Info about Forager:

Official game description:
Create your own Mods
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About the Game
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**Forager** is a 2D open world game inspired by exploration, farming and crafting games such as Stardew Valley, Terraria & Zelda.  
*   Gather, collect and manage resources.  
*   Craft useful items & structures.  
*   Build and grow a base out of nothing. Buy land to expand and explore.  
*   Level up and learn new skills, abilities, and blueprints.  
*   Solve puzzles, find secrets and raid dungeons!  
*   Achieve anything you want! The choice is yours, you set your own goals to work towards!
Start small and improve your base, skills, equipment, network of friends (and enemies!) and build your future as you see fit! You can play Forager in a very varied array of playstyles...
**BECOME... A GATHERER**
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**BECOME... A FARMER**
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**BECOME... A MERCHANT**
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**BECOME... AN ADVENTURER**
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**BECOME... A BUILDER**
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Release date: Apr 18, 2019

Categories: Crafting, Base Building, Exploration, Farming Simulation, Resource Management, Automation Game, Puzzle Solving, Character Progression


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Highly addictive and engaging gameplay (weight 0.99): Players consistently describe the game as addictive, engaging, and fun, with a strong hook in the early hours. The gameplay loop is satisfying and encourages long play sessions, often lasting 10+ hours or more.
- Fun and varied puzzles (weight 0.77): Puzzles are a standout feature, offering a good balance of challenge and enjoyment. Players appreciate the variety and creativity of the puzzles, which add depth to the gameplay experience.
- Humor and charming NPCs (weight 0.72): The game’s humor, including quirky NPC interactions and Easter eggs, is frequently mentioned as a highlight. Players enjoy the lighthearted and wholesome tone, which enhances the overall experience.
- Diverse and expansive content (weight 0.55): The game offers a wide variety of activities, including crafting, combat, exploration, puzzles, farming, and automation. Players appreciate the blend of mechanics and the sheer volume of content, which keeps the experience fresh and engaging.
- Automation and idle mechanics (weight 0.42): The game’s automation features, such as familiars and turrets, are highly praised for allowing AFK gameplay and simplifying resource management. This adds a unique and satisfying layer to progression.
- Farming and construction appeal (weight 0.42): Farming and construction mechanics are well-received, particularly by players who enjoy simulation and management games. The gameplay is described as addictive and well-designed for fans of the genre.
- Relaxing and casual-friendly experience (weight 0.38): The game is praised for its low-pressure, relaxing atmosphere, making it ideal for casual play. It is easy to pick up, allows players to progress at their own pace, and is suitable for multitasking or unwinding.
- Smooth and rewarding progression (weight 0.35): Progression is well-balanced, with a gradual learning curve and constant unlocks that provide a sense of achievement. Players enjoy the transition from simple to complex gameplay, which keeps them motivated to continue.
- Strong replayability and value (weight 0.33): Players find the game highly replayable, with many enjoying multiple playthroughs or aiming for 100% completion. The game is also considered worth its price, especially at lower costs, due to its extensive content and engagement.
- Charming pixel art and visuals (weight 0.23): The game’s pixel art style is consistently described as cute, vibrant, and visually appealing. The simple yet charming graphics contribute to the game’s relaxing and enjoyable atmosphere.
- Extensive customization and freedom (weight 0.13): Players appreciate the high level of customization, including character skins, building options, and skill trees. This freedom allows for self-expression and tailored gameplay experiences.
- Calming music and sound design (weight 0.1): The game’s soundtrack is described as relaxing, cheerful, and unobtrusive. The music and sound effects contribute to the game’s pleasant and gentle atmosphere.
- Modding community adds value (weight 0.08): The availability of high-quality mods is noted as a significant strength, extending the game’s longevity and allowing players to customize their experience further.

Common complaints:
- Excessive late-game grind (weight 0.84): Players report that the end-game content becomes unbearably repetitive and tedious, with exponential material costs and excessive AFK farming. The grind lacks purpose, making progression feel unrewarding and monotonous.
