I seriously need to get a grip on these monthly blogs. They seem to elude me once it’s time to name my game of the Month again. I mean, it’s already the ninth day of July, and I’m writing this only now! But on the plus side, those of you who follow my blog won’t be surprised one bit when the next game of the month is named, right? But then, these recurring articles serve as a sort of diary of what I played during the month too, so let’s get cracking!
Game of the Month June: Ever Oasis
The only game I bought in June was the long awaited Ever Oasis for the 3DS. A brand new IP, announced at the E3 in 2016 and released a year later. I’d been looking forward to it since I first heard about it, and picked it up on release. The game is a mix of action-RPG and town-building elements with a little farming and synthesizing thrown in. It’s set in a beautifully colourful fantasy interpretation of ancient Egypt.
You can read my first thoughts on the game in this article. The game kept me occupied, it’s a nice mix of various gaming elements and loveable little characters. For me, the exploring and fighting are the plus sides. Though the Bloom Booth management is nice and the various characters that inhabit your town are all one of a kind, that part of the game could have been a bit deeper. Streetpass is missing too, which seems a pity.
Overall definitely my game of the month, but with a side note that it sometimes feels they could have done so much more with the game. Did you play it too? What is your opinion of Ever Oasis?
Gameplay on the Switch
I do wonder if my feeling that Ever Oasis could have been a deeper game doesn’t stem from the fact that i’m enjoying Zelda Breath of the Wild so much. Seriously, for someone who wasn’t all that sure, and hardly every managed to play a Zelda title alone, I’m wholly converted. This game gives me such joy and a deep satisfaction of accomplishing things.
There aren’t many games that compare when you talk about depth in a game, such a huge world, so much to do, such variety in things you can dig into. I can’t get enough of playing it. Having Wolf Link loping next to me through the fields is THE best feeling!
Other gameplay in June
The Vita got some rest this month, but I did squander away too many hours playing HayDay. Ever since I read about the special celebration developer SuperCel cooked up when the game had it’s 5-year anniversary in June. (read about it here). Somehow I have to check in several times a day, and before you know it, an hour is gone again!
Not exactly gaming, but related!
That’s all the games I played this month. Not gaming, but slightly related: I downloaded LINE, the instant messaging service that is extremely popular in Japan. It has some of the best sticker sets like Ever Oasis stickers. And Animal Crossing ones of course, which I couldn’t wait to buy! If you are on LINE too and want to connect to chat some gaming, here’s my QR code:
Nintendo is there with it’s own account, presided by Kinopio-kun. He is a Toad with a green-colored mushroom cap and a green vest and the mascot of Nintendo’s LINE social media account.Sending him a text means you will sometimes get one back with a nice sticker. And of course, no idea what he says, but that’s what Google translate is for!
Looking back in time, these are the June Games that I chose in the past years:
2015 Fantasy Life 3DS Fantasy Life wasn’t a new game back in June 2015, but it was what I had picked up again after months of being absent from the game. You can read why I picked an older game here.
2016: Atelier Sophie and the Mysterious Book June was the month Atelier Sophie was released. The first in the ‘ Mysterious’ trilogy and one of my favourites in the series. Atelier Firis, that followed it this year was even better, but Sophie did give me hours and hours of great gameplay. You can find my review here.
What would be your favourite game for June? Once again, lots of good games coming in the next month, my poor wallet is suffering!
I started playing Ever Oasis at the start of July and I’m currently through the third dungeon which I like better than the second, I haven’t had to swap people around nearly as much. I like trading and requests but the inventory management is very tedious especially when my explorers can’t get some items.
Last year in June/July I played through all of Fantasy Life because I started my new job away from home.
What a coincidence! I played it on the plane on my way to my holiday, and remember being bummed that the battery was depleted. I wanted to play on so much. A very good game, Fantasy Life.
Awesome that you’re liking Ever Oasis! It’s definitely on my list, ever since I heard about how the Oasis itself works. It seems like a fun game, so hopefully I can get to it one day!