A very cozy and charming game.
The core loop is very enjoyable once you get the hang of things, however, getting the hang of things is the challenge.
To summarize it plainly, there is just so much going on all at once for a first run. I think that actually adds to it positively, but for players less inclined to figure things out, I could see it preventing some from bothering to make it to a second day let alone a second generation. Due to there being so many menus, I missed out on quite a lot by simply not knowing it was happening I.E. trading or clan affinity or even crafting. I think a simple walkthrough or tutorial feature to familiarize players with the various menus and interactions would largely fix just about all everything I could consider an issue thus far.
The mechanics and smoothness of gameplay feels incredibly polished, while the appearance overall does have a nice charm to it. Some hang ups here could include the odd water behavior, especially when the player gets wet and seems to fire off water beams across the ground, and the block placing system, which does technically work, but the inability to place them above you, or to make supports that can be passed through carved out tunnels is a bit frustrating.
In the end I truly enjoyed the inheritance system, as having the “family spear” to pass down to the next generation really awesome to stumble upon. I also loved the Faith mechanic, which I am curious to see how that ends up expanding.
I will leave it there. You’ve got a really nice thing coming together and congrats on giving it new life so many years later. I am hooked, truly, and I can’t wait to see it developed further.