Puerto Viejo (2021)

NOTE: This review is part of my steam curator review and is the extended version. Check my steam curator page at https://store.steampowered.com/curator/39607348-Random-Game-Reviews-by-Labprofess/ . Follow appreciated!
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Puerto Viejo is a game set during the Spanish golden age in which you, playing as Miguel, are on a mission to find your father after he hasn't returned from Sea. However, such a journey is expensive and you only have 2 days. It's now based on you being able to find enough jobs and meet enough people in hopes to get the money in time. Completing such jobs requires the completion of various minigames: each game unique to its level. Some are harder, some are easier. Some will require you to do them over and over again until you succeed. I don't want to spoil them, but I can tell you that they really train your timing and reflexes. Really gets you to concentrate on the game. A unique way of challenging the player, nothing I have ever seen before. This game blends both realism and non fiction too, in that it demonstrates the work of the Spanish golden age in its minigames. The Spanish golden age was a time period of flourishing art and literature. This is seen in levels such as helping your friend sing a poem while you are plucking the guitar. For the rest, I'll let you explore and connect the levels to the games surrounding yourself. A fun and easy way to learn something new.

The art of this game is amazing! I really mean it! There is beautiful use of bright and shaded colours to bring the Spanish golden age to life. I wouldn't be surprised if this was all hand drawn. I couldn't stop myself from admiring every scenery in awe due to the hard work put into them. While the game is set in 2D, some of the minigames have top down 3D aspects to them. However, even with the use of 2D, this game still doesn't fail to amaze me (and hopefully others) in its art style including its amazing game story (which arguably, I wish was longer). Each and every character in this game is individually detailed, having their own personality. Even the ‘background character’ were not forgotten. What I also love are the facial expressions of the characters. Minimal but enough to portray their feelings and current choice of dialogue.

Lastly, I want to ask the million Escudo question (I hope I used the correct Spanish golden age currency, otherwise that's embarrassing): is this game worth it for its asking price? I would say Yes. The reason is because this game CANNOT be completed in 40 minutes unless you are really quick and beat every minigame first try. It took me around 2 hours to beat the game. And that's not it: there is also the ‘’Sailor mode’’ and ‘’Hat mode’’. That's an estimate of around 4 hours of fun. Maybe a bit more depending on how fast you are. This game also has a beautiful story which unfolds with every minigame that cannot be missed. Did I already mention the art style? All in all, adding all of this together, I do believe this game brings enough playing time with it including minigames and amazing scenery to justify its price. If you're going for it, good luck sailing the seas, young explorer!