Developers: Kela van der Deijl
Mail Time was introduced to me via tiktok, a couple of my friends sent me videos, since then I've kept my eye on it awaiting any new updates or any inkling of a demo release which didn't take too long to happen. As soon as I saw I could download the demo I rushed to Steam to download it. The game takes place is a gorgeous cottagecore forest called Grumblewood Grove. it's full of creatures who are welcoming and in need of help, your character must explore and make deliveries high and low. Developers have gone above and beyond to create a game that is not only relaxing but also aesthetically pleasing, the mix of 2D and 3D elements in the game shows that the game how the game can showcase two different styles and get them to work together beautifully.
You're given a very important job to do,you've been tasked to make deliveries, you can choose how to execute your plan whilst exploring, alongside you there is a little bumble bee to keep you company on your rounds (I LOVE THEM), for me I would explore each section I came across until I couldn't explore any more then I moved on to the next part of Grumblewood Grove. Now bare in mind this is only a demo but they provided us with a nice chunk of the woods to explore and within that gameplay I come to love how the developers made use of high and low places. Players can not only jump, bounce and skip but we can also glide from one high place to another or just glide across a stream to find a new resident waiting for us.
There is a scout book guide which holds your badges, shows your progress and also shows what requirements you need for badges, it's clear and easy to understand which is what I like to see in games this can be accessed in the menu. Mail Time allows players to use pronouns, i chose she/her, implementing this is a great way to help players feel represented and showcase themselves in game. The feature I loved playing with the most was creating my character, by using a slider to choose your hair and skin colour there are thousands of different combinations a player can choose from, along with this and the 6 different elements to customise your character you can make them represent not only your own hair and skin colour but also the colours you love.
The accessibility settings are what stood out most to me, the fact that they care about their players experience makes me so happy inside, they have followed the game accessibility guide to make gaming a pleasant experiences for their supporters, they have included:
- Camera Assist - camera will dynamically turn with the player with whatever movement the player is doing.
- Automatic camera Reset - which allows the players who have difficulty reframing the camera to have it done automatically with the click of a button.
- Camera Lock - a great feature for players who find it difficult to move the camera and background movement gets too much, it puts the player in the forefront so they can concentrate solely on them.
- Directional dialogue - this is so the player can choose what side they want the dialogue, if the player is on the left of the screen the writing will show up on that side too.
- Colour Coded Characters - This is an interesting choice and stops any confusion when it comes to trying to remember who is who. Each character is associated with a colour this colour is referenced when they talk and at any given time they're mentioned in the game.
- Dialogue Portraits - this is a very interesting one to me as emotion is sometimes hard to get across but with the use of this it allows players to get a better understanding of what that emotion may be along with the characters portrait.
From just looking at the Kickstarter page you can see how much love has gone into creating a game that players will want to sink their teeth into, I'm waiting patiently to explore and discover the 8 different areas I will need to deliver mail to in Grumblewood Grove, I can't wait to meet all the characters and see what they have to say along with what secrets I may come across. I was hoping this would be available on Mac to play as I currently use Steam on my Mac, and was pleasantly surprised it was, the demo is available to play on Steam now so what are you waiting for, go download it! As of now there isn't a set date for release but if you want to keep up on updates be sure to check out their website HERE. Just a little update, my friend has told me it will be coming to Switch which I'm ecstatic about!
Have a cosy day
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