Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor Reviews

recommended

This game is just a metaphor for the public school system.

I love the idea of this game and I love the vibes but I didn't enjoy playing it

[h3]The Hopes Of A Janitor Escaping The Grind[/h3] Finally come around to playing this after learning it works on the [i]SteamDeck[/i] and I really like it. Hoping a grand adventure will whisk the player from the daily janitorial grind yet be punished is dour yet bold and creative. Make no mistake, this game is a grind based on luck and item drops. Scraping by early on for scraps and fencing the goods at a good enough price heighten that tone of financial insecurity. Learning where to sell or points of interest can be confusing as the map loops or cycles into itself heightening that disorientation. Not to forget the gender dysphoria of protagonist that cost medication heightens the daily struggle although not sure if the dysphoria is meaningful here or just quirky. Ending each day with a diary entry is surprisingly meaningful here as the only real player expression in a vibrant world that treats the protagonist as an invisible minority. Seeing items at exorbitant prices and wondrous effects that can never be bought and even if just to be incinerated shows how far the adventuring world is. As for issues, sometimes the game hangs after a cutscene specially after I finish the game which can be annoying. While I do get the grind, the objectives are expensive or luck that make it less fun or intriguing to play. The most players can do is increase luck over time and pray the get the items they need where an alternate method of acquiring these items might be also better such as side quests or knowledge tricks. (Learning that certain days increase an item drop is not good enough but still helps.) The reason saving money is risky are the red scarves which takes a huge chunk (percent-based) and just erase days of work. They can and must be avoided but I don't know if they pop in out of nowhere and tags me which feels unfair. I can see how this would make people quit unnecessarily even if I get why. Lastly, why inspecting something defaults to dropping it which just annoys me. The ending might be not what players would like to hear but I feel has those small moments of joy and daily festivities to counterbalance it. The aesthetic and specially the soundtrack is definitely one my new favorites specially the festival music. Would recommend for its vibes and experience.