Oriental Valley Reviews

It is a delightful game, but it is incomplete. I bought this on sale, despite negative reviews on YouTube. The English translation is bad and there are bugs, but I'm still smitten with its goofy style. I'm always unlocking things by surprise, and for the weirdest reasons, and they keep throwing more and more on my plate that I can do or work towards. People don't seem to enjoy the humor in it, but it is very Chinese "nonsense comedy" a la Stephen Chow. If you've played "Song of the Prairie," it is similar in its absurdism, but Oriental Valley doesn't have quite as many head scratching moments. Oriental Valley makes sense, even if just barely. Pros: Weird and quirky with lots of at least somewhat unique systems that are introduced, often by surprise. Nice graphics, even if they are Unity assets or whatever--it's a pretty game! Runs fairly well on the Steam Deck--some of the menus go off the screen, but I've been playing it entirely on the Steam Deck. It loads fast! Being kind of janky, there are exploits where you can make more money than maybe the developer intended--to me that's quite satisfying. Cons: You do need patience, and it is likely helpful to go in with the expectation that this won't be a refined experience. Some things you can only do on certain days which leaves you without much to do during the in-game week after you get to a certain point. Some things aren't translated at all which makes it very difficult nearer the end. All in all I'm on the fence with this one. I'd suggest a purchase if on sale and you know what you're getting into. What are you getting into exactly? A fun, goofy, flawed game. One that I'm playing but don't know if at a certain point I'll have to leave it incomplete because I don't speak Chinese.