This might be my favorite Turnfollow game yet! No, I think it definitely is. The games I've played before, mainly Little Party and Big Ocean Wide Jacket, were obviously narrative-driven affairs where the interactivity was just a nice touch to go through them at your own pace. So it was interesting when I heard this game was a farming sim, but it's no surprise that the story and world building are what shine through here. Moreso, though, the farming sim elements are used to tell the story and I love that. I often wonder if certain narrative games could be better if they were just books, movies or TV shows, but with Before the Green Moon I can't see it working with any other medium.

And the amount of detail you've crammed in there! The thing about Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley is- they feel very idealistic and feel like they're catering to the player. They feel very vacant as well - Harvest Moon gives you some set up but once you're into the game it feels like it could be set anywhere. With Stardew, it's just so moreish that it feels cartoonish and unfocused. This in contrast feels so much more grounded, even though it's got a space elevator and moon ghosts. The focusing on the moon just beyond your reach, the moonies that visit and increase the litter for a week, the moon viewings.. it all just builds on each other. The scenes are obviously well-written, but even chatting every day to the other members of the community was charming and insightful.

And then it's the small things, too. Every once in a while seeing Elvis share a cigarette with a visiting moonie in private, the times where you can see Granny at night (or another moon ghost when you're in the sewers?). Marie and Marshall going to the mess hall together once a week. Pony stopping by to see the chickens after a work day on the farm before heading home. The aforementioned litter and its increase when the moonies populate the town. And ugh, even the textures used for the buildings and windows, and the way the lights blink on at night, it's all tying up the story together so well.

The music, too. Wow. The main farm theme just sets such a melancholic mood, even when I was knee deep in harvestable moon rice that couldn't upset it.

I usually dislike romance elements in games like this because of the focus on gifting and the feeling that you're being catered to (everyone loves you, you can just pick!), so I really like the way the Pony relationship is set up. The fact that she asks you out and you can just opt in or out, and then the way the chemistry builds up with the chickens and the working at the farm and the disturbing dog potatoes, it's really well done.

I know this is getting really long, but I played this game primarily right before I slept each night, on my laptop in bed, and every night I had to tear myself away from playing and afterwards I'd just get real introspective over the themes of the game. Thank you so much for making this, it's a genuinely unforgettable experience.