LogFAQs > #963272023

Welcome to Primrose Lake (Switch)
Another title that's been on my radar for a long time simply for its artwork and a vague description of the story, but I missed a sale on it last spring so I held off. I never saw it go back on sale until last week when it was $1.99 on the eShop which I wasn't going to pass up again, and I'm really glad I bought it because I really had a lot of fun!

It wasn't at all what I was expecting. I was expecting either a VN or a point-and-click adventure, or maybe somewhere in between. It wasn't either of those at all. It was a very mobile-like game (actually, it was originally released as a mobile title and ported to the Switch later) of time management where you play as operators of various retail venues around a small mountain town, serving customers and keeping up shop. It can actually get really hectic and you really have to know your way around the screen! I initially tried playing with the pro controller but it was absolutely not optimal and had to switch to touchscreen mode very quickly, which is very rare for me. I almost never use the Switch any other way but docked. A traditional controller is impractical and the later levels get so hectic that I'd venture to say they'd be impossible. Furthermore, the game was prone to glitches. I'd occasionally have weird things happen like my player character freeze, text skipping, the touch screen not always being 100% responsive, standard level objectives being listed for a story-only chapter, the wrong cutscene playing, and at one point very early on the game even crashed and closed completely, which worried me but thankfully it never happened again. Although these glitches were not constant and didn't really interfere with my enjoyment of the game, they were still far too many and noticeable for a modern game, especially one that is not very technically complex.

But that's where my criticisms end. The game is super fun. It's addicting as hell and perfect to play in 5-minute bursts or long binges. Several times I found myself saying "one more level" about 5 times before finally actually putting it down. Each level has three stars to obtain based on your score, as well as a unique "crown" objective that can range from something you should be doing anyway like "don't let any customers leave angry" to something that you really have to go out of your way to figure out how to work in and still serve your customers like "stand still for 15 seconds at once." There's also a raccoon in each level for you to shoo away, so in total there are five objectives per level. Like I said, it can really get hectic, and I made it a point to get all three stars, the crown, and the raccoon on every single level, and some levels took me many tries to do that on! There are 60 levels in total, as well as some story-only chapters, which should keep you occupied for a while and more than get your money's worth, especially if you get it on sale.

There is a story and it's not spectacular or anything but it is kind of intriguing. While it came to a bit of a conclusion, the main plot thread, as well as some characters' story arcs, were left hanging, which, along with the fantastic gameplay, has me itching for the sequel (which is already out on mobile and I'm really hoping for a Switch port). The characters are alright too. Nothing special (although I really did enjoy the two leading ladies) but they were nice and I enjoyed getting to know them and cared about what happened to them. The music, though quite repetitive, was also very nice, and the graphics were very pleasing and fit the story and gameplay well. All of these things made for a nice little visit to this town.

The one thing I can say is that if you're not a big mobile/touchscreen gamer you might want to check out a video of the first couple levels to see if this is for you, but if you think you might be even a little bit interested, I say go for it and I think you'll find you got your money's worth. It's still on sale on the eShop for $1.99, so really at that price, what do you have to lose, an iced coffee? Even though I had my eye on this game for a while and anticipated playing it eventually, it exceeded my expectations and therefore I can safely call it a pleasant surprise. A nice little hidden gem in the Switch's eShop library.