Recent reviews by Paladin_Vance

I was going to wait until I had a bit more time before making a call, but then I had a run where my Chainsaw was spawning exploding watermelons, while I was somehow calling in orbital strikes to the inside of a house, that also has a sunken ship inside.

While still Early Access, if this game follows through with everything planned, and it has the same polish as what's already available, this is 100% on track.

Lots of QoL compared to others of the genre (with a few seeming like the looked at popular Stardew mods and just added them to the vanilla game)
NPCs on the map, being able to shop even if the shopkeeper isn't there, Animal Crossing style fishing (I can't do Stardew's fishing to save my life) are just a few
And having just reached Winter, I am amazed that it feels like a regular season. It has it's own crops, animals can still go outside, it's great.

Corny as it sounds, my biggest issue at this point is just the stuff that's not finished. If you're a fan of cozy/comfy farming games, this deserves a look and then some.

A small, but highly enjoyable package. Nails the aesthetics and the puzzles are the right level of feeling 'old-school' but not so obtuse you go insane.
I haven't gone back for better ranks or Hard mode yet, but they exist if you want more than one run, and I can see speed runs being interesting (not that I'm capable, but w/e)
Honestly, if you're even the least bit interested or curious, try the demo, kind of what they're there for?

While I'm still a 'souls' noob, this was a fantastic game. And anyone who enjoyed Bloodborne specifically, owes it to themselves to give it a shot.
I don't often 100% games these days, so that should say a lot.

I've seen the term 'souls-lite' to describe this game, and with my limited experience in the genre(Elden Ring and Code Vein, neither finished yet), I'd say that fits.
The HUD, overall feel of combat and weapon progression are familiar, with the big difference that character leveling in separate, with a more traditional exp system. This exp is not lost in any manner on death, so it feels less punishing to die. And in addition, you only lose some 'Stardust' (the money side) on death, although it is instantly gone, and not dropped.
The game as a whole feels more forgiving than the other games I mentioned, which, combined with the exp, make this feel like a good option for someone whose intimidated by the genre, and can scratch the itch of veterans that want a slightly 'tamer' experience.
A few negatives though.
Lack of a map, no mini-map, nothing, can make it frustrating to get from point A to B.
Side quest tracking, made more obvious by the prior issue, it can be a chore to remember what side quests you have active, and where/what you need to do.

Do you like dying? Good, you will.
Best Respawn Simulator I've played in a while.

Obvioulsy, there's a degree of masochism in playing games like these, but at the same time, quite a sense of satisfaction when you finally clear that 'ONE' jump, after letting a pile of 20 corpses accumulate.