok and Sindri. Each piece is gorgeous and depending on what your play style is, they can be mixed and matched to suit you. 

Dragon fight time! 

Christopher Judge absolutely shines as Kratos. Every time Kratos spoke, I would stop and just listen. The nuances of emotion for each scene were beautiful. The moments where Kratos speaks softly to his son about the pain he has endured, how hate hurt everyone around him, and how he wanted his son to be better than him were the moments that punched me right in the gut because they hit so hard emotionally and it touched me deeply causing me to need a moment because they made me cry. That is such a gift to be able to do that with your performance, to tell a story that touches on that emotional connection. The entire cast is incredible honestly and I was invested in the story every step of the way. 

Kratos in Vanaheim with Freya. 

One thing that was different from the previous game which I thought was pretty interesting is that Kratos and Atreus are not always together. Each one is given a chance to be on their own as part of the story and explore on their own with others, meaning I got to play as Atreus in some chapters. This was smartly done because you get to see things from Atreus's perspective and that teenage angst felt so familiar. It's a weird place to be, that in between childhood and adulthood trying to figure out who you want to be and where your place is in the world. They nailed it perfectly and in showing that Atreus was genuinely trying to figure all of it out, but also trying to understand where his dad was coming from made Atreus really able to stand out in the story. It helped that he had fellow giant Angrboda to play those ideas and ideals off of and that she challenged him too. This was someone who was on equal footing with him and was able to cause Atreus to want to keep trying and not give up. I really liked her and appreciated what she brought to the story.  

Atreus and Angrboda. 

The musical soundtrack for the game is incredible and all throughout it, the music is perfect capturing the mood of each area and part in the story. It all ties together with many areas to explore, new things to discover, battles that keep you on your toes, and the story flowing beautifully telling this incredible narrative about these characters we've come to know and love. Once the main story is done, there's still plenty to do with more side quests, unfinished quests, and endgame story tie ins. All of it is perfectly done and gives a good sense of closure to the main story. God Of War Ragnarok packs a lot into so many hours, but I didn't even notice because I was having fun and enjoying everything about it. It also kicked my heart in with the beautifully raw emotional moments throughout the story and I was so glad I got to enjoy this beautiful journey. 

An emotional moment with Kratos and Atreus.

*God Of War Ragnarok is out now and available to play on Playstation 4 and Playstation 5

*Join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Disney Dreamlight Valley Early Access: A Delightful Fun Time

I decided to buy the standard founders pack of Disney Dreamlight Valley for early access. Right from the start, I was pleasantly surprised because of the wide variety of options with character customization down to body type, skin tone, and hairstyles. I was delighted and touched that I was able to create a Filipino character like me. That representation matters and I'm so glad that the game represents that really well. 

Welcome to Dreamlight Valley! 

The game has a very relaxed vibe with you rebuilding the village and using magic of course to rid the valley of dark thorns that cause a dark magic spell of forgetting happen. That's another aspect of the game as well, helping many different characters retrieve their lost memories. You can visit the worlds of notable characters and ask them to come live in the Valley to help rebuild the village. You can plant crops, go fishing, go mining, cook, and craft in the game. You can hang out with the different characters one on one which boosts your friendship with them and you can assign them a role like gardening which helps boost your stats as well and can give you extra crops because of their magic. 

Hang out, make friends! 

This also leads to fetch quests for characters which smartly introduces crafting and how to do it. Sometimes, you'll need to make a specific item for the character like a decoration or a magical item. All the various materials can be found in the different biomes and can be created at your crafting table. There is also cooking in the game and sometimes they will ask for specific dishes which you can cook in your house as long as you have a stove. You can get recipes from your Disney friends or you can experiment and discover new recipes on your own. I like all of it, but the cooking is my favorite because it's fun trying out different things and seeing what dishes I can create. 

Time for some crafting!

There's also the fact that you can change your outfits and you can customize your character at any time with the inventory/user menu. So if you want to try a new hairstyle or try a whole new look, you can do that. You can also decorate your house and your valley with the furniture items. You can visit Scrooge Mcduck for different outfits and furniture. His inventory changes every day so be sure to check it out; that way you don't miss out on anything new. You can also do your own custom design with the clothes, ranging from shirts to dresses which is great and offers a lot of fantastic options. 

You can change your outfit and your look anytime.

