To be honest, I have been playing since the Saipan era. The graphics of current mobile games are better, but I always feel that they are missing a bit of "human touch". I have been playing the game "Shepherd's Heart" on and off for two months, and today I want to seriously talk about the differences between it and similar games.
Let's talk about the advantages first. What impresses me most about this game is its rhythm. I'm not bragging, but most of the development games on the market now will force you to spend money and draw cards within five minutes of being online. There will be one activity after another, and your physical strength will never be enough. But "Shepherd's Heart" is different. It is more like the stand-alone RPG from more than ten years ago. You slowly explore the map and collect monster girls. Each one has its own independent story and quest line. I remember the first time I met the monster called "Afriman". The plot and dialogue filled three pages. It was not a running account, but I could really see that the copywriter was carefully shaping the character. This sense of immersion reminds me of the feeling when I played "Pokemon Emerald" that each Pokémon had its own habitat.
Now let's talk about the shortcomings. The combat system in this game is honestly a bit outdated. It uses a turn-based system + manual operation, but it doesn't have much strategic depth, and most of the time it's just mindless hacking. Compared with the tower defense or real-time combat of similar games such as "Monster Girl TD" and "Arknights", the combat of Shepherd's Heart does seem cumbersome. Moreover, although it does not require gold, if you want a high-star monster, the probability of drawing a card is so low that you will want to drop your phone. I saved more than 200 coins in two months, and I got a five-star one, and it was a duplicate. This is not as clear as "Pokémon Master", but at least it makes people look forward to it.
In terms of graphics, the pixel style is actually quite retro, which is my personal preference, but young people may find it not refined enough. In addition, this game does not have automatic path finding and one-click sweep. You have to walk slowly on each map, which is a bit tiring for office workers. But thinking about it on the other hand, it is precisely because there are no such fast food designs that I have the patience to look at the details of every scene. You will find treasure chests hidden in the wild grass and hidden monsters squatting on NPC roofs. This kind of exploration fun is too rare in today's mobile games.
The industry is currently working on "open world", "battle royale" and "metaverse", but I think a game like "Shepherd's Heart" that honestly tells the story of a trainer's growth and allows players to slowly develop relationships with monsters is more precious. It's not fire, but it has a soul. 😌
Finally, an interesting point. The BGM of this game uses a lot of music box and harp sounds. Every time when I am wandering in the pasture, as soon as the melody plays, I am reminded of the days when I was hiding in bed playing GBA SP, with the blue light on the screen illuminating my nose. Unconsciously, at the age of 30, there are fewer and fewer games that allow me to calm down and play, but "Shepherd's Heart" is one of them.