omg, this was lovely! after going through a string of horror and action games (not to diss on them, they were all really good xd), nothing like chilling out in a resource gathering game with a podcast open and taking in the cozy vibes of it all, really great stuff! as you said, the progression in this game is so satisfying!!! i loved seeing what sort of resource or potential building gets revealed to me after unlocking each tile, theres a sense of curiosity and excitement that comes from it! it was really nicely paced too, didn't feel like i was getting things too fast but also didn't feel like a grind! the aberration identification aspect of it was also nice, it was pretty fun to frantically chase down an disguised aberration when you catch their transformation from the corner of your eye, very fun stuff!
the presentation really ties the comfy atmosphere together! the use of cool colors for the environment and the creatures set in the chill tone immediately! the blend of 2D and 3D assets worked really well here, with both assets individually looking really nice as well as complimenting each other well! the BGM provided a soothing and relaxing melody to listen to while playing around + the sound effects all gave really nice feedback!
overall, very comfy game to go through, i thoroughly enjoyed it! i could see this idea getting expanded with different biomes and resources to explore with the goal of creating different food to eat! great work!