Sometimes it can be challenging to find a character when you want to turn a fetch quest in which is why the map comes in handy. You can look at your map and mark the character icon on the map and it will create a sparkly magical trail that you can follow all the way to them. I love that they have this feature because it makes it a lot easier to find everyone.

Finding friends on the map is easy. 

You can take photos with characters, putter around, and just have fun doing what you want. The relaxed vibe of the game is really nice because you can take your time with it and there's no rush. There's a good mix of villains and heroes and it's amusing to be friends with all of them. Scar in particular had me laughing about how snide he can be, but most of the time he's just a big typical cat lounging everywhere. Even funnier is when taking photos with characters in the background, they will stop and pose with you which got me a rather cute and silly photo of Scar and Minnie Mouse. 

Scar is a Minnie Mouse fan! 

That being said there are some definite issues with the game. Remember, it is in early access so there are definitely going to be some things that are buggy and game issues that need work. First up is the constant game crashes. I've been playing this on the Nintendo Switch and I love it, but I have learned to save my game often because after a few hours the game suddenly crashes. This can be very frustrating if you're right in the middle of a quest and then you have to do it again because the game crashed at the worst possible moment. Second is sometimes quests break where something isn't loading the way it's supposed to or a character doesn't load in correctly. It can be a little disconcerting, but reloading the game does seem to fix it. Last is how some of the quests feel a little grindy like making a clocktower for someone and that is because so many materials were needed to craft it and I would have to wait until the next day to get some of them because the drop rate for them was not good. It felt tedious and overlong to the point that by the time I was finished, I was glad to be done with it. The good news is that Gameloft has been great communicating on their social media about the issues, what is getting fixed, and what they're working on. They have a discord as well which helps a lot. 

Ahh, night in the Valley is magical. 

Dreamlight Valley does go free to play next year and there really hasn't been a lot of microtransactions and there's a ton of content that isn't hidden behind a paywall which makes me really happy. There's a ton to do in the game and I've enjoyed all of it immensely because it touches on that cozy, relaxed vibe that I enjoy from my life/farm sim type games. Whether it's having a blast cooking meals with Remy from Ratatouille or having a good time gardening with Wall-e, Dreamlight Valley is an all around delightful fun time. 

I love my garden! 

*Disney Dreamlight Valley in early access is available to play on the following platforms: Steam, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S

*Join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Bayonetta 3: Even More Camp and Fun

Yes, there has been a lot happening surrounding Bayonetta 3. The recent Bloomberg article did a great job with talking to both parties and showing that there is more to it than what was initially shown. That being said, voice actors absolutely deserve to be paid well for their work and time. I am not disputing that at all. The problem is the former voice actor for Bayonetta didn't really tell the whole truth and it comes across as very dishonest and her dunking on the new voice actor for Bayonetta was weird. The other issue which I feel is a lot bigger is that she's a bigot. It definitely disappointed me considering that for me personally Bayonetta the character means a lot to me as a queer person. Sometimes, life works out that way and we do our best to learn from it and keep pushing forward. Either way, do your best to be kind. Now, let's get on with the review.

I was excited to play Bayonetta 3. I have played the previous two games and absolutely loved them. Right at the start Bayonetta 3 hooks you in with an epic fight happening with Bayonetta and a shadowy monster. This also introduces us to a new character, Viola who is definitely giving off amazing punk rocker vibes. Bayonetta is defeated by the monster known as Singularity and Viola escapes through a world bridge to another universe to find help fighting Singularity. 

The game then shows the Bayonetta we know driving with Enzo and of course Rodin is here too. That's when Viola shows up and everything goes to hell as a bunch of monsters show up called Homunculi. This gives the game a chance to give a fast tutorial on how the combat buttons work, how to witch walk which slows down time, and how to unleash epic attacks on the monsters.

Bayonetta and Enzo together again.

This first fight is a blast. The combat is even better and I appreciated the sheer camp of the game and loved getting to play as Bayonetta again. There's some new moves to learn as the Homunculi are a little more challenging, but it's a great time. 

She's back! 

After the chaos dies down for a time, Viola explains that she's an Umbran witch from another universe and that Singularity has already destroyed many alternate universes. To stop Singularity they have to travel to the island of Thule which acts as a gateway between universes in order to get the five chaos gears to lead them to the Alphaverse where Singularity is. Thus starts the main chunk of the game as Bayonetta travels to these different universes to find the chaos gears. She of course meets multiverse versions of herself and all of them are very cool as they fight alongside her in some moments. The fights themselves are great. I had a lot of fun just hacking and slashing away as well as using some new moves with Bayonetta's guns.