- Abandoned and unfinished game (weight 0.45): The game has not received updates for years, leaving unresolved bugs and a lack of content. Players feel the developer abandoned the project, leading to an incomplete and outdated experience.
- Poor performance and optimization (weight 0.21): The game suffers from performance issues, including low FPS, crashes, and stuttering, even on high-end hardware. Framerate is often locked, and the game is not optimized for modern systems.
- Poorly designed achievements (weight 0.18): Some achievements are frustratingly designed, requiring excessive grinding or AFK play. Others are bugged, making them impossible to complete.
- Lack of multiplayer features (weight 0.18): The game was intended to include multiplayer but was canceled, leaving players disappointed. The absence of co-op or competitive modes limits replayability and social engagement.
- Unclear tutorials and steep learning curve (weight 0.16): Beginners struggle with the lack of in-game tutorials and unclear mechanics, forcing them to rely on external resources. The initial gameplay feels slow and confusing.
- Save file corruption and progress loss (weight 0.15): Players frequently experience corrupted save files, leading to lost progress. The lack of autosave during critical moments exacerbates this issue, causing frustration.
- Overpriced for content offered (weight 0.12): Players feel the game is overpriced given its length, polish, and content. Many suggest a lower price point would be more appropriate for the experience provided.
- Bugs and glitches affect gameplay (weight 0.11): The game contains numerous bugs, some of which are game-breaking. These issues persist due to the lack of updates and contribute to a frustrating experience.
- Lack of narrative and hollow content (weight 0.11): The game lacks a compelling storyline or world-building, focusing solely on progression. Characters and content feel uninteresting, leaving players without a driving force.
- Limited and ineffective mods (weight 0.09): The modding community is small and inactive, with most mods being basic or non-functional. Players feel there is no future content unless mods improve.
- Void gameplay is buggy and repetitive (weight 0.08): The void gameplay loop is repetitive and plagued by bugs, including inconsistent boss spawns and crashes. Drones make it too easy, reducing engagement.
- Drones obstruct gameplay (weight 0.08): Drones become a hindrance in the late game, obstructing the player's view and causing performance issues. They cannot be hidden, making navigation difficult.
- Controller support is flawed (weight 0.08): Controller support is buggy and poorly implemented, with issues like auto-selecting wrong items. The game is not well-designed for controller use.

Gameplay feedback:
- Grind-heavy progression system (weight 0.33): The game features repetitive grinding mechanics for achievements, upgrades, and 100% completion, often involving idle or incremental gameplay. Players frequently mention the need to grind resources or hold buttons for progression.
- Crafting with automation focus (weight 0.32): Crafting is central to progression, with nested material requirements and long wait times. Players can automate resource gathering and production, including nuclear equipment and furniture.
- Island expansion and exploration (weight 0.29): Players unlock and purchase new islands to access unique biomes, resources, enemies, and NPCs. Exploration is a core progression mechanic, with distinct areas offering varied content.
- Skill trees for character growth (weight 0.2): The game includes skill trees for combat, crafting, exploration, and economic branches, allowing players to customize progression. Unlocking talents and bonuses is tied to leveling and specific orders.
- Resource gathering mechanics (weight 0.16): Manual and automated resource collection (e.g., mining, chopping, foraging) is a core loop. Players transition from manual gathering to automated systems as they progress.
- Boss fights and enemy variety (weight 0.12): Boss encounters (e.g., skeleton kings) are present but often described as underwhelming. Mechanics include dodging, damage types, and HP scaling, though some find the difficulty lacking.
- Base building and management (weight 0.12): Players build and upgrade bases, factories, and agricultural/magical facilities. Base management includes handling overgrowth and designing automated production lines.
- Quests and task system (weight 0.11): Quests and missions provide additional objectives, including fetch quests for special items. Rewards incentivize completion, though some interactions (e.g., needing bugs) are noted as odd.
