This is the goofiest ♥♥♥♥ I've ever "played." It's more of an anti-game. You are playing a leaderboard to see who can mindlessly grind skills to level 500. It sounds like a decent semi-afk game for working from home but every time I turn around I'm disconnected and have to reconnect. By the time I reconnect and turn back around I'm disconnected again. They really don't want you online if you're not "playing."

The meta is to not even play the game, it's to make 43,432,349 vegetable stews and sell them to the vendor. You make money doing this and you get skill points to convert to XP to level your other skills. 75% of your time will be spent clicking the map and waiting for your guy to walk back and forth from the vendor to the crafting station. Major low IQ ♥♥♥♥ here.

Vibes:
Cozy and chill. Brighter Shores Feels like Melvor Idle became a tabletop rpg. Doesn't really feel like an MMO from the social side, but that's not a bad thing. Go into the game without the MMO expectations and instead treat it like a single player game you're playing alongside others and you'll have a better time.

The aesthetics of the game remind me of playing DnD with a full scale 3D model. The ground tiles, lack of sky box and the way the rooms/world chunks are connected like puzzle pieces are what make it feel this way. Some jokingly call this game "Roomscape" because of the world chunks and the Runescape aesthetics however that is where the comparisons end imo, unless you count click to move and clicking the minimap to move.

Worldbuilding is adequate for an early access game but could use work. Writing style is witty and full of dad joke puns. Dialogue options could use work but overall it's punchy and without much waffling about.

Coming from Albion Online where resource nodes are shared and gathering can be very cuthroat, BS is a relaxing chill relief as resources aren't shared.
I don't even mind going back to town to sell/craft when my bag is full, as I take the opportunity to eat, drink and check my phone or pay closer attention to my background video while my character auto runs there. Very chill. As well, animations for gathering/crafting are detailed & charming. That paired with the click and select menu that pops up on things to interact with them reminds me of The Sims.

Gameplay/Mechanics:
This game is a mash up of incremental idle skilling game, a "number go up" game and a table top rpg. Gathering is not AFKable until level 20, but crafting is (sort of). Crafting involves sitting and waiting as you process mats and make items, which is unlike gathering and combat that both require active input frequently.

So far combat is simple, gear upgrades feel fairly balanced, and quests feel good. I don't need alot in terms of questing in games, I just want to see number go up and in that aspect BS has you covered as skills go to 500! Quests are geared towards presenting a skilling challenge goal and then setting you free to explore & achieve that goal at your own pace. Very very chill.


I must state here that skills DO NOT RESET BETWEEN REGIONS, instead they are just region locked which takes some getting used to. Each new episode you enter comes with new skills to acquire for that region, but you still keep your other skills and gear and you use them by hopping back and forth between episodes/regions. This unique mechanic takes some time to get used to but overall I don't mind it as I am easily overwhelmed by choice and this prevents that. It slowly doles out new skills as you need them and not all at once like in many other games. It also keeps you focused on skills in the order you need them to progress the main story and area side quests (ie making poles in episode 2 to take to episode 3 and using them to create weapons).

Speaking of unique mechanics, resource nodes always stay the same type (ie flounder nodes always spawn flounder) however the variation of that type changes depending on your skill level (Mottled flounder first, then when you go back at a higher level olive flounder spawns) You can always harvest all varieties below your current level by selecting "past action". This is the same for combat nodes/mobs. This mechanic brings seasoned players together with noobs in a nice way that allows for knowledge sharing between older and newer players as well as providing motivation to keep grinding AKA skill cape and armor envy.

There is no central bank HOWEVER each crafting location has appropriate banks to store raw mats and finished items. Reaching lvl 35 carpentry allows you to deposit mats from anywhere so many players rush this skill as soon as it's available in episode 2.

On the minimap, each room/chunk has a list of discovered shops and resource nodes below it. Also if you're unsure where you discovered those pesky hairbeasts you're looking to kill now that you're the right level you can click the pamphlet-looking button beside their entry inside the profession tab and it will show on your minimap where you’ve discovered them. Same goes for all gathering resources as well.

Fishing isn't boring in this game, mostly because you have to chase down most of the fish. It's not all standing in one place and hitting a button. Fishing is my least favorite thing to skill in other games but is currently my favorite in BS if that says anything about it. Its both visually and audibly stimulating to my rodent brain. Actually, all the skilling feels satisfying to my rodent brain. Lots of little dings and sparkles and unlocks to send off hit after hit of dopamine.

Inventory management is adequate for the current scale of the game. Your skilling tools and containers go on a separate tool belt and do not take up inventory space which makes the 24 slots feel more than adequate until you reach lvl 35 Carpentry and can empty your bag anywhere.

Performance:
For starters the servers run well, I've had lag exactly once for 3 seconds. No big deal.

I play exclusively on Steam Deck in handheld mode. It runs like butter in a hot pan and allows use of back buttons & touch controls (I use face and back buttons for combat, touch screen for gathering and moving). I mapped critical QOL keyboard shortcuts to the face + back buttons of my deck and honestly it's my preferred way to play now (I'm normally a docked steam deck + DS4 controller player). Shoulder buttons zoom in or out on the map or minimap respectively, depending where your cursor is located on screen which is very nice, especially on deck where the text can be a bit small in some places.

Many sound effects give me mini ASMR tingles which I personally enjoy (Like the kelp foraging and fish spearing sounds *unf* so goooood), however I know they put some non-ASMR loving people off so take that as you will.

Conclusion:
Overall I find BS novel enough to hold my limited attention (I have Autism and ADHD) for hours, which is no small feat. 6 hours go by in a blink. The combo of novel mechanics plus well structured "number go up" skill-locked quests makes this an addicting game that is hard to put down. It's only going to appeal to a niche crowd and is certainly not for everyone, however I count myself in the fan category of player and can't wait to see what the devs roll out next!

ABSOLUTELY BORING....
I have played enjoy to both enjoy and not enjoy this game... It's a repetitive version of albion online with just lesser things to do and an isometirc play style.
eh 3/10