- Lovely story that weaves through time
- Tons of different side quests to complete for locals
- Lots of areas to explore
Pine Hearts is a cosy game that ticks a lot of boxes for me. It's got a story that isn't too imposing, a ton of side quests, and lots of places to explore. Here, you play as Tyke, a character who is returning to a childhood national park in order to climb a big mountain. This park brings back a lot of memories for you, as you get ready to take on this massive achievement, which brings back thoughts of your late father.
The park isn't full of your family necessarily, but it is full of characters that need a bit of help. A crow has stolen a grandmother's glasses, a slightly chaotic local is looking to capture proof of a forest monster, and some children want something fun to spin on.
Sometimes you need to find specific items to fulfil these quests, while other times you will need to do very simple tasks like talk to the person right next to the one you spoke to. This is only touching on a fraction of the different quests that you end up solving! The variety is very fun, and I love the different characters - they all have such unique personalities.
These different quests in Pine Hearts give you tear drops, which, over time, can unlock memories. Memories are shown in a paper drawing version of the world that you are in, bringing you back to a time when you were younger, and sometimes you can even remember skills that you used to have.
I do wish the system told you when you had unlocked a new memory - you'll need to check back in your journal and remember the number you are aiming for when it comes to collecting these tear drops. There are also little mini-puzzles dotted around that are a great break from exploring and interacting with the world.
The micro-interactions in Pine Hearts are well designed for mobile - long presses to push down trees, swiping to climb or chop - it all feels good when playing on a small device. The world itself also feels vast - especially as you need to backtrack sometimes to then move forward, seeing if the new skills that you have learned can unlock new areas.
I have found myself confused by not having the right skill in the right place at times, so it's worth revisiting places you once were. The map view does have dots to show things that you have not yet completed, but sometimes you aren't in a place to complete them, which can be a bit of a bummer if you've travelled all the way there.
Pine Hearts isn't a short experience; there is a lot of content, despite the story having a complete ending. It's not one you can play in one short go! I very much enjoyed my time discovering my own story and helping the locals, even if it got a bit sad here and there.
Pine Hearts review - "Emotional game with lots of adventure"
Pine Hearts has a good story, fun quests and lots of funny characters. It feels long and vast on mobile - creating something that's well worth sinking your time into.
Jupiter Hadley
Jupiter is a prolific indie game journalist with a focus on smaller indie gems. She covers thousands of game jams and indie games on her YouTube channel, letting every game have a moment in the spotlight. She runs indiegamejams.com, a calendar of all of the game jams going on in the world, and judges many jams and events. You can find her on Twitter as @Jupiter_Hadley