- Platinum achievement grind (weight 0.09): Achievements, including the platinum trophy, require significant grinding for materials or in-game currency. Some players criticize the effort required for 100% completion.
- Abandoned multiplayer potential (weight 0.08): Multiplayer was planned but canceled, leaving the game as single-player only. Some players express disappointment in the lack of co-op or competitive modes.

Performance notes:
- Frequent game crashes and corruption (weight 0.22): Players report widespread crashes on startup, during gameplay, and save file corruption issues. Reinstalling does not resolve these problems, making the game unplayable for some users.
- Performance issues on high-refresh monitors (weight 0.17): FPS drops below 40 on high-end hardware, particularly on monitors above 60Hz. Workarounds like adjusting refresh rates or Nvidia settings are required to achieve playable performance.
- Low hardware requirements (weight 0.1): The game runs smoothly on low-end hardware, including older integrated graphics, and is rated as 'Potato' compatible. However, some older Intel GPUs may still face performance issues.
- Controller and input bugs (weight 0.09): Players experience significant issues with gamepad controls, keyboard/mouse input, and fullscreen/windowed mode cursor problems, leading to a frustrating user experience.
- Endgame and specific scenario crashes (weight 0.06): The game crashes in specific scenarios, such as entering the void or during endgame content, with no error messages provided to help diagnose the issue.
- UI/UX and gameplay obstructions (weight 0.06): Players report difficulty selecting items due to cluttered UI, droids obstructing gameplay, and buggy gate placement, which negatively impacts the overall experience.
- Linux and Steam Deck compatibility (weight 0.04): The game requires Proton Experimental on Linux and has workarounds needed for Steam Deck, indicating potential compatibility issues on non-Windows platforms.
- Performance degradation with drones (weight 0.02): Excessive drones in-game cause noticeable performance drops, leading to degraded computer performance and potential gameplay disruptions.
- Resource crafting speed bug (weight 0.02): A specific bug affects resource crafting speed, which may disrupt gameplay balance or progression for affected players.

Recommendations:
- Highly recommended for grind-heavy fans (weight 0.58): The game is frequently praised for its addictive and engaging grind mechanics, making it ideal for fans of infinite progress, crafting, and automation games like Stardew Valley, Terraria, and Factorio. Many reviewers highlight its suitability for casual players and completionists.
- Avoid full achievements due to grind (weight 0.43): Many players warn against attempting full achievements or 100% completion due to excessive grind and tedium. The game is recommended for casual play rather than exhaustive completion.
- Buy on sale due to flaws (weight 0.29): While the game is enjoyable, many reviewers advise purchasing it only during sales due to bugs, shallow late-game content, and lack of updates. The consensus is that it is not worth full price for most players.
- Strategic gameplay tips for efficiency (weight 0.16): Reviewers share practical advice, such as building multiple crafting tables, using potions, and avoiding skipping skill upgrades. These tips are aimed at optimizing progression and avoiding pitfalls in gameplay.
- Late-game content lacking (weight 0.12): Several players express hope for a sequel or spinoff with improved late-game mechanics, as the current game's late-game content is criticized for being shallow or poorly designed.
- Early bank unlocks aid progression (weight 0.06): Players emphasize the importance of unlocking the bank early to simplify progression and achieve milestones. Multiple banks are recommended for players aiming for 100% completion or specific achievements.
- Developer support appreciated (weight 0.05): Some reviewers highlight the game's development by a single person and recommend purchasing it to support indie developers. The game is seen as a labor of love with impressive scope for a solo project.
- Keyboard and mouse recommended (weight 0.02): A niche but notable point is that the game is better experienced with keyboard and mouse, as it improves control and overall gameplay experience compared to other input methods.

Other player notes:
- Game compared to classics (weight 0.04): Players frequently compare the game to well-known titles like Stardew Valley, Minecraft, Terraria, and Starbound, highlighting its similarities in gameplay or style. These comparisons suggest the game fits into a beloved genre but may lack unique identity.
- Developer practices criticized (weight 0.04): Criticism is directed at the developer for causing internal team issues or unethical practices. This feedback reflects concerns about the game's production ethics rather than gameplay itself.
- Demand for automation features (weight 0.03): Players express a desire for automation tools, such as self-filling ovens or self-harvesting farms, to reduce repetitive tasks. This feedback highlights a need for quality-of-life improvements in gameplay.
- Zoom feature requested (weight 0.03): A zoom in/out feature is frequently requested, likely to improve accessibility or gameplay precision. This is a common quality-of-life request in sandbox or strategy games.
- OCD and trypophobia triggers (weight 0.03): The game can trigger obsessive behavior or discomfort for players with OCD or trypophobia, raising concerns about accessibility and player well-being.
- Platform content disparity (weight 0.03): Players note that the PC version of the game offers more content than the Xbox edition, leading to frustration among console players. This suggests an imbalance in cross-platform support.
- Weapon customization desired (weight 0.02): Players want more control over weapon sorting and customization, indicating a need for deeper personalization options in combat or inventory management.
- Community-driven solutions (weight 0.02): Players share solutions to in-game issues, demonstrating an active and collaborative community. This highlights the game's potential for player-driven improvements.
- Resource regrowth mechanics (weight 0.02): Resources regrow over time if left unattended, which may impact gameplay balance or strategy. Players may appreciate this feature or find it frustrating depending on their playstyle.
- Modding focuses on skins (weight 0.02): The modding community primarily creates skin mods, suggesting limited depth in modding capabilities or a lack of interest in more complex modifications.
- Completionist goals (weight 0.02): Some players aim for 100% completion, indicating the game offers enough content or challenges to encourage thorough exploration and replayability.
- Developer's inspiring story (weight 0.02): Some players highlight the developer's personal story as inspiring, which may positively influence their perception of the game despite other criticisms.
- Moderate game size (weight 0.02): Players describe the game's size as 'Old Fashioned,' indicating it is neither too large nor too small. This feedback may reflect nostalgia or a preference for classic game scales.
- EULA and Steam policy debates (weight 0.02): Discussions about the End User License Agreement (EULA) and Steam's enforcement policies reflect concerns about platform restrictions or legal issues, rather than gameplay.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.25): Players experience frustration primarily due to excessive grind, bugs, and poor late-game design. Key issues include tedious crafting times, repetitive resource gathering, and unresolved performance problems like crashes and save file corruption. Mechanics such as drone obstruction, lack of automation, and unclear progression paths exacerbate the grind, while abandoned updates and unaddressed bugs amplify dissatisfaction.
- Disappointment (weight 0.14): Disappointment stems from the game's abandonment, lack of polish, and unmet expectations. Players criticize the repetitive late-game content, unresolved bugs, and absence of updates, which make the game feel incomplete. The grind-heavy progression, poor value for money, and underdeveloped mechanics (e.g., combat, dungeons) further contribute to the sense of wasted potential and investment.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.12): Players feel satisfied due to the game's rewarding progression, automation mechanics, and balanced gameplay loop. The sense of accomplishment from unlocking new content, completing achievements, and optimizing resource management is highlighted. Despite flaws, the game's relaxing pace, strategic depth, and polished early-to-mid-game experience provide a fulfilling experience for many.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.11): Enjoyment is driven by the game's engaging progression, puzzles, and cozy atmosphere. Players appreciate the constant sense of advancement, diverse gameplay elements (e.g., dungeon exploration, artifact discovery), and the meditative quality of resource management. The early-to-mid-game experience, visual appeal, and satisfying grind mechanics are frequently praised.
