Very punny. Also hot damn this game's presentation got personality!
TLDR: "Crafting" seems kinda useless despite of looking like a main gameplay mechanic. It's hard to tell what materials are in stock. But the game still plays and feels really good, and its presentation is fantastical.
- gameplay notes:
There were a couple times where I couldn't talk with arriving customers if I was already in front of them when they arrived. (and they all happened to be otters). Stepping away then coming back works though.
I get that the quota is shown in BIG to convey the objective, but I'd rather have an easier way to tell which materials II have at all times, without needing to scroll. Or better yet a full list of the materials with/as distinct icons, AND ordered by rarity instead of the messier "newest scavenged" first AND still see what materials are in shortage.
That's mostly what made it harder to manually craft, AND keep the inventory stocked.
- balance notes:
So due to how the gameplay works, going to the crafting tables yourself is not very viable.
I found that out very soon and went almost the entire game "just" bartering and keeping the inventory stocked (via Takane).
Makes me wonder if intended or unforeseen consequences, but either way, crafting with your own hands feel useless, in the "why have the option" way
Despite it all, I could still work my way around and fill the quotas with a couple retries. The progression curve of each day is actually pretty okay.
- other notes:
The mechanics are simple in concept but have that bit of depth. The preparation screens are interesting enough too. So overall I had fun being a shop manager!
The bits of dialogue at the start of the days quenched that bit of fanwork worldbuilding I didn't notice I had. They contain a bit of unhingedness from the earlier Windows Touhou games, which I personally like a lot.
My favorite part of the game is the handdrawn style which fully brings this home-cooked feeling, and the portraits look very good