Taking out a giant monster.

Bayonetta has also learned some new moves and added a few more epic tricks. She can now summon demons to fight. She can have up to three in her amulett and some are familiar faces like Gomorrah while others are brand new like a demon train. All of them are fantastic and it added a layer of planning out fights, because each demon brings a different element so I had a good time deciding which one I wanted to use. There are also moments where you can summon a demon in giant form and this was awesome! The kid in me loved that I got to have giant monster fights. They play like rock, paper, scissors as you either attack or defend. These fights were wild and I enjoyed all of them. 

Giant monster fight! 

I did love the customization in Bayonetta 3. Naturally, you get these new things from Rodin at his bar. You can change Bayonetta's guns and accessories. The biggest thing I liked is that you could change the color of her costume, her glasses, and hair. I went with my favorite color, purple. If you have the money, Rodin is ready to sell you all the colors. There are 7 different costumes too, but you need to reach certain points of the game to unlock those. Once you do however, you can choose your favorite costume.

Bayonetta in my favorite color, purple. 

I was delighted to see we got to play as Viola and Jeanne in certain chapters. Getting to play as Viola was a lot of fun. Viola is a bit of a klutz, but that adds to her charm and I found her rather endearing because she's trying so hard and while she may not really show it, she cares a lot. Her fighting style is different from Bayonetta's and she doesn't have a full arsenal of weapons, but combat with Viola is wildly fun. She fights with a katana and she can toss it to summon her demon, Cheshire. While Cheshire can fight on its own, this means Viola can fist fight alongside him and she can't use witch time. Viola is really fast and I really liked her fighting style. It added another great aspect to the game playing as her. I was always happy to get to play as her when I saw it was a chapter with Viola. Cheshire is wonderful because of my love for Alice in Wonderland and Cheshire is my favorite, but also because when Cheshire teams up with Viola they can do some pretty powerful attacks.

Viola and Cheshire are awesome! 

The chapters with Jeanne are a little different because they're side chapters that play as a stealth side scroller. These missions are short and timed so Jeanne has to get through them quickly. Jeanne can use her powers to change form to crawl through vents, swim underwater, and stealthily get rid of Homunculi enemies in order to get to the elevator undetected. These are a lot of fun and I really liked playing as Jeanne in these. There are four of these side chapters with Jeanne and I enjoyed them. I just wish there had been a few more of them with her. 

Jeanne takes out a boss in her chapter.

The story for Bayonetta 3 is interesting and I was fully invested because of the great gameplay and the introduction of a standout character in Viola. I did like seeing Luka again too because he seemed to be more a part of this story than a side character. Without spoiling, I do understand why many are upset with the ending of Bayonetta 3. I'm saying this as a queer person, Bayonetta has very much brought me a lot of queer joy. I'm pansexual and seeing how much camp and cheeky fun the games have brought, genuinely makes me happy. Did I love the ending? Not really because it made me sad and it felt a little rushed. I do understand the valid concerns about queer baiting in regards to the ending. However, I will say as someone who is in a hetero presenting relationship, it stings a bit seeing once again the bi/pan erasure from some of the people speaking those concerns. I know that my relationship is not queer because I'm married to a man, but I myself am still very much queer. That is the part that bothers me. The idea that if a bi/pan person is in a hetero presenting relationship we're suddenly "not queer enough" or "not really queer" and it's something that I know I have had to fight against for a very long time and still have to fight against, and I'm tired. Other than that, I agree the ending could have been handled differently and while it's not a perfect ending, I do think it leaves some things open ended for the possibility of another Bayonetta game. 

Overall, I loved Bayonetta 3. It brought even more camp and fun. It brought back more of the over the top fights I love, added a cool new character, added the best giant monster fights, and of course showed off those sweet dance moves as only Bayonetta can. I had the best time with all of it. 

What a fun time! 

*Bayonetta 3 is available to play on Ninendo Switch

*Join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Strawberry Vinegar: A Cute Story About Friendship, Love, And Good Food

 *Note: I received a game code for the Nintendo Switch for my honest review of the game. Thank you to Ratalaika Games for the game code.

