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Dec. 23rd, 2020 11:42 pmPicked up the game Calico on a whim, and by Maude if this review doesn't say just about everything I would. The only major difference is that I seem to have run into some very bad glitches, to the point where it took me two restarts to get through one of the early main quests. I've since run into some other glitches and problems, and am currently dealing with a glitch where two of the quests I'm on are ...not complete-able? (The one with the rainbow buns and the one with the fashionable pigeons; all of the animals I'm supposed to round up and/or interact with have vanished. Which I'm not sure is an improvement on only one animal from each group not showing up at all.) And I can't seem to expand my map past the first major expansion, either. I can get to the onsen and Cutie City, but that's it.
There's also a minor issue where, while you have the option to give your character a cloth head-covering in the style of a hijab, your default clothing options are shorts, a short-sleeved t-shirt, and what amount to loafers; modest options are available for purchase at the clothing store in town, but what's available tends to change on a day-to-day basis, so it could take a few tries before your character can be properly covered (if that is an option you want). Additionally, the cooking system (and you need to cook things to advance the plot) is powered by magic, which could also be a problem for any Muslim players looking to see themselves in the game.
There is some other fun representation stuff going on in the early game; there's a sapphic couple in the first town who have been together for over three years, and one of the characters you need to help you get through the first "major" quest is nonbinary. The character design options also let you be actually fat, which is pretty nice.
Now that I've figured out a lot of the controls, though, I'm actually having a pretty good time? It's mostly the glitches getting in my way at the moment, I think.
Anyway, it's cute, it's fun, but for new players, the learning curve and the glitches are probably not worth it.
There's also a minor issue where, while you have the option to give your character a cloth head-covering in the style of a hijab, your default clothing options are shorts, a short-sleeved t-shirt, and what amount to loafers; modest options are available for purchase at the clothing store in town, but what's available tends to change on a day-to-day basis, so it could take a few tries before your character can be properly covered (if that is an option you want). Additionally, the cooking system (and you need to cook things to advance the plot) is powered by magic, which could also be a problem for any Muslim players looking to see themselves in the game.
There is some other fun representation stuff going on in the early game; there's a sapphic couple in the first town who have been together for over three years, and one of the characters you need to help you get through the first "major" quest is nonbinary. The character design options also let you be actually fat, which is pretty nice.
Now that I've figured out a lot of the controls, though, I'm actually having a pretty good time? It's mostly the glitches getting in my way at the moment, I think.
Anyway, it's cute, it's fun, but for new players, the learning curve and the glitches are probably not worth it.
