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Pardon the dust! This page includes some jargon that hasn't been added to the site's glossary yet. I'll be around to fix this later, but sorry for the inconvenience in the meantime. |
Review: Forager
At a Glance
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How to Save and Pause:There are several save slots to choose between, and the autosave feature will keep track of anything you do. The autosave can sometimes be triggered manually by opening and closing your inventory, allowing you to save on demand despite there not being an option for it. On the other hand, there isn't an actual pause feature.. It's possible to mimic one by bringing up your skill menu, as time does not pass while this menu is up, but the lack of a dedicated pause function is an issue for many players. Time needed per session:Plan on playing for long periods of time - possibly even over an hour - as there's a lot to do in this little world. Give yourself even more time if you're planning on exploring the Void, as you can't stop while you're in there.
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Does this game pose issues for Christian players?
 | No - this is a great game for Christians Although there's some family-friendly combat and different types of magic in this game, there's not really anything serious enough to concern Christian players. |
Screenshots
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/forager_0.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/forager_1.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/forager_2.jpg)
Game Overview
Games revolving around crafting and basic survival are all the rage these days, and it's easy to see why - building up a thriving industry from sticks and stones is a lot of fun! Forager is yet another one of these games, though it has its own unique flavor. Part of this comes from the fact that it began life as an entry in a game jam. This meant that there wasn't time to flesh out an elaborate plan or story, and the result is a game that feels energetic and arcadey. Of course, once the game jam was over, the developer was free to give the game the attention it needed to flourish.
Unlike a lot of survival games, this one takes place on a grid made up of small islands. You'll always start in the center island with your trusty pickaxe, but the exact location of the other islands is randomized. All you can be sure about them is that there will be snow to the north, badlands to the south, graveyards to the west, and the desert to the east. Also, you can't just go exploring immediately - in order to access a new island, you must first gather enough coins to purchase it. Fortunately, gathering coins is straightforward. You can either sell goods to a Market, build Banks to manage investments, or just mint them directly.
Not only do new islands provide you with new resources and places to build, most of them also contain a puzzle, structure, NPC, or other unique centerpiece. Solving these puzzles or helping the people living there will reward you with a treasure of some sort, like a large or small chest. Small chests usually just contain coins and gems, but large chests contain special treasures that will permanently grant buffs and make the game easier. The catch is, the large chests are locked up tight - you'll need to make a key before you can open them.
In the meantime, more resources will regularly spawn all over the available land, and you can wander about harvesting them with your pickaxe. But, monsters can also spawn on open land. This tends to happen on islands that are some distance away, but there's nothing stopping them from appearing out of thin air while you're waiting on some machinery to work. Monsters can attack you, your buildings, or even passive animals that sometimes spawn, so at some point you'll need to fashion increasingly powerful swords to defend yourself. Each type of enemy also drops useful loot, giving you another reason to hunt them down.
Once you've made enough progress with your little empire, you'll be able to open a portal to the Void. This is a dim alternate world filled with monsters of varying types, including bosses. You also can't just explore as you please - in order to stay in the Void, you'll need to clear each area of monsters before a timer runs out. Only then can you freely wander about. The resources found here are needed to craft the late game items and power the endgame machinery, so frequent trips to the Void will become the norm as time goes on. But, if you're not ready to use them yet, most of them sell for a decent price, making trips to the Void a great way to earn some quick cash.
Sadly, while this engaging game is a lot of fun, there are some notable problems. While nothing will cause the game to outright crash, there are some unpatched bugs, and unfortunately, there seems to be some behind the scenes drama going on. Until that's resolved, it's unlikely that these bugs will be fixed soon.
Still, if you're willing to put up with the occasional hiccup, Forager's unique take on the resource gathering genre makes it worth a look, especially for fans of other crafting games like Minecraft or Terraria.
Unlike a lot of survival games, this one takes place on a grid made up of small islands. You'll always start in the center island with your trusty pickaxe, but the exact location of the other islands is randomized. All you can be sure about them is that there will be snow to the north, badlands to the south, graveyards to the west, and the desert to the east. Also, you can't just go exploring immediately - in order to access a new island, you must first gather enough coins to purchase it. Fortunately, gathering coins is straightforward. You can either sell goods to a Market, build Banks to manage investments, or just mint them directly.
Not only do new islands provide you with new resources and places to build, most of them also contain a puzzle, structure, NPC, or other unique centerpiece. Solving these puzzles or helping the people living there will reward you with a treasure of some sort, like a large or small chest. Small chests usually just contain coins and gems, but large chests contain special treasures that will permanently grant buffs and make the game easier. The catch is, the large chests are locked up tight - you'll need to make a key before you can open them.
In the meantime, more resources will regularly spawn all over the available land, and you can wander about harvesting them with your pickaxe. But, monsters can also spawn on open land. This tends to happen on islands that are some distance away, but there's nothing stopping them from appearing out of thin air while you're waiting on some machinery to work. Monsters can attack you, your buildings, or even passive animals that sometimes spawn, so at some point you'll need to fashion increasingly powerful swords to defend yourself. Each type of enemy also drops useful loot, giving you another reason to hunt them down.
Once you've made enough progress with your little empire, you'll be able to open a portal to the Void. This is a dim alternate world filled with monsters of varying types, including bosses. You also can't just explore as you please - in order to stay in the Void, you'll need to clear each area of monsters before a timer runs out. Only then can you freely wander about. The resources found here are needed to craft the late game items and power the endgame machinery, so frequent trips to the Void will become the norm as time goes on. But, if you're not ready to use them yet, most of them sell for a decent price, making trips to the Void a great way to earn some quick cash.
Sadly, while this engaging game is a lot of fun, there are some notable problems. While nothing will cause the game to outright crash, there are some unpatched bugs, and unfortunately, there seems to be some behind the scenes drama going on. Until that's resolved, it's unlikely that these bugs will be fixed soon.
Still, if you're willing to put up with the occasional hiccup, Forager's unique take on the resource gathering genre makes it worth a look, especially for fans of other crafting games like Minecraft or Terraria.
Points of Interest
Four Game Modes
Once you've proven your mettle by completing thirteen Feats in the normal game mode, you'll unlock three additional ways to play. These include a Hard Mode, which pits you against more dangerous enemies and makes progression more difficult, and a Speedrun mode, which just adds a timer. The final mode, Island Challenge, disables your ability to purchase more islands. In this mode, your goal is simply to acquire your various tools as quickly as possible.
Lots of costumes
Costumes are unlocked by helping NPCs and completing tasks. Once collected, you can equip them by visiting the Druid's tree house and interacting with his closet. There are four costume slots - head, wings, body, and backpack - allowing for a lot of possible designs. Many of the costumes are also nods to other indie games, such as Shovel Knight and Hollow Knight.
Tons of things to do
Most of the quests given by NPCs involve bringing them specific items, which is simple enough. However, there are also many puzzles that will tax your logical thinking skills and several dungeons to clear. There are also a slew of bosses to summon and conquer, things to make, and content to unlock. This isn't a short game by any stretch, so be ready to put a lot of time into it.
Steam Community Features
There is a set of Steam trading cards available for Forager, but it's a safe bet that more players will be interested in collecting its 103 achievements. Most of them are earned by reaching milestones, such as buying so many islands, finding certain treasures, or solving a specific puzzle. But, more than a few require you to complete more difficult tasks, like gathering up an obscene amount of money or complete every collection in the museum.
Additionally, there's support for the Steam Workshop, and from the looks of it, fans have been quite busy! There are over eleven pages of fanmade mods available, giving you everything from new recipes and items to fancier costumes and quality of life improvements.
Additionally, there's support for the Steam Workshop, and from the looks of it, fans have been quite busy! There are over eleven pages of fanmade mods available, giving you everything from new recipes and items to fancier costumes and quality of life improvements.
Lengthy wait times
It takes time for your buildings to craft items. The more complex the item, the longer it takes. While things like bricks, iron bars, and cooked fish are done in moments, late game items take several minutes each. This can leave you with nothing to do but wait for the items to cook, and that's kind of boring. Note that your buildings don't continue to work while you're visiting the Void or other area, so you're stuck in the overworld.
Slightly unfinished
As good as this game is, there are still some rough patches around the edges that really should be smoothed out in future versions. One example being the way your skills don't automatically start working when you resume a saved game. You can see this in practice with the Calciverous skill. It allows you to consume rocks and other minerals as if they were food, which is a great way to side-step the usual problems of keeping food stocked. However, you won't be able to eat a single stone until you view your skills after resuming your game.
Recently, the developer also canceled a promised multiplayer game mode, which did not sit well with the game's fans. To be fair, this is the developer's first big game, and it seems that they simply overextended themselves when promising that feature.
Recently, the developer also canceled a promised multiplayer game mode, which did not sit well with the game's fans. To be fair, this is the developer's first big game, and it seems that they simply overextended themselves when promising that feature.
Concerns and Issues
Mild violence
Combat in this game generally revolves around smacking a monster with a sword until its health runs out and it disappears in a puff of smoke. Should your health drop to zero, you'll also disappear with a pop, though you'll also lose any progress you made since your last save. Passive creatures, like cows and chickens, can also be killed (ie, hunted) for leather, meat, and other products that you can use for crafting.
Of particular note are a group of giant talking beets, who exist on one of the grassland islands. You can kill them for food, but this is optional. Creepily enough, if you attack them (deliberately or not) they'll cry out and ask you to stop hurting them. They will not respawn if killed, so mind your pickaxe when you're nearby.
Of particular note are a group of giant talking beets, who exist on one of the grassland islands. You can kill them for food, but this is optional. Creepily enough, if you attack them (deliberately or not) they'll cry out and ask you to stop hurting them. They will not respawn if killed, so mind your pickaxe when you're nearby.
Magic and Monsters
There are a number of magical scrolls and abilities the player may use to aid them in their tasks. These include spells to summon resources, turn resources into animals, increase experience gained through activities, and so on. Potions can be made or found, and it's possible to magically transmute some items into other types of materials.
Many of the monsters are also magical in nature, such as elementals or daemons. Skeletons are probably the most common monster, as they spawn during the night, in the Void, and when a gravestone is broken. Faeries are also commonplace, and can heal the player or even be caught and used as a crafting ingredient.
Many of the monsters are also magical in nature, such as elementals or daemons. Skeletons are probably the most common monster, as they spawn during the night, in the Void, and when a gravestone is broken. Faeries are also commonplace, and can heal the player or even be caught and used as a crafting ingredient.
Gambling
One of the skills players can unlock, aptly named "Gambling", allows the player to build slot machines and play them for coins, potions, and other items. This is entirely optional, and is not required to complete the game, though some stricter players may object to their presence.