I'll be honest: I forgot today (I haven't been to sleep yet so it counts as the same day) was release day. Perhaps that was lucky for me because my day was off to a very rough start and when I got the e-mail from Itch.io telling me the game had gone live, I decided this would be my reward if I did my best to push through everything getting me down.
Now, many MANY hours later, I've completed the first 31 days of my first playthrough. And I really do mean it when I say first. You better believe I'm committed to full Achievements in these games.
I feel really fortunate that I acquired The Lost Art of Innkeeping through a charity bundle a few years ago. It found me at a time when I needed chill and cozy games in the worst way. And time and time again I come back to it to have something that is peaceful and heartwarming, but still has a measure of thoughtful planning to it. I make charts as I go through the early game to try and determine what safe bets are for laying out rooms some play throughs, and in others I just turn it on relaxed mode and go by vibes alone. But either way, I'm insanely pleased.
The Hidden Art of Innkeeping was a true and beautiful refinement upon the original. Some games, even from Indie Devs, lose a lot in their attempts to make a second game hit the same sort of spot as the initial release. I don't think that's true here. There were some aspects of The Lost Art that were fun in themselves but I am just as happy to see changed here (the manner of advertisement for one thing, and the different sort of rivalry for another). There was some wonder in having some old guests back and seeing how their lives have gotten on. There was also delight to be found in getting close to new faces. I really loved the specificity of having to choose my own menu and how specifically to develop the more 'recreational' areas of the inn as opposed to mainly having cosmetic impacts on the village (though those are there too).
And you know I'm going to make the opposite of EVERY decision in the next play through to see how it all goes.
Here's to New Game+, many more adventures, and to the success of any and all of your future projects, SeaPhoenix!
(P. S. - While I haven't tried out the controller support, thank you for the fact that this whole game can be played one handed on a keyboard for those who really want it. I have spent the last month since my dominant hand was injured realizing a lot of the gaming space can be unfriendly to people who only have one hand to work with. Especially if it's their non-dominant hand. I know that there's a reason most games can't do this design wise, but the fact that it IS possible with The Lost Art and The Hidden Art has made getting through my injury a lot easier and less crazy making.)