I played the prologue and the first two versions after that, but I decided to wait for a while until the management system and the rest settles in. I gave it another go just a few days ago, and while it is enjoyable, some aspects need some serious revamp in order to smoothen the gameplay out.
- I'm used to the hard grind aspect in these games in the beginning (even tho I'm anything but a fan), but here it's especially tedious. Raising the stats, keeping an eye out for the slow income, the slow earn fate points is quite the deep water for those whos only getting familiar with these type of games. Slow transitions and the resting or working images repeating doesn't help the speed of the process at all. If we saw one already, like one of them resting, or cleaning or something, it should be skipped like when the guests are there for a second time on a level where you cleared them to perfection.
- Actions between time frames (exploring, checking, etc) become sort of pointless at times when there isn't anything to do anyway, only slowing the speed again, a skip to the next time button only would be a great addition. The random generated chance of locations are also like this, it would be much better if we could choose to what to do during an exploration for example or where to go. If we go to the woods, we could choose between the gnome, the well and the cave, or at the manor we could do the story progressing exploration, or where we search the attic. I don't mind the attic having an rng chance of giving an item, but pairing with the fact that even finding the attic is rng, it does get annoying. Same goes for the well for example, at level 3, I'd rather just go straight there to "donate", since that is a must as I experienced, than having random meetings with an item seller that isn't even selling anything, or going to the cave that will have a role at sometime in the future.
- Since I haven't followed the development phases closely, I'm not sure if it's intentional or not, but right now most of the level 3 guests are a great middle finger for the players. Even with a mostly maxed out staff (Lara doesn't have massage at 3 yet), several guests were unsatisfiable even with the correct choices, like Sister Walsh, the rich latino women, or even the sunglasses dude. I had the sauna item for Riley, while she was already level 3, but it was impossible to reach the necessary amount of points for them to be satisfied, and they soon left. That's also bad with Laura, because unless you put her to training, which again has an rng chance to boost a stat, way too much rng by the way, she simply fails most of the massage tasks. Either she and the rest of the latecomers needs to have better base stats on areas that will be unlocked at higher levels, or curb the requirement for the guests, otherwise it's a cycle of failure.
- In addition to my previous point, sure, there are items and cards that will boost your performance, but items are again highly rng, and we don't have the item buying option yet, while the progression for fate points is über slow, and finding the well is random again. By the way I'm not sure if it's intentional or not, but first time I could only donate 1k to the well, and in this update when I found it again I didn't had the 10k option. Thing is though, if having booster fate cards are a must already at level 3, even with items and highest stats, then either the points we get from a guest should be much higher, or there shouldn't be 3 different level of cards to choose from. Level 3 guests at this point are pretty much unplayable with the current format, so either the level difficulty should be revamped, or the item-fate point.
I generally liked the game, not as much as I did MoTH yet, but if these aspects will keep up, many will quit after a while or starts cheating left and right with different methods, not only with the key file that is on patreon.
Ps.: Please don't repeat the Claire thing from MoTH with Julia, she was my favorite and that therapist plotline really ruined her overall story arc, kinda hope Kay won't serve the same purpose.
