Novastella Island

77%
Game Brain Score Based on 121 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
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Novastella Island is a picturesque open-world adventure game set on a magical island. As the chosen guardian, explore diverse biomes, solve intricate puzzles, and uncover the island's secrets. Engage with intriguing characters, harness elemental powers, and immerse in a captivating story of restoration and growth.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

77%
Audience ScoreBased on 121 reviews
gameplay4 positive mentions
grinding15 negative mentions
  • The game is beautifully designed with a cute aesthetic, making it a relaxing experience for players who enjoy building, fishing, and crafting.
  • Despite being in early access, the game shows a lot of potential and has a calming atmosphere that many players find enjoyable.
  • The developers have been responsive to feedback and have issued refunds, showing a commitment to customer satisfaction.
  • The game has limited content and feels unfinished, with many players expressing disappointment over the lack of features and quests.
  • There is no character customization, which detracts from the immersive experience and personal connection players may want with their character.
  • The developers have ceased further development due to bankruptcy, leaving the game in a state that many feel is incomplete and unsatisfactory.
  • story65 mentions

    The story is centered around the player's character falling into the island of Novastella, where they interact with friendly humanoid frogs and embark on a quest primarily focused on building a house. While the main quest concludes once the house is constructed, players find the narrative simplistic and short, with side quests often being standard fetch tasks. Many hope for future updates to expand the story and introduce more content, as the current plot feels underdeveloped and somewhat clichéd.

    • “The story revolves around your player character falling through a portal and stranding on the titular island of Novastella. Here you will be greeted by strange-looking, humanoid frogs who are very friendly and offer to help you right away.”
    • “Its story is kind of simple and short (for now), but there are still a lot of updates planned.”
    • “Building: you are able to craft different kinds of furniture and decorations that you can place however you desire. The game will also make you construct a prebuilt house during its story, in case you don't want to bother with the admittedly very finicky construction controls.”
    • “Your main quest ends after the frogs help you build a house.”
    • “Most of the 'story' revolves around building the house I mentioned earlier and it doesn't go very far beyond that at the current time.”
    • “Next up, let's talk content. There's a bit over a dozen quests, the main quests end once your house is finished, so let's say there's no plot currently apart from you fell from the real world to this fantasy world to explore, which is a bit overused at this point.”
  • gameplay32 mentions

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with players noting that while the controls are responsive and the mechanics are easy to learn, the overall experience feels limited and underdeveloped. Many users expressed disappointment with the lack of content, stating that the game can be completed in just a few hours, and the interactions with NPCs are minimal. Although there are some enjoyable elements like gathering, fishing, and building, the absence of combat and the counterintuitive mechanics detract from the overall engagement.

    • “The gameplay revolves around gathering materials for selling or crafting.”
    • “It has some pretty chill gameplay involving gathering, fishing, building, and questing.”
    • “Currently, there are 3 main mechanics which will keep you occupied for around 5 - 20 hours depending on how much of a completionist you are.”
    • “The floaty controls are forgivable, but the mechanics feel counterintuitive.”
    • “Currently there are 3 main mechanics which will keep you occupied for around 5 - 20 hours depending on how much of a completionist you are.”
    • “At the time of launch it seems to have about ~3 hours of gameplay available.”
  • graphics22 mentions

    The graphics in the game are widely praised for their beauty and appealing anime aesthetics, contributing to a lovely atmosphere that enhances the overall experience. While many players appreciate the well-designed characters and stunning views, some note that the game still requires polishing and improvements in performance. Overall, the visuals are a strong point, making it an attractive option for fans of casual and life simulation games.

    • “The graphics and characters are all really well done, some views are extremely beautiful.”
    • “The graphics are so beautiful, the music is soothing and calm, not distracting in the least.”
    • “The graphics look really nice, the building system seems fun and the frog people are cute.”
    • “Still needs polishing, some quality of life changes, maybe some graphical and framerate touch-ups.”
    • “Graphics look okay, but in the 3 hours I played this before writing this review, the game has been very linear.”
    • “I certainly would like to see more added to this game; yet besides the much appreciated graphics, if you've played other farming sims with relationship building, you've played this one.”
  • grinding17 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience, with current gameplay focusing primarily on building and basic fishing, while farming elements are notably absent. Although the game offers a relaxing atmosphere and potential for future updates, some users express concern that the existing mechanics may become tedious over time. Overall, fans of life-sim and farming-sim genres may find value in the game, especially as more content is anticipated in the future.

    • “Tl:dr: it's a far cry from good, but people that like life-sim or farming-sim games will probably want to come take a real look in another few months.”
    • “The gameplay they do have at launch I can see getting the potential to be tedious, but when you first open the game you are greeted with a message about update plans for the future.”
    • “I certainly would like to see more added to this game, yet besides the much appreciated graphics, if you've played other farming sims with relationship building, you've played this one.”
  • music4 mentions

    The music in the game is described as soothing and calm, enhancing the overall experience without being distracting. However, some users find it to be short and annoying, lacking musicality.

    • “The graphics are so beautiful, the music is soothing and calm, not distracting in the least.”
    • “Not musical at all, but just short and annoying.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    The game's optimization is generally better than many early access titles, with minimal significant bugs reported; however, players have noted frame drops in the village area and a lack of optimization for the Steam Deck and other controllers.

    • “In terms of performance and polish, I must say this game is much better than a lot of its early access peers. While I do notice frame drops in the village, I have yet to encounter any significant bugs.”
    • “The game isn't optimized for the deck yet, not even for the other gaming controllers.”
    • “In terms of performance and polish, I must say this game is much better than a lot of its early access peers; however, I do notice frame drops in the village.”
  • atmosphere4 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is described as casual and relaxing, featuring pleasant graphics and a simplistic aesthetic that appeals to players. It offers a charming environment for activities like farming, exploration, crafting, and fishing, enhancing the overall experience.

    • “If you're looking for a casual, relaxing game with a lovely atmosphere, pleasant graphics, farming, exploration, crafting, building, fishing, and maybe more if it's ever added... then you can find all of that here.”
    • “The simplistic look of characters, world, and atmosphere are totally to my taste!”
  • stability2 mentions

    Overall, players report a stable experience with no significant glitches, bugs, or crashes, indicating that the game runs smoothly in its early access state. Users express optimism for future updates to enhance the game further.

  • character development2 mentions

    Reviews indicate that character development is lacking, with poor character design and minimal customization options for the player character, including the inability to name them, leading to a disappointing experience.

    • “Character design is pretty bad; the lack of customization for our 'player character,' whom we can't even name, is saddening.”
    • “Character design is pretty bad; the lack of customization for our 'player character,' whom we can't even name, is saddening.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

3hMedian play time
3hAverage play time
3-3hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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