I finally have time for a 2024 update on Spritelady's gaming experiences! I've actually played quite a few games so far this year, at least by my standards and in light of the fact that I also seem to have A Lot going on at any one time.
I started and quickly completed
Wylde Flowers, a cute and cosy farming sim where you play as a witch and attempt to bridge the gap between the local coven and the townsfolk.
Mechanically, it's rather like Stardew Valley in many ways, but the focus of the game is almost completely different. There is no combat in WF the way that the mines allow for in SV, and the focus is almost entirely on befriending locals and advancing the main story (alongside many weird and wonderful side quests). You meet a fantastic array of people, from a range of backgrounds and with diverse personalities.
One of my favourite elements of the game is that all the recipes that you can learn to cook come from an incredible range of cuisines, most of which relate to the background of the villagers. I excitedly told my fiancé's mother that Bobotie (a South African recipe that she has made for us on more than one occasion) was craftable in the game. She told me she'd be rather more excited if I made it in the real world, alas(!), but it was still lovely to see so many countries represented in the game.
The diversity in the game generally is commendable in my opinion. It feels like they genuinely wanted to mix together a wonderful range of people and spent time developing them all, rather than simply throwing in a few 'minority' characters for the credit. I definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a chill game with an interesting story and enjoys growing flowers
Other notable mentions on the gaming front include playing through the main campaign of
Anno 1800, which I bought on sale and which is my first Anno game. I found it very enjoyable and hope to continue playing, possibly in Sandbox mode, at a later date.
I have also started, although not yet finished,
Link's Awakening on Switch, which I was given for Christmas. I'm enjoying it, although it's clear that I did not game much as a child and thus am less au fait with the logic that permeates earlier games. That said, I'm having fun with the various mechanics and don't feel too awful when I inevitably die because I am dreadful at real-time combat.
Finally, I am in fact playing
Palworld. Again, I'm enjoying it quite a lot (I quite deliberately put my settings on easy mode so that I didn't panic whenever I died) and a lot of it is quite cute. I am also coming to the conclusion that either I am a softie or my fiancé is a little bit psychotic, because I get quite upset if my Pals are sad or injured and devote a lot of time to petting them and being nice to them. My fiancé laughs whenever he butchers a Pal for its meat...