Strawberry Vinegar is a visual novel that introduces us to the main character Rie Sakuraba and her parents. Right away, I noticed how cute and colorful the artwork is. Rie explains a lot about her family and she comes across as a bit cynical which is a little surprising considering she's a ten year old kid, but it works well with the flow of the story. Rie's parents seem to be opposites and yet their dynamic works and the story shows a beautiful love between the two. As we get to know Rie, she narrates and explains that she's very much an introvert. Rie doesn't really talk to her classmates and doesn't seem to be friends with anyone and Rie insists that she likes it that way, but it seems there may be more to it than that and this may be a way of Rie protecting herself from disappointment and hurt. 

Rie's parents.

It isn't long before the story introduces Licia, a little demon girl who appears in the family kitchen eating the cookies Rie just baked. Licia really likes human food and demands that Rie keep feeding her delicious food for a week or she'll reap her soul. This brings up a funny conversation with Rie not believing Licia at first and a debate about how much a soul is actually worth. Even funnier is how Rie's parents just accept all of this at face value and somehow convince themselves that Licia is from Norway. 

Licia and Rie meet.

The story is a nice slice of life slow burn and it also celebrates eating food together. The artwork for the food is incredible. Each dish looks beautiful and tasty. Rie's description of the food complements how amazing all of it looks. There were a few favorites of mine in there and it definitely made me hungry. That storytelling of how food can bring us together and how it tastes better when we share it with the people we love and care about.

All the yummy food! 

I love the interactions between Rie and Licia because it shows quite well how the two girls are so different and yet find common ground through food. Licia is trying these dishes for the first time and Rie finds herself actually having fun and discovering the power of friendship and love. 

Licia and Rie at a festival.

The other locations shown in the game like a festival are done really well and very pretty. The artwork for the whole of the game is vibrant, cute, and really brings this visual novel to life. Each area shows off the different dishes and that is where the artwork really shines. It brought back my own happy memories of sharing food with my family and friends.

Delicious dango.

The music for the game is nice and sets the mood for each scene. While Rie does heavily narrate which can cause the story to drag a little in places, I didn't mind because the main characters and side characters are likable and charming. There's wonderful bits of humor and heartwarming moments that add to the layers of the story beautifully. 

Delicious omurice.

Ultimately the story is about Rie and Licia and how their friendship blossoms and becomes something more. I love that it happens slowly and organically and in a way that is age appropriate for both girls. The story and art shows a lot of love for the characters which I really appreciated. I loved them all and found myself smiling often at all the lovely moments they had with each other and enjoying every bit of the story itself. Strawberry Vinegar is a cute story about friendship, love, and good food that is absolutely worth your time if you love visual novels and a great first visual novel for first timers. 

Licia and Rie having a cute moment. 

*Strawberry Vinegar is available to play on the following platforms: Steam, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, and Xbox One

*Join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Mothergamer Plays Ooblets

 Ooblets starts off with a cute introduction about how your character moves to Badgetown where there are adorable creatures called Ooblets. The character design is really nice with a variety of skin tones, hair styles, and hair colors. You can also choose an outfit for your character and there is a lot to choose from.

Designing my character. 

Badgetown is a nice town with a community that is down on its luck. The mayor of Badgetown explains this and introduces you to the four Ooblets clubs : Mimpins, Peaksnubs, Frunbuns, and Mossprouts. This gives you a chance to choose which club you would like to join and gives you a starter Ooblet. For myself, I went with Mossprouts and got a Shrumbo, a cute mushroom Ooblet. You also get an abandoned farm with a house you can live in. This gives you an introduction to the farming aspect of the game which is easy to follow and rather fun. 

Then you get introduced to your first dance battle. The explanation is that rather than fight Ooblets have dance battles. The dance battles are fun and are easy to follow because it's designed like a simple card battle. Each move costs a dance beat and you have a set amount of points to earn. The dance squad that gets to that amount of points first wins the dance battle. This is how you get new Ooblets because when you defeat them in a dance battle you get a seed from them which you can plant on your farm. You grow the Ooblet and when it's ready to harvest you get a new Ooblet to join you. 

Dance battles are fun!

I really enjoyed the farming in Ooblets. It's relaxing and it provides the crops you need to recruit new Ooblets and offers materials and ingredients for crafting. Cooking is another thing you can do in the game and it encourages you to keep up with this by getting new recipes from the town wishing well and various quests. This also gives you food and drinks that you consume to replenish energy because farming things cost energy. Your Ooblets can help with farming too once you build them a little house called an oob coop and you can upgrade these to make them bigger so they can house more Ooblets and give them seeds to plant, water, and harvest. It's another fun layer to the farming in the game. 

The Ooblets help out on the farm.

You can have up to eight Ooblets following you as you go about your day and you can give them accessories too such as a witch hat or a cute parasol. There are about forty five different Ooblets to collect and all of them are wonderful and adorable. I loved the myriad of all the types of Ooblets. For each species of Ooblets you have three types of that species; normal, unusual, and gleamy. Gleamy would be like a shiny in Pokemon. All of them in design are very cute. 

Ooblets in hats!

Farming and dance battles are not the only thing you can do in Ooblets. The main goal in the entire game is to help improve Badgetown. You of course also can and should make friends with the people living in Badgetown. They give you various quests such as repairing a hot air balloon or bringing them a specific item they ask for. This earns you gummies which is the currency in Ooblets as well as items they gift you. 

Helping out a friend.

There's fishing in Ooblets and it's pretty easy. As long as you have bait, you just stand and fish and get items from fishing ranging from crafting materials to gummies. There's other towns to visit too and this is also how you find more Ooblets. Each town has their own variety of Ooblets and as you discover each new one it gets added to your Ooblets almanac. The different towns have their own unique style and themes, all of it very cute.

Doing some fishing.

As you upgrade buildings, expand your farm, and find more recipes this unlocks more items and story quests. My personal favorite was the dance barn because this unlocks daily dance tournaments which are a lot of fun and give nice rewards. You can participate in the dance tournament once each day and they are three rounds. The first two rounds give you wishies which can be used at the wishing well to receive items and when you win the third round you get that day's reward. It's worth your time to do it because you get things like oob coops and some nice outfits.

Dance barn time!

There are some things that I wish Ooblets would address. One thing was the music and sound settings for the game. While they can be adjusted, I found that every time I started the game I would have to adjust the settings to where I had them. It resets every time and that is a bit frustrating. Inventory space is a finite item. I kept running out of space even with having the biggest size backpack and having a ton of storage chests. I kept having to buy more storage chests and because everything, yes everything is used for crafting, cooking, farming, and more it became very cluttered and I would have to spend a tedious amount of time organizing everything to make it fit. There were a couple of game crashes which was a bit frustrating because it meant I had to restart from where I left all over again. 

The good news is that there have been several patches that have fixed a lot of bugs and the crashing issues so that definitely helped to improve things a lot. Overall, I love Ooblets. It's cute and fun, with a nice relaxing vibe and a great whimsical art style that tells a good story.

Ooblets is great fun!

*Ooblets is available to play on the following platforms: Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One

Join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Mothergamer Plays Bear's Restaurant

 *Note I received a game code for the Nintendo Switch for my honest review. Thank you to Odencat for the game code. 

Bear's Restaurant starts off right with a trigger warning explaining that there are themes and situations that may be sad and upsetting. I appreciated that a lot because while Bear's Restaurant looks like a very cute game it is more than that. It is a game about death, dying, and memories we have of those we have lost. The game is very much story driven and is about the experience. You play as a cat that works in a restaurant with a bear. This isn't just any restaurant though. Bear is the chef for the dead and creates their last meal which happens to be their favorite meal when they were alive. 

Bear creates a last meal for the dead.

Cat assists Bear in the restaurant and Bear shows Cat around the area which is a train station where the dead wait for the train to Heaven. Here, Cat can talk to some of the people there and ask them probing questions that give some insight into their lives. When Cat is done talking with them, she receives a memory shard from the person.

Cat and Bear at the train station. 

Before Cat goes to sleep she can watch the memory shard of the person and it gives some insight into who they were and how they died. That second part is very sad, but each story is very well done. This also shows Cat what their favorite dish was as she sees their memories. She can then give this memory shard to Bear who makes the meal in no time and as the dead enjoy their favorite meal, they fade away peacefully from the restaurant chair they were sitting in. 

Cat sees a memory. 

There are light puzzle elements to Bear's Restaurant, but the main focus is absolutely the story and the journey Cat and Bear are on. There are questions that come up such as who is Bear and who is Cat? How did Bear and Cat come to be at this afterlife restaurant? These questions do get answered as the story progresses and it is beautifully told showing the regrets that people can have and how they can come to terms with life not always being what they expected. 

A beautiful area in the game. 

The pixel art style in the game is lovely and works with the storybook elements of the game. Although the story is sad it is also heartwarming as it shows that the power of love is an incredible thing and that the people we love live on in our hearts and memories. Bear's Restaurant isn't very long; I finished it in three hours, but in that short time it tells a good story. 

Cat among the stars. 

*Bear's Restaurant is available on the following platforms: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PC, and Mobile

*Join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Mothergamer Plays Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising

 I am a huge Suikoden fan. I love the Suikoden series, especially Suikoden II which is so good that I have played it more times than I can count. When I heard about Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, I was curious and excited especially when I heard that the creator of the Suikoden series himself Yoshitaka Murayama was collaborating with the developers on this. Then I saw their spin off prequel Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising and saw exactly what they meant about the series being a spiritual successor to Suikoden. There was no denying that familiar Suikoden art style that I have always loved, so I picked up Rising and started playing. 

There are some differences with Rising and that makes sense because it's a new series with a new story and world building. For one thing it's a 2D action side scroller format instead of turn based battles. There's a brief tutorial that explains the combat as you get into your first fight and it was easy to follow and fun. 

Learning the combat. 

Rising introduces us to the main character CJ who arrives in the town of New Nevaeh determined to be the best treasure hunter she can be and have a grand adventure. The town is recovering from an earthquake that happened several months ago and this introduces the fetch quests and the stamp card. CJ can bring the townspeople things they need such as building materials, ingredients, or items from monsters. All of these help to rebuild the town and CJ does get money, items, and a stamp for the stamp cards. It's a smart way of level grinding in a way and some of the fetch quests do have a mini story with them, some amusing and others heartwarming. I was never bored doing any of them and had a good time hacking and slashing my way through various areas.

I wanted all the stamps!

The entire point of the town is to be the home base for CJ and companions she meets who become party members as the story continues. Each party member has their own set of skills and there is a fun dynamic where they can do link attacks which can absolutely destroy enemies if you time them right. You can also swap between characters during battle using their unique skills according to what the flow of battle demands. I used CJ the most, but I absolutely loved Garoo because he had some pretty powerful attacks. I was also amused by how often he and CJ would argue back and forth and Garoo would give in and just do what CJ demanded. It showed a great friendship and a lot of humorous moments. 

Garoo was very cool. 

As the story continues you unlock more areas and the town gradually gets rebuilt and you get to see how it changes. The shops are set in their own areas like the smithy and armor shop on one street and the magic and items shop on another. There are definitely some great nods to Suikoden besides the art style, like having to sharpen your weapons so they're more powerful or the use of runes. The runes had a bit of a new twist to them with the fact that you can put the runes in rune lenses and different runes give different effects. I thought that was really cool and tried out different runes to see what worked for my play style. 

There are runes in this series too!

I was never frustrated with the game play of Rising at all. I did appreciate that I could set the game to the easy setting so I could just enjoy the story and have a good time with it. Exploring areas to fight monsters, getting materials for upgrading things, and finding all kinds of treasure was a blast. The link attacks add that extra punch of style that made me want to keep playing because I was having so much fun. 

Having fun fighting a rock monster.

There are some fantastic creative boss fights as well. They do get a bit harder as you go, but nothing that was so difficult it would frustrate me. These blended well into the story and I wanted to know what would happen next. The story itself is interesting and gives you a good introduction to the world of Eiyuden Chronicle and some of the characters that will be in Hundred Heroes. I personally liked the combat style and enjoyed the fetch quests because the game rewards you with some really nice upgrades and rare items that definitely help improve weapons, armor, and skills. 

Oh, hello monster tree.

The game itself overall isn't very long, about twelve hours to finish. I loved every bit of it and it made me really hyped for Hundred Heroes. Rising did a great job with introducing us to this new series and the characters that will be a part of it. There are so many beautiful nods to the Suikoden series and it really feels like a precious gift to the many Suikoden fans. I can't wait to hang out with CJ and her friends again in Hundred Heroes as well as seeing what the next adventure brings. 

Taking a break from adventuring.

* Eiyuden Chronicle Rising is available to play on the following platforms: Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S

* Come join our community on Twitch where we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer