There’s no question that while farming sims have been a thing for quite a long time now, that their popularity has grown substantially in the last generation. While there have been other titles of note, I’d consider Stardew Valley to have been an enormous gateway drug for the subgenre, pulling in new fans in droves. One problem is that if Stardew or other top-tier farm sims are where you started from, trying to find others can be a tricky proposition as many simply aren’t as deep or refined.

Orange Season, at first glance, seems like a reasonable stab at an alternative to those top-notch titles out there. It has a pretty good overall look, it’s nice that you’re given your core tools quickly, and I at least appreciate how some of its controls work conceptually, being able to independently cycle through tools and items. If initial impressions were all that mattered, you could get some reassurance that this may be a worthwhile diversion for a while.

The problem is that once you begin playing there are numerous issues that start chipping away at the game’s attractive facade. Interacting with the environment to perform core tasks just isn’t quite as smooth, accurate, and convenient as I’ve enjoyed before. The area you need to cover just to find the townspeople to talk to in order to fulfill your first question is a bit much, and with the game’s art style, areas you (or the NPCs) can walk in are obstructed… creating the potential for frustrations.

Saving the best for last though, there’s the problems with clipping and getting stuck in and around doors. Considering that just within the first 30 minutes of playing I had to save, close the game, and then pray when I started it back up I wouldn’t still be stuck (thankfully I wasn’t). That left a lasting impression of a game that simply isn’t in a state that should be considered acceptable. Unless the game is patched and fundamentals like this get sorted out, it really shouldn’t have money and time wasted on it, there are too many games out there without such serious core deficiencies.