Mineko's Night Market Reviews
Mineko’s Night Market has lovely art, but its boring chores and lifeless NPCs make it much harder to get caught up in its rhythm than it is in other life sims.
Between muddled gameplay and conflicted writing, Mineko's Night Market can't decide on an identity to fully embrace.
Admittedly, there are days where it feels like friendship in this quaint little town is conditional, an odd feeling that everyone wants something from you: 10 pieces of paper for fixing a flimsy wall, two matcha lattes for a thirsty neighbor, a sports drink for an aspiring athlete. At one point, a vendor even jokingly requests 120 blocks of wood to build their store — a joke to be had at your expense. But if you can shelve these uncomfortable thoughts, Mineko’s Night Market can be a place to linger for a few hours. Be it chipping away at your laundry list of mundane but comforting chores or selling some handmade kitty kitsch at the night market, this cozy sim is an invitation to slow down and smell the roses. Or rather, pet the cats, as they flop over in contentment, their purrs resonating from deep within their bellies.
Mineko's Night Market goes down as one of my biggest disappointments of the year. The early promise is entirely squandered through inane conversations, repetitive minigames and a feeling more akin to a mobile game loop than a cosy game. The art style and plethora of cats are cute, but I'm afraid this is one to avoid.
Mineko's Night Market has a great vibe and aesthetic, but its slow pace and tedious resource gathering make it hard to recommend.
Tedious crafting, soulless resource gathering and one long spiderweb of dull, interlocking fetch quests make Mineko's Night Market even less fun than paying off your Tom Nook mortgage loan.
There are other complaints, such as the front-loaded need to make money, which evaporates after Mineko acquires all the crafting tools and benches, immediately negating one of the few mechanics that kept anybody playing. But, ultimately, Mineko’s Night Market is a melding of boredom and frustration, and a lot of that frustration stems from the fact that the game could have been good. It had the graphics, music, story, and the makings of a gameplay loop that should have been thoroughly engaging. Instead, it just feels like nothing was pushed to its full potential, leaving both the game and the player wanting more.
Featuring cute drawn graphics and a prohibitive level of cuteness, Mineko's Night Market suffers from monotonous tasks, a lack of depth in the characters and an overpowering routine.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Every game has its negatives and none of the negatives mentioned in this review should keep you from trying this game out. It’s an absolute delight and a ton of fun to be had. If you’re like me and stuck in your gaming ways, step out of your comfort zone a little and fire this game up. You won’t be disappointed, especially since the game is on Game Pass.
Mineko’s Night Market has finally arrived. It lives up to everyone’s expectations, despite its limitations. It serves as a visually stunning tribute to Japanese folklore and culture, while also providing a humorous social simulation. And it’s a dream for those who have longed for a healthy and heartwarming relationship with your dad.
For the most part, Mineko's Night Market will be enjoyed by people who like to curl up with a compelling narrative and relaxing tasks. It's fun gathering materials and discovering secrets. And did we mention you can PAT THE CATS?! Without sneezing! What a joyous, allergy-free delight. As for whether it was worth the long wait, well, we recommend holding off a little longer for another of its nine lives – one with some patchwork to address the snags on Switch.
Mineko's Night Market is an adorable and exciting Simulation game following the titular character, Mineko, as she navigates her new life in Mt. Fugu with her father, and her search for the mysterious, legendary cat, Nikko. The game features highly-addictive crafting and mini-games, as well as small puzzles to solve in order to take down the Agents taking over the town. DualShockers was provided with a copy of the game for review purposes.
Mineko’s Night Market from developer Meowza Games is an adorable, relatable, and fun crafting adventure that pushes everything along with a story that runs perfectly parallel to the gameplay. While its main audience might be younger gamers, there might be enough here for older gamers to enjoy.
Mineko's Night Market is a fun, colorful and kitten-filled life simulator. The game features a number of entertaining and simple mini-games, in addition to lovely art direction and a catchy, enjoyable soundtrack.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Despite a few flaws that harm the pacing, Mineko's Night Market is a truly impressive life sim that stands out among a sea of similar wholesome games thanks to its jaw-dropping visuals, unique emphasis on Japanese culture and arts and crafts, and a cute story at the center of it all filled with wonder. It's a terrific little game that can be enjoyed by those of all ages, plus, again, you get to pet hundreds of cats. Really, that alone should make it worth it.
This is a review-in-progress due to some technical errors that were fixed prior to launch. At this point I believe I'm about halfway through the story and wanted to fully progress through the story before making my final, scored review.
Mineko's Night Market is one of the most sweet and whimsical games that I have played, plus it has cats! It is full of personality and has a lot of different activities you can do to keep you coming back for more!
I had a decent amount of fun with Mineko's Night Market and if there's ever a sequel, I hope they make the gameplay more engaging.
I’ve been waiting for Mineko’s Night Market for quite a while. I can’t say I am disappointed by the result. It is a cozy little game with charming characters and locations, and it’s come just in time for the cold rainy days of Autumn.