Sunny is a very special tanuki. Her cheerful disposition and helpful nature makes her a joy and a blessing to be around, but what really sets her apart is her ability to control time.
You see, her name comes from her supernatural power: where she goes, so to does the sun. If she skips to the right, the sun moves forward; should she scamper left, the sun moves backwards. It’s not like the angry sun a la Mario Bros., either — rather, the warm and gentle rays smile down upon Sunny as she goes about her day (ermm, days). This is particularly helpful to her adorable animal friends, as they all benefit from Sunny’s considerate personality and special skill. Helping others by travelling through time in an effort to create the best end-of-season celebration ever? Sounds like a uniquely wholesome experience, indeed!
Such is the premise of Seasonspree, a delightfully charming little game about a helpful tanuki manipulating time to aid friends. Developed and self-published by Kitewing Studio, Seasonspreereleased on PC and Switch on September 20, 2024 for the fair price of $11.99. Described on its Steam page as “a game about nurturing friendships and celebrating the changing of seasons,” Seasonspreeupholds its promise to be whimsical, carefree, and wholesome with special attention being paid to the importance of commemorating the passage of time with good cheer and great company.
Seasonspreeis a simple enough game to get the hang of — walk left or right to speak with friends throughout the season. Sunny’s world is on the smaller side, so each season only lasts about two in-game weeks. With that being said, time doesn’t quite move in a linear fashion for Sunny — in fact, time only moves when she does, and in the direction of her choosing. Due to her compassionate nature, she uses this ability to help friends with their requests; for example, one friend may ask for a pencil, so Sunny will need to go forward in time to find one before traversing back to the day the friend made the request. She’ll then move forward again in time to reap the rewards of her errand, the future altered for the better due to her hard work.
I really enjoyed my time with Seasonspree. Time-travel/manipulation is one of my favorite game mechanics and is underutilized as far as I’m concerned, so whenever I see it, I try it. Seasonspreestands out as unique even in this genre due to its wholesome, casual nature, lack of urgency, accessible controls (can be played one-handed), and a Simple English option that’s friendly for kids and non-native English speakers. But don’t confuse its simplicity for a lack of challenge — there will be some thought required to get everything out of Seasonspree,including maxing out your friendship levels with all the cuddly creatures in Sunny’s world. It’s the perfect cozy game to play between bigger titles, before bed, and/or with younger gamers, and it’s one I would happily recommend to anyone who loves wholesome games.
Despite all the praise I have for Seasonspree,I did find some things somewhat finicky. For one, I believe this game was created with the intention of players chugging through it in one sitting. This is reflected in a few design choices — namely, the apparent lack of continuity clues and ability to save (manually or otherwise). I’ve been playing Seasonspree while I have a spare moment here and there, so I easily lose track of story bites as time marches forward. Additionally, because I am not sure about the save function, I have Seasonspreebasically always running on my Switch for fear of losing my progress. It’d be nice to switch to another game momentarily, but it feels too risky. Finally, traversal in Seasonspreecan feel sluggish, especially in the beginning. Sunny will receive boosts later on that make running back and forth less of a hassle, but when walking is essentially the name of the game, I must admit I found myself debating on whether or not backtracking was worth it due to the slog it’d be. Would increasing Sunny’s speed reduce its charm? Hard to say, but it would increase its playability for those of us who struggle with patience.
Seasonspreeis a delightfully enchanting romp through time with wholesome aesthetics, endearing characters, and a charming story. As cuddly creature friends work together to plan cheerful end-of-season celebrations to commemorate the passage of time, players will become absorbed into this delicate little world full of wonder and whimsy. Perfect for just about anyone to pick up, Seasonspreewill captivate anyone who feels drawn to the tiny time-nudging title.
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
Available on: PC, Switch (Reviewed); Publisher: Kitewing Studio; Developer: Kitewing Studio; Players: 1; Released: September 20, 2024; MSRP: $11.99
Full disclosure: This review is based on a copy of Seasonspree provided by the publisher.
