Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 298 sampled Steam reviews (234 positive / 64 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Grind & repetition13% mention it
- Progression & loot10% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Bugs & crashes17% mention it
- Progression & loot16% mention it
- Grind & repetition14% mention it
- Performance13% mention it
- Controls & UI11% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
72%
46 reviews
5-15h
82%
72 reviews
15-40h
78%
89 reviews
40-100h
76%
71 reviews
100h+
95%
20 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 76 | 13 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 89% | 83 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 88% | 82 | 54 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 153 reviews sampled · 124 total reviews in window · weighted 109.9 up / 14.4 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (25)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 95
“I reviewing this game was a ton of fun. I enjoyed every minute I have put into the game. With so more to be discovered, I can't wait until the next time I have a chance to play it again. Forager is easily one of my favorite games. Players who enjoy crafting, farming and exploration games should definitely check this game out.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Every now and then, a game comes along that captures our hearts and reminds us why we love the medium in the first place. Forager is the latest in a line of stellar independent games to grace the Switch, featuring wonderfully designed crafting mechanics, addictive progression systems and more charm than you can possibly handle.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“When footage of this game was originally shown as part of one of the Nindie Directs any fan of Stardew Valley would have been challenged not to be intrigued