Impressions | Not for Me - Pine Hearts Review
Pine Hearts is an adorable game. Unfortunately, I didn’t mesh with it at all. I was initially intrigued by a story about how we tackle grief, something very close to my heart. However, the core gameplay loop of backtracking to collect items to complete thin side quests didn’t interest me.
You’re thrown into the deep end of this trek as this little character in a red hat begins climbing a mountain. However, you have no tools on you, so you can’t begin the ascent. From an isometric perspective, you play as Tyke as they explore a caravan park that played a part in their childhood. You get to relive important memories, meet new people, and complete side quests that all bear some relevancy to Tyke’s upbringing.
Ascending the Mountain
Admittedly, this is a game that I didn’t get very far into at all. I felt as if I was forcing myself to play it, and it really did feel like I was trekking up a mountain with how arduous even starting the journey felt. Jumping into the game, it feels as if you are given no context. While you know that you’re meant to be climbing a mountain and why you are in the caravan park, it still feels as if there’s a void in the middle of it.
Even with the memories that are provided by the journal, it still feels like I’m missing crucial parts of the puzzle. Was the man his father? How old is the character? I had so many questions, but felt in the time I did spend playing the game, nothing was being answered.
Backtracking Repeatedly
I struggled with backtracking in a game. For that reason alone, I found Pine Hearts quite tricky. There were a lot of side quests to complete where I had to find items scattered around, which is something I always manage to mess up. Even if the item was in plain sight, I somehow managed to miss it, because the cutesy artstyle doesn’t really allow anything to pop out visually. However, even when I did find all the items I needed, these fetch quests were rarely engaging and, more often than not, just felt like padding.
In the campsite area alone, there was a lot of backtracking and running through the same areas so that you could complete the sidequests. It got tedious and hampered my enjoyment of the story.
Pet the Dog!
The art style in this game is adorable. You look like a giant happy potato in a hat; what’s not to love? Additionally, there are fun characters that you get to interact with, including a dog that you can pet as many times as you want. Not only are there dogs to love and hang out with, but you get to see a wide variety of adorably animated animals, such as a robin sitting on a photographer’s head.
I enjoyed these interactions with the NPCs that are scattered about, but overall, it wasn’t enough to keep me powering through the repetitive traversal. I liked how overactive the children were and that they were hunting down a mythical creature in a forest next to the caravan park. All the characters you come across in the world have a unique personality. Whether they’re the person taking a nap next to a pond or the father having a BBQ, they all have great dialogue.
The premise of being able to go on a nostalgia-filled journey felt like I should have loved it. I was excited to get into Pine Hearts alone for that reason, as I often chase the feeling of nostalgia and remembering my childhood. However, upon getting into the game, you are left to wander about a (colourful but) rather mundane area with little narrative driving you forward. While the side characters are well-written, they are still ultimately sending you on repetitive fetch quests rather than pushing the story forward.
My impressions of Pine Hearts were not improved because, during my first play session, I ran into a game-breaking bug where I couldn’t get out of the inventory menu if I opened my backpack. I tried it with a controller, mouse, and keyboard, and it broke regardless. After reporting it to the developers, it took a couple of days for a patch to be released that fixed said issue, which was admittedly impressive considering this was pre-release and the bug was yet unheard of by the team.
Once I could start backpacking my way to victory, I soon went through the depths of dank caves and found myself solving fun riddle puzzles. Although I usually struggle with puzzles in games, the ones in Pine Hearts were fair and easy to solve.
That said, this was one game I just couldn’t bring myself to finish. I feel guilty for not enjoying such a gorgeous game. Pine Hearts is much more than an exploration journey through a caravan park. If you interact with the NPCs, you will likely be sent on fetch quests. Additionally, there are fun, minimal-difficulty riddles and puzzles to solve as you rescue a child stuck behind a gate. Pine Hearts is a peaceful adventure filled with cosy vibes. Yet, despite it being everything I wanted from a game like this on paper, it just didn’t quite do it for me. Sadly, the structure and act of exploring the woodland area wasn’t very engaging and ultimately felt like a chore instead of a relaxing stroll in the park.