- Excitement (weight 0.07): Excitement arises from the game's addictive progression, exploration, and sense of discovery. Players are hooked by the freedom to build, automate, and uncover new islands or content. The fast-paced yet rewarding gameplay loop, combined with nostalgic references and immersive mechanics, creates a highly engaging experience that encourages long play sessions.
- Amusement (weight 0.04): Amusement is derived from the game's humor, charm, and creative features. Players enjoy small tasks with witty descriptions, Easter eggs, and exaggerated gameplay elements. The chaotic yet endearing protagonist, comparisons to other games (e.g., Terraria), and lighthearted achievements add a layer of fun that balances the grind.
- Addiction (weight 0.03): The game's addictive nature is attributed to its compulsive progression loop, automation mechanics, and immersive gameplay. Players report losing track of time due to the constant sense of advancement, resource regrowth, and the satisfaction of optimizing systems. The engaging grind and exploration mechanics create a highly replayable experience.
- Boredom (weight 0.03): Boredom sets in during the late game due to repetitive tasks, lack of meaningful content, and excessive AFK farming. Players criticize the hollow endgame, tedious achievements (e.g., grinding money), and sluggish gameplay pace. The absence of new challenges or updates makes prolonged play feel monotonous and unrewarding.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.02): Nostalgia is evoked by the game's references to childhood favorites, comparisons to classic indie games (e.g., Minecraft mods), and the comforting gameplay loop. Players reminisce about past experiences with similar games, finding emotional resonance in the game's mechanics and aesthetic.
- Recommendation (weight 0.01): Players recommend the game based on its scope, design, and positive early-to-mid-game experience. The engaging progression, strategic depth, and overall enjoyment outweigh flaws for many, leading to strong endorsements for those who enjoy grinding, automation, and exploration.
- Relaxation (weight 0.01): The game provides relaxation through its casual, pressure-free gameplay and soothing atmosphere. Players enjoy the lack of time limits, the meditative quality of resource management, and the ability to play at their own pace while listening to music or unwinding.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Anger is directed at the developer for neglecting the game, leaving critical bugs unresolved (e.g., power plants breaking, save file corruption), and abandoning updates. Players feel betrayed by the unfinished state, poor design choices, and lack of communication, which tarnish the overall experience.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.01): Enthusiasm is fueled by the game's addictive growth mechanics, multitasking opportunities, and sense of endless possibilities. Players are excited by the freedom to expand, automate, and explore, often praising the game's ability to keep them engaged for hours on end.
- Engagement (weight 0.01): Engagement stems from the game's immersive progression, from basic resource gathering to full automation. Players lose track of time due to the satisfying gameplay loop, constant sense of advancement, and the depth of systems to optimize and explore.
- Sadness (weight 0.01): Sadness arises from the game's abandonment, as players feel the potential for updates and improvements has been wasted. The reliance on mods to fix issues and the lack of developer support create a sense of loss for a game that once brought joy.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion is caused by unclear mechanics, such as UI element removal, resource acquisition, and achievement requirements. Players struggle with the lack of tutorials, ambiguous progression paths, and the game's failure to explain core systems, leading to frustration and a steep learning curve.
- Hope (weight 0.01): Hope persists for future updates, sequels, or multiplayer functionality. Players express desire for polished late-game content, bug fixes, and expanded mechanics, believing the game's foundation has strong potential despite its current flaws.
- Regret (weight 0.01): Regret surfaces from missed opportunities, such as not giving the game a fair chance earlier or making irreversible mistakes (e.g., destroying structures, losing progress). Players lament wasted time or resources due to poor decisions or game design oversights.
- Joy (weight 0.01): Joy is derived from discovering new recipes, optimizing skills, and appreciating the game's charming pixel art and animations. Small victories, such as completing tasks or unlocking content, contribute to a delightful and uplifting experience.
- Pride (weight 0.01): Pride comes from significant achievements, such as earning platinum status or investing substantial playtime. Players take pride in their accomplishments, the game's creation by an Argentine developer, and the sense of mastery over its complex systems.}