Morels: The Hunt
- October 15, 2019
- Abrams Studios
- 52h median play time
Get on Steam"Morels: The Hunt" is a serene adventure game that lets you hunt for morel mushrooms and take photographs of wildlife in the southeast region of the United States. With each season, you'll unlock new areas and learn about various mushroom species, some edible and others poisonous. Earn points for your findings and use them to buy helpful items in The Shop, all while increasing your Mushroom Hunter and Photographer Levels.
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- Beautiful graphics and varied open maps that create a relaxing atmosphere.
- Engaging gameplay that combines mushroom hunting with wildlife photography, providing a satisfying exploration experience.
- Intuitive controls and a variety of tasks and achievements that keep the gameplay interesting.
- The game suffers from bugs, including issues with animal animations and occasional crashes.
- Some players find the mushroom spawning mechanics frustrating, making it difficult to locate them.
- The music can become repetitive, and the game may feel aimless after completing initial objectives.
- graphics35 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising their beauty and realism, particularly in creating a relaxing atmosphere. However, some users note issues with optimization, glitches, and inconsistencies that detract from the overall experience. While the visuals are generally appealing, there are calls for improvements in detail and performance, especially on older hardware.
“It has the fantastic mixture of relaxation, beautiful lush visuals, wonderful musical scores to keep you company as you travel through these gorgeous landscapes and search not only for morels, animals, mystical creatures, but more than enough quests to keep you busy... but without feeling stressed to achieve them.”
“The graphics are beautiful and it is a very relaxing game.”
“If you enjoy walking simulators with high-end graphics and a huge emphasis on nature, this game is for you.”
“Not for me, graphics are not at all what was promised.”
“I had to turn the shadows to medium in order to see anything in the shade, and that causes weird graphical glitches.”
“Graphics-5/10- details are fuzzy and the motion blur was just horrific, even after turning it off.”
- music33 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the relaxing and varied ambient tracks available through a music player, enhancing the exploration experience. However, some users criticize the repetitive nature of certain short loops, which can become annoying if not changed. Overall, while the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's atmosphere, improvements in track variety and length are suggested.
“I love how this game has a music player where you can choose from several genres or just play certain tracks you like on autoplay.”
“It has the fantastic mixture of relaxation, beautiful lush visuals, and wonderful musical scores to keep you company as you travel through these gorgeous landscapes.”
“The game is full of lovely environments and peaceful music.”
“The music is fine, apart from the fact that there is exactly one 30-second loop that repeats endlessly.”
“The music loop duration might be about 30 seconds.”
“The music is really grating.”
- gameplay23 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay is centered around a casual loop of mushroom hunting and wildlife photography, enhanced by a point system that allows players to purchase upgrades and gear. While the mechanics have seen improvements over time, some players find the experience repetitive and the implementation lacking polish, with occasional technical hiccups. Overall, it offers a relaxing exploration experience, though some mechanics, like poison ivy, can be frustrating.
“The gameplay loop of looking for mushrooms and photographing things is very well done.”
“Recent upgrades have greatly improved the morel picking and picture-taking mechanics.”
“The gameplay is very relaxing and enjoyable; the price is reasonable.”
“The implementation of everything is mediocre at best (gameplay mechanics, UX, settings, etc).”
“There are occasional gameplay hiccups here and there (I once had to load a game about ten times before it allowed my character to move) and some of the game isn't very polished (looking at you, horse animations).”
“Yes, there are ticks and poison ivy; these mechanics, while thematically appropriate, feel like contrived annoyances that you would pay to remove in any mobile game, rather than organic threats.”
- story10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game lacks a traditional narrative, functioning instead as a simulation with a 100-day quest focused on collecting mushrooms and capturing animal photos. While some players appreciate the relaxing gameplay and beautiful visuals, they express a desire for more structured quests and crafting elements. Overall, it is characterized as a walking simulator that prioritizes exploration and achievement over storytelling.
“It has the fantastic mixture of relaxation, beautiful lush visuals, wonderful musical scores to keep you company as you travel through these gorgeous landscapes and search not only for morels, animals, mystical creatures, but more than enough quests to keep you busy... but without feeling stressed to achieve them.”
“Morel: the hunt delivers on this premise with a 100-day quest to collect mushrooms and capture animal photos.”
“It is very clear that the game plot & focus have been very well planned out, yet the controls are very clunky.”
“The game has no story but gives the player 100 days to do everything I mentioned in this review.”
“Story - can't grade as there is no story - purely simulation.”
“It is a good walking simulator without the fuss of a storyline.”
- stability9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- -22 % neutral mentions
- 89 % negative mentions
The game exhibits a range of stability issues, with players reporting various bugs, particularly with animal animations and controls. While some glitches can detract from the experience, many users find them endearing and not game-breaking, suggesting that the overall charm and concept of the game still shine through despite its imperfections. Overall, it is described as a "buggy masterpiece" that could improve with further refinement.
“There were no glitches or game-breaking bugs, which is all I ask for :)”
“The game runs smoothly without any crashes, making for a seamless experience.”
“I appreciate how stable the game is; it allows me to focus on enjoying the gameplay.”
“I had to turn the shadows to medium in order to see anything in the shade, and that causes weird graphical glitches.”
“Also the controls for horsies are buggy.”
“The game is a bit buggy in some cases.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is characterized by its charmingly buggy animal animations and unexpected moments, such as a cat hilariously crashing a vehicle. While primarily a chill and cozy experience, the occasional quirky animal behavior and surprising interactions add a lighthearted touch, making it enjoyable for players who appreciate a blend of humor and exploration. Overall, the humor enhances the game's charm without detracting from its relaxing atmosphere.
“The game isn't entirely polished; some animals are buggy and they run super funny, but to me, this just added to the overall charm of the game.”
“Also, a cat once smashed my vehicle into the fence, which was quite funny to watch.”
“I won't give it away, but that part of the game was not only fun, but brought some excitement... and in one instance (at least in my playthrough) some humor as well.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is mixed; while some users report smooth performance on high settings, others note that certain features, like table tennis, may negatively impact performance. Despite the graphical appeal, there are concerns about optimization that could affect gameplay experience.
“+ good optimization”
“I disabled the table tennis (just in case it affected performance); it comes enabled, I believe.”
“It seems to run very well on the highest settings for me, though I did not measure performance.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding in the game to be excessive, requiring significant time investment to earn points for essential items, which can lead to a lack of engaging content. While some appreciate the meditative quality of the gameplay, others feel that the repetitive nature of switching tasks can become tedious and detracts from the overall experience.
“Getting enough points to buy items that boost health or energy, plus better shoes, a raincoat, and a headlamp requires a ton of grinding.”
“Okay if you get it at a deep discount, but I would not pay full price - the grinding means you'll get a lot of hours without a great deal of content to enjoy.”
“In the same category as games like Euro Truck, House Flipper, and Viscera Cleanup Detail, it seems like the sort of game that might just be tedious, and yet there is a sort of relaxing zen to it.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game features procedural generation, providing a potentially unlimited replay value due to the varied environments and elements like mushrooms and wildlife. However, some players feel that once the game is completed, it lacks additional content to encourage further play, leading to mixed opinions on its overall replayability.
“The maps are large and very detailed, making the game highly replayable.”
“Replay value: 3/10 - once you have played it, you have played it; it doesn't offer anything more.”
“The game uses procedural generation to spawn mushrooms (and I think animals/insects as well), so it has, by definition, unlimited replay value.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is praised for its appealing graphics and immersive weather conditions, contributing to an overall engaging experience.
“The weather conditions sound great and are very atmospheric.”
“Nice atmosphere, good graphics.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the game emotionally uplifting, highlighting its wholesome elements such as foraging for mushrooms and engaging in ethical hunting practices. The positive experience is further enhanced by the game's affordability during sales, contributing to a sense of joy and satisfaction.
