Recent reviews by Rixatrix

What a relaxing, cute game! It kind of gives me Sims and Stardew Valley vibes, but without the stresses of time crunches etc. - I don't think I've played a game this chill since Flower.

The overall vibe is cute, cozy, inclusive, and diverse. The graphics feel very Nintendo Wii or Switch, colorful and cute. Ditto the soundtrack. The voices are like Animal Crossing (not really spoken/voiced). The gameplay is relaxing, mostly running around and exploring, petting or recruiting animals, meeting townsfolk and doing errands for them, and customizing your character and cafe. The odd element out was the cooking/baking minigame. It involves your character being shrunk and assembling all the components and going various minigame tasks, such as throwing, catching, rolling (and very weirdly, a pool game for the tart recipe). For one, there was a bug preventing the completion of the cake recipe - you can't jump off the hamster wheel to put the second cake layer in the oven. I hope the developers fix this! But in general, the odd part was that the cooking minigame involved some elements that take away from the relaxing vibe of the game - repetitive tasks that are scored, with some like the pool table for the tart recipe being downright frustrating.

Otherwise...

Pros:
+ Highly customizable character creation (you can make fem, masc, and enby looks using sliders and options)
+ Cute, relaxing atmosphere and aesthetic
+ Adorable animals to invite to your cafe!
+ Fun magical elements (such as shrinking/enlarging animals, broom riding, other potions)
+ Whimsical elements that are pleasant to find (like giant cats, magical cats, break-dancing cat people, etc.)
+ Areas have distinct aesthetics and variety of characters and animals
+ Fun accessorizing for your character and cafe

Cons:
- Bug preventing completion of the cake recipe!!!
- Some characters having noticeably less content (for example, Steve)
- Not enough quests. The game "ends" in less than 10 hours (although not necessarily with the credits, but when you 3-star all the townspeople on the first tab, and they run out of quests). Just giving a reason to run around and opportunities to earn money besides the cafe would be nice postgame. I'm not sure how complicated it would be to implement even a radiant quest system ("Bring X some cupcakes" or "Deliver this thingy to Y"), but it would breathe a lot of life into the postgame.

Wish List:
* More content. Aside from the quest part I mentioned above that would extend playability, just more content in general would be excellent. I understand the game is developed by a small team, and I would totally pony up the cash for DLC. Personally, I'd love to see:
1. More townsfolk.
2. Maybe some festivals a la Stardew Valley?
3. Maybe some traveling traders with seasonal items?
4. More visitors to the cafe?
5. Special themed days/parties at the cafe?
6. Animal playdates? (Some characters mention wanting to bring animals to the cafe to play.)
7. Maybe even a photo mode that allows you to hang up your photos in your cafe?
8. Being able to enter characters' homes when you befriend them to learn more about them
9. More clothes items/accessories for your character (such as items the NPCs have)
10. Heck, even a cafe expansion tool/mode.

* Fixing some animal animations, like the horse getting caught on the fence (yikes!), or animals getting thrashed when you walk through them, etc.

* Friendship and Romance mechanics! It'd be amazing if you could invite characters for cake/coffee and chitchat, give them gifts, garden together, etc. Imagine if Ash could give you a spooky matching friendship bracelet, or if you and Freya could fly around together, have a spa day at the onsen with Lumi?

Overall, I really enjoyed this game and wish I could come back to it for more content. I hope the developers continue working on it and sell some DLC! If you're looking to de-stress and just enjoy some cuteness, I highly recommend this game.

What initially drew me to Cinders was the combination of the female protagonist, visual novel category, and the lovely artwork. From the looks of it, Cinders seemed like it would be a wonderful game, and it definitely delivered! I just started my second playthrough, and I have been loving every minute of gameplay.

First, I absolutely must rave about the gorgeous art by Gracjana Zielinska! The character designs were unique and stunning, and the backgrounds were lavish and interesting. I loved how little details would appear or move in the background - that gave the graphics a "little something" extra to catch the eye! I could not get enough of the beautiful visuals and tried to research if she had done work on other games. I found out about Solstice, a mystery thriller visual novel coming soon, and Phantasmat, a hidden objects game. I am much more into visual novels, but the artwork alone is compelling me to give Phantasmat a chance also!

Second, the gameplay placed player choice front and center, and especially in a visual novel, I appreciated this greatly. Choices were frequent and truly affected the story; the "Rewards" section from the game's menu lets you see how many of the variants you've explored to the ending, and in my ending, I've only explored 25% so far, so there is still a lot for me to experience! I did do some saving/loading to see what would happen with certain choices and was very pleased with the level of difference I discovered. In addition, certain choices add adornments to the menu page - this made game progress even more exciting because I wanted to see what else would be added where. :) ... and it brought out the completionist in me! I am excited to unlock all the endings and as many variants as I can.

Third, the characters were unpredictably rich. Coming into a fairytale-inspired game, I expected the same character tropes, but while the characters were similarly-situated, they were far deeper than the superficial Cindarella cast I was used to! Cinders, for example, can be played to be quite pragmatic, or pig-headed, or honest, or devious, or a mix of the aforementioned, and based on my ending, I think the choice of these traits truly affects the outcome of the game. Madame Ghede was a favorite character of mine - I wanted to know so much more about her! She was enigmatic and wise, revealing a hint of the effects of what seemed to me a very detailed life. The stepmother (Carmosa) and step-sisters (Sophia and Gloria) were also multi-faceted, and there was more than meets the eye to Captain Perrault, as well.

The game's soundtrack suited it perfectly -- it was not overbearing, but rather complementary. Chimes indicated decisions, and subtle pieces (like at the Lake) would round out an enchanting experience. I wish the soundtrack had been included in a bundle because it would be a wonderful way to relax. :)

If you like visual novels, female protagonists, gorgeous artwork, fairytales, lots of choice that affects the ending, and a hint of romance, I highly recommend this game. If you adore Gracjana Zielinska's artwork (like I now do), you should also check out the upcoming visual novel from the same developer (Moacube) Solstice and the hidden objects game from Big Fish, Phantasmat. Enjoy!