STEAM STAXEL MODS SERIES
I’m all for complexity in crafting/life-sim games the likes of Minecraft, Stardew Valley, and the Rune Factory series have all eaten up ridiculous amounts of my life. Unfortunately, the issue only becomes more pronounced later on in the game as more blueprints and complex materials (which can be extremely difficult to find) are required. More confusion followed when the stations that were introduced to me in the tutorial did not appear to include a combining station, which led to more aimless wandering until I realized the station was sold by the building supply shop in the town center. It wasn’t until I finally gave in and looked at a wiki that I finally realized that the reason I couldn’t complete the box at the assembly station, was because it required me to instead use a combining station. To make this “simple” box, you have to carry out actions at no less than three different stations, with the game providing no real indication as to what stations you need to use. One of the objects, a bait box, requires some bugs, and a simple box. You’re given a set of blueprints needed to make the objects required for the fishing post to be deemed complete. Take, for example, an early-game quest that tasks you with making a fishing spot. The sheer volume of stations isn’t an issue in itself, the issue is that crafting even the simplest of objects and structures often requires you to make use of many stations, with little to no explanation as to how these interact. Between the stations that are required for crafting building materials and those that are required for crafting cooking ingredients, I counted no less than a dozen different crafting stations.
Nowhere is this convolution more evident than the crafting system for an experience that presents itself as a relaxing life sim, crafting in Staxel is frequently nothing less than an exercise in frustration.
You’re perhaps reading this and thinking, “okay, so the game isn’t Minecraft, not everything has to offer that same sense of scale and scope.” I absolutely agree, but unfortunately, exploration and world diversity isn’t the only area Staxel finds itself either lacking or needlessly convoluted. Staxel lacks any of that unpredictability, or sense of scale, so small in scope is the environment you find yourself in. With something like Minecraft, one of my favorite things to do is to just pick a direction and set off, unsure of what delights or horrors await. It’s less going on a grand adventure to explore an expansive uncharted world, and more stepping out to take a look around the back garden of a new house you have just moved into. There is no denying that the thrill of being dropped into an unfamiliar land is there at first, however you will soon realize that the world you inhabit is microscopic and suffering from a lack of diversity in terms of biomes. Unfortunately, that sense of adventure soon waned, however, and likely will with you also once you realize that pretty much every facet of this game has been perfected by other entries in the life sim/crafting/farming space. You also pick up quests at a decent pace, taking you through the game’s core mechanics from farming, to building and forming relationships with the town’s residents. Those initial couple of hours spent wandering around the world and introducing myself to the villagers actually filled me with the hope that I had stumbled across my next time sink.
I was initially swept away by how adorable it all looks, with its Minecraft-inspired visuals and delightful little town packed with villagers and shops. To be fair to Staxel, it makes a decent first impression.
STEAM STAXEL MODS PATCH
You know the set-up your avatar is presented with a disheveled and dilapidated farm, and it’s your job to bring this crusty patch of land back to something altogether more homely, and most importantly, profitable. It’s just that it lacks any sense of originality or personality that might aid in masking how derivative it all is. I should add, that Staxel is far from a terrible game. What do you get if you add Stardew Valley, Minecraft, and Animal Crossing into a blender, but forget to add the charm and accessibility that made those games so successful? Well, unfortunately, the answer is the rather bland Staxel.
0 kommentar(er)
