This game, while beautiful to look at, has a bit of an identity crisis. It's trying to be both a colorful 1940s adventure game and a dark Lovecraftian horror game, and ultimately fails at being either. It's still fun to play, but the fact that it can't decide what it wants to be really detracts from the experience, at least for me.
This one was a very weird experience for me. Many aspects of the game are obviously, undeniably bad (hilariously so in some respects). The graphics are sub-par even for 2007, the writing is terrible, voice actors were phoning their lines in, combat is worse than Morrowind. And yet, despite all of its flaws I did enjoy my time in the game for the most part. As for game crashes: I did experience some, particularly later in the game, but nowhere near as many as other reviewers have claimed. If you're looking for an open world RPG to pass the time with some light questing and without expecting much depth I'd say give the game a try when it's on sale.
I'm now about 130 hours into this game, at 0.03% mammals stage, having all but 2 blueprints unlocked. So I think it's time I put my opinions in writing. "The Planet Crafter" appears to have taken inspiration from both "Subnautica" and "Osiris: New Dawn" (nobody try to tell me that the Mushroom River cavern wasn't inspired by Subnautica's Jellyshroom Caves), but rather than being stranded and trying to escape you're a convict tasked with terraforming a planet in exchange. Pros: - The premise works well, and seeing the planet become more and more habitable over time is quite satisfying. - Early progression is great. - Beautiful locations, and the explanation why some are initially locked off (and why they become accessible later on) works well. - Quite a few things to explore and discover. - Automatic collection and crafting is possible. - No hostile NPCs. Cons: - Late game progression is terrible (about half of my time in game was spent AFK waiting for blueprints to unlock). - Automation is required (late game feels like it's making a left turn towards Factorio or Satisfactory). However, drone management (a requirement) unlocks way too late in the game. - Trading also unlocks way too late, considering the huge discrepancy between buying and selling prices. - Plotlines feel a bit underdeveloped (the Wardens storyline is kinda bland and also has some plotholes; the prior terraforming attempts plotline shows some promise, but depends greatly on whether the developers go anywhere with it or not). - No hostile NPCs. If you enjoy survival games and aren't completely opposed to factory building sims I'd suggest to give this one a try. But if you do, make sure to automate resource gathering and crafting as soon as possible (because you will need to deploy substantial amounts of machinery, and replace it as soon as new tiers unlock, in order to maintain an at least halfway reasonable terraformation progress), otherwise the grind will become unbearable.
As other reviewers have already pointed out, this game works well on the mechanical level (all of the puzzles are sensible and you can move quickly from one location to another if you want to), but it's really short. The prologue in particular made me feel like I was arriving late to the game and half the story had already passed. The story was also weaker than the one in the first game. All things considered, this is an average game. Certainly not a must-have, but I still enjoyed it for what it was.
Even though this game started out as a Skyrim mod it's more an adventure-type game than an RPG. After a slow start it quickly drew me in when I started with the quests. Strong points: - Characters and dialogue are well-written. All characters have their own background and motivation. - Quests are short and sweet. I don't recall a single quest that felt like it was dragging its feet. - No menial repetition of already completed tasks after going back in time (the tasks can be offloaded to an NPC). - No backtracking. - Small, but very detailed location. - Most (if not all) quests can be completed in different ways. - Persistent inventory allows for creative use of the time loop mechanic. - Interesting historical/archeological tidbits every now and then. Weak points: - Graphics aren't bad, but still sub-par for a 2021 game. - Some of the voice-acting felt like they were over-acting their character. - Combat is meh (but then, combat isn't the focus in the first place). - Character creator is very basic, though it could be argued that aside from profession bonuses the character doesn't matter much in the game anyway. - No map (but the location is small enough to not require one). It's amazing to see a game get so many things right in the story/character department as well as on the mechanical level, when so many games these days seem intent to go in the opposite direction (boring characters, bad writing, political agendas instead of intersting plot lines, repetetive gameplay to keep players "engaged"). I strongly recommend this game to anyone with at least some level of interest in adventure games.
