Developer: Krillbitee Studios
Nintendo Switch 2 Review
*Disclaimer: I was sent the code for this game on Nintendo Switch in return for a review; all opinions are mine and mine alone.
A loss in life can be a big thing to deal with, especially when you've built such a close relationship and you're left with something special by that one person. Fruitbus takes us on a journey where we play as a character who has lost their grandma and is now taking on her fruitbus and carrying on her legacy to provide others with delicious fruit dishes catered to their liking. Players are pretty much thrown into the heart of the game, we get the fruitbus up and running and drive it around the map, along the way we update people who knew our grandma of her passing, each loved her and had lovely things to say about her, which makes this game all the more rewarding.
At first, you start off very simplistic in terms of fruit; you're not equipped to be able to grab fruits that are further away from you, and you need to make money from the fruits you can gather. This could take a little bit of time, as not everyone is happy about what they're served, especially when the special fruit they wanted isn't available. Luckily, there isn't a time limit set when it comes to progression; you can travel as far and wide across an open world, but beware, the more you drive, the quicker you will need to refuel, so bear this in mind when it comes to making a trip to different islands.
Whilst making your journey through the game, Grandma is there, just not in the flesh; her ashes inside an urn are strapped in the passenger seat of your bus, and somehow she is still able to make remarks and be part of your life, yes, that feels creepy in a sense. Let me just address the issue before I get any further into this review. I was met with a lot of glitches, and the camera motion mixed with this made it very difficult to play at times. I went into my settings to change the sensitivity, which helped a bit. I stuck with it and played as best as I could, though. The graphics are very simplistic anyway, so there wasn't anything detailed I missed due to the glitches, and there is an unstuck button you can use that is a big help.
I'm a terrible driver, and I was even worse driving the Fruitbus. I figured I would get better as I played more, and I'm disappointed to say that I still suck; however, whilst crashing my way through the game and flipping over the bus, I landed in places that provided me with ingredients I needed and new people along the way. I felt very wanted and in demand as so many people wanted to try my recipes and see what I could offer them. The more fruit/veg I foraged, the more money I could make to buy upgrades for the bus, not just for the inside but also for the outside. The developers (Krillbite Studio) definitely knew their players wanted to show a reflection of their personality via the game and gave them just that.
Personally, I felt like the lack of pressure to get things done was what stuck with me most in Fruitbus. I get flustered and frustrated when other games implement this. Fruitbus lets you explore and take all the time you need with upgrading tools, collecting fruits, and so much more. Making money is your main goal. It was quite hard with the bugs and things I needed disappearing. I do need to make a point of saying this by saying there is a Discord for the game where developers work their arses off to get bugs fixed, so they are trying their best. I know it's not an excuse to release a game with bugs, but they get fixed, and that's the main thing.
Even though I had issues whilst playing, there was a lot to love about Fruitbus, the charming soundtrack, which is a collection of songs from the Norwegian DJ Aleksander Vinter, who produced a very relaxing and laidback set of tracks for the game. I also couldn't help but love just how cute the characters are. They have the most adorable little faces, even when they are a little annoyed that their order was wrong. Fruitbus still needs a lot of work; it's still playable and enjoyable, but it's understandable if people want to hold off playing until more bugs are fixed in the game.
Have a cosy day
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