Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles

**EDIT: Since the most recent update, one of the biggest issues has been solved! Base crafting items are now craftable, which makes things SO much more convenient. Makes sense, and should have been a feature from the start! So for this I bump it up a star (trust me it was that big a deal)Believe me, I wanted to give this four stars (and when I first started playing this I was convinced I going to be giving it five).But unfortunately, the more you play it, the more irritating nit-picky little things become obvious. These nit-picky, fairly inoffensive annoyances turn into "why, why on Earth would anyone making a game make such a choice in their design?"By the way this review ended up being a lot more negative than I had even planned, I guess my biggest problem with it is that it had *so much* potential, so many great ideas executed very badly, that it just made me disappointed and annoyed. There's a good game under all the bad stuff and it's undoubtedly very charming, but poor design choices really let it down.The first time you explore most of the world and see all the different areas is AMAZING. The world is so beautiful and magical, with so many things to pick up and so many quests to pick up along the way. But once you've explored it all, and want to get back to, say, near the centre of the map...well, get ready for a long hike.Does the game have fast travel? Technically, yes. But their offering of a "fast travel" system is so utterly terrible, I almost want to say technically, no. As if it didn't exist, which it might as well not. You have Sage Stones placed throughout the map so you can teleport to each main area. Sounds good, right? Well, there are several catches:a) You have to find them first (which can be very difficult, these things seem to have been deliberately put in the most awkward places possible)b) You have to do a quest to unlock them. Having to go and collect a bunch of things or do a specific task before you can even use the damn thing is just plain silly; you could end up miles away by the time you've got the stuff, and guess what? You can't fast travel back there.c) Once you have them unlocked, and know where they are, it's hard to even find them again because they, like almost everything you need in this game is at the top of a hill or mountain with only one route to it that is hard to find.d) When you go through one, you are transported to a hub of Sage Stones, and from there you can walk into the others to get into the other areas. However, it's hard to tell which one takes you where, because it doesn't tell you, it just has a rough design of the environment it is in. Which is fine for the snowy mountain peak, but when basically all the others are based in some sort of grassy area, having to figure out which identical tree takes you to where you want to go is a *bit* annoying.e) They are just too far apart to be useful. If you see one near where you need to go, you will probably have to travel a similar distance just to get to the nearest Sage Stone to take you there, so it's not even worth it.There's another sort of way to teleport, via small platforms with either a sun or a moon on them, indicating that it is open at night or during the day. Again they are hard to get to and what with them only being useful half the time, they are also not worth it.Another huge problem, which is the main reason you'd mostly want to fast travel - here's an example. Let's say you know you have three leather strips stored in your farm chest. And someone faaaar away from any of your farms gives you a quest to get three pieces of leather. You have to go walking all the way just to get something for a simple quest, and back again. They should have made storage available in every town, because there are many, many items in the game, and a LOT of crafting recipes, so managing it all becomes quite difficult. It wouldn't have made the game too "easy" or anything, it would simply save many hours of constantly running backwards and forwards to get items.When I first joined a guild, I was buzzing so much about all the new things I could craft. Then I realised that they were all actually quite hard things to craft (needing hard to find/very limited items). But I thought oh, ok so maybe joining the other guilds will help me out and I'll be able to craft something for each category, and each one will complement the others....they sort of do. But not much. There are too many items that are hard to obtain that you need for crafting - for example in "construction" crafting you need a lot of mortar; I have found no way of making it myself and there are only a couple of traders who have it, and only a couple of units at a time.The way the character handles is a bit bizarre at times, it's fine until you have to do anything that involves jumping. If they are standing on a slope, they will get launched away from it, which mostly sends you into rivers or off cliffs. Or simply off the thing you've spent a minute trying to climb. They can't swim at all either, which means that if you land in water for like two seconds, you will be reset to just next to where you jumped from. Which is obviously not a huge deal but when the obviously quickest way is to jump over a little stream as opposed to walking all the way along it and over the hill or bridge or whatever, it gets annoying. The camera can be pretty horrible at times, sometimes your character literally goes out of sight because the camera has ridden up so high and close to them.So to get away from all the complaints, what does this game do well? Visuals. The game is absolutely stunning, the lighting effects are very atmospheric and cosy, and everything looks really pretty and magical. The music is pretty good too, as well as the sounds that complement the atmosphere and design of the game. Questing, if not for all the backtracking, would be really neat. It keeps you driven, and makes you want to play more and more. I quite like the way certain collectibles are hidden throughout the world, they are not put in ridiculously hard to find places, nor insanely easy, but just right, in a way that makes it a fun and rewarding challenge to find them all. The general charm of the game is one of the things that kept me going so adamantly, the little things like some of the funny things NPCs say, and outrageously adorable features like the umbrella letting you down from a fall gently. It makes me smile every time I see it!

This is a great game that is so easy to just pick up and play and get lost in the world doing whatever you want it dosnt make you feel like you have to rush the game you can play at your own speed and it would be great for all ages I would definitely recommend this to anyone.

A very relaxing game. There are no enemies here. Just you and the island. Loved the seasons, their one-off events (there's Halloween, for instance) and the characters. The scenery is simply stunning.It's hard to believe that this game runs on a multi-platform engine. You get the occasional stutter and framerate drop, but in general the graphics and sound are simply dazzling and mesmerising. The art style reminds me of the several cartoonish Zelda games, and indeed you also get equivalent dawn/dusk tunes kicking in.Getting all the cats can be challenging. Catching all the fish is frustrating due to how infrequently some of them appear, nevermind how tricky it is to catch them while avoiding the smaller fish.This is a beautiful game, it's not expensive and can be relaxing to play just before bedtime.

'Love, love, love this game. Superb graphics, and a delightful storyline. Just take your time and amble through the grasslands searching for items laying around, pick up and add to backpack; trade at certain stops on your journey, create a farm, build things, interact with the townsfolk. You can even fish to your hearts content....I could go on and on about this game....but that would spoil it. Definitely, in fact most definitely worth adding to your collection. I find it extremely addictive and a joy to play, plus there is NO VIOLENCE which for me is a plus.

I'm not far in to it but so far it's a very chill game with lovely graphics :) I can see its similarity to Zelda BOTW, with the added sense of Stardew Valley, but it definitely deserves recognition of its own right.*Game mechanics: the character can pick up a set of farming tools to mine, craft and secure other materials across the large map, which they then trade not with money but value. You must sell enough items of a specific value for the trader to do business.*art: It's a simplistic style but also very beautifully done when it comes to the scenery. The day/night cycle gives alternating perception of the different regions of land, all beautiful in their own right.Misc:*Character cannot swim and drowns in large water.*no fighting, which makes for a peaceful wander.*Clothes/hair customization is available through trading or as rewards for completing quests.And plenty more I look forward to discovering. I recommend this game if you enjoy the calm and visual aspects rather than action, fast, shooter alternatives.

I've put probably around 40 hours into Yonder so far and it is brilliant. It's very chilled and lets you just get on with what you want to do. Want to fish for hours then do it. Want to go gathering then do it. Go exploring. Find treasure chests. Lots to do. It also looks gorgeous. Very nice art style.Would also be a great game for younger children as there is no violence in the game.

This game is too cute for words....Though, here some words about the game. The art style is simple but it works, reminds me a little bit of Okami. The music follows through really well with the scenery and different towns you come across. It's definitely one for the collection if your a lover of indie games or just want a change in pace in a game. It's different from the everyday get from A-B and fight bad guys along the way. It's very calming, lots of cute animals, but even though I like it, its charm can turn slightly repetitive and for that reason I have given it 4 stars. BUT it is a good game. And for the price, you can't really go wrong with a game like this. Give it a try :)

Loved Yonder. I hope there will be more. I'm not into 'fighting' games & this was perfect for me. Kept me busy & satisfied. Please make more!!