Weekly Notes (May 19–25): Sequels, Surprises & Slow-Life RPGs

Niklas Borglund

Author

2025-05-26

Hello everyone! This week delivered several strong releases. Many within the 1-5k review amount range which can be very good, depending on the size of the studio. Here are some of the more interesting releases the week of May 19 to 25.

FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time by LEVEL5 Inc.

Largest audiences: ~48% English Speakers, ~29% Chinese (Simplified), ~6% Japanese

The biggest new release this week is Fantasy Life i. It's described as a "Slow-Life RPG" - a term which is new to me. It looks like a mix of Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing & Early Final Fantasy from their trailers. You live your life in this RPG fantasy world, whether you're taking on the (presumably slow-paced) job of a gatherer or a fast paced warrior.

And the players seem to generally like it a lot! The beautiful graphics, nostalgic gameplay elements & engaging loop are all part of its charm. However, there are significant critique from players regarding limited multiplayer features, buggy camera angles and grindy gameplay.

Monster Train 2 by Shiny Shoe

Largest audiences: ~64% English Speakers, ~21% Chinese (Simplified)

The successor to the first Monster Train - a roguelike deck-building game. Just like its predecessor it has its largest audience in English speakers closely matched with Simplified Chinese.

At the moment, fans are loving it across the board. It sits at an impressive 95% overwhelmingly positive rating at the time of writing. It can be risky changing too much of the formula when making a sequel since the expectations are so high, but here they seem to have done everything right.

The improved gameplay mechanics and the added depth and variety that comes from adding new clans and cards. Some players express mixed feelings about UI/Art changes and balance problems, but I'd assume those would be ironed out over time.

🛠️ RoadCraft by Saber Interactive

Largest audiences: ~55% English Speakers, ~14% Russian, ~9% German

A construction simulation game by Saber Interactive. You restore sites damaged by natural disasters by clearing debris, rebuilding infrastructure and managing resources.

Looks like they are targeting the same audience as their previous popular title SnowRunner.

The game is experiencing some launch issues and currently it has around 73%. Main criticisms are performance issues, repetitive missions and that some players feel that it is too easy and lacks of challenge. Those who like it enjoy the settings and the graphics and the fun gameplay.

🛠️ Deliver At All Costs by Studio Far Out Games

Largest audiences: ~71% English Speakers, ~6% French, ~6% German

I've seen a lot of promotions and ads around this game before it was released. Published by KONAMI, and looks pretty good and polished - so I was a bit surprised to see that it only garnered ~100 reviews on steam so far. People think the gameplay is fun, the story is considered intriguing and the voice acting is on point. However, the biggest frustrations are with controls & camera - taking players out of their immersive experience.

One to revisit after a couple of patches, especially if the control issues get addressed.

🛠️ 9 Kings by Sad Socket

Largest audiences: ~37% English Speakers, ~26% Portuguese (Brazil), ~14% German

A city building pixel art game published by Hooded Horse just entered Early Access. Players love the highly addictive gameplay, the amount of content for an early access game and the intuitiveness of the mechanics - but a major critique is bugs, technical issues and performance.

Diving into the Audience anomalies

What I find interesting when looking at the game are the audience breakdowns. Almost a third of their player base is Portuguese (Brazil) - and their isolated rating would give the game an almost perfect score.

Looking at the hardware & software survey from Steam, Portuguese-Brazil users on steam are around 4% of Steam users. So something is clearly resonating with them.

I extracted some more data around this to get more information about portuguese and simplified chinese anomaly (the japanese was only 30 reviews, so the lowered score there could just as well be a coincidence):

Portuguese (Brazil)

Out of 464 reviews, only 3 were negative. And the answer is simple, Sad Socket is a Brazil-based studio and lots of the reviews mention André Young, one of the studios founders with a big social media following. This might explain why the Brazilian reviews are not just numerous but overwhelmingly positive.

Other than that, they seem to have the same praise / critique as the other audiences.

Chinese (Simplified)

Apart from the overall complaint about bugs, the simplified chinese mention problems with text display, including garbled characters and incorrect or missing translations. So it seems to mostly have to do with localization that brings down the score here.

⚔️ Early Access Graduates

• Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon by Questline - Dark fantasy open-world RPG. Players love atmosphere and world design - dislikes bugs & performance issues.
• Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks by Caged Element Inc. - Racing game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Players love the fun & chaotic gameplay - dislikes the lack of variety, matchmaking issues and the requirement for a third party account.
• Game of Thrones: Kingsroad by Netmarble Neo - Story-driven action-adventure RPG. Players enjoy the gameplay and story - but criticize the microtransactions, pay-to-win systems, and bland combat.
• The Ranch of Rivershine by Cozy Bee Games - Players build and manage their own horse ranch. Player love the graphics and cozy gameplay - dislikes awkward controls & repetitive gameplay.

Notable Mentions

Here are a few other games that didn’t break into the top tier but still earned a solid number of reviews and positive reception.

• Out of Sight by The Gang
• Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer by Clifftop Games
• Desktop Survivors by Brandon Hesslau
• Tinkerlands by CodeManu & Endless Coffee
• Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny by CAPCOM Co. Ltd

📊 Full List: Top Releases for May 19–25 (2025)

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