Review liannaedgelord 5/5 · Apr 29, 2025
This is a weird one
Dropsy gets away with things I probably wouldn't forgive in a lesser game. For most of the game, you have no direction. You're set loose in a town with a few dozen interconnected puzzles, most of which (you will not know which without a guide) have zero plot relevance and are totally optional. There's a ton of backtracking across a …
Dropsy gets away with things I probably wouldn't forgive in a lesser game. For most of the game, you have no direction. You're set loose in a town with a few dozen interconnected puzzles, most of which (you will not know which without a guide) have zero plot relevance and are totally optional. There's a ton of backtracking across a semi-big-ish map and enough puzzles are obtuse that no matter how many times I play Dropsy, I inevitably have to look up a few solutions to figure out where I'm supposed to be in a long chain of fetchquests. Also the ending is pretty abrupt and relies on an unnecessary out of nowhere twist.
Buuuut it's still one of my favorite games. There's something about it. Maybe it's the adorable art. Maybe it's the best darn soundtrack I've ever heard. Maybe it's the message about the importance of kindness for kindness's sake that resonates through the entire design of the game. Maybe it's just how fun these puzzles can be, even as they can be frustrating. I do love a clever puzzle. Who knows.
All I know is that Dropsy feels like a cup of jasmine tea and a warm hug. It's a beautiful game with something real to say and sometimes that's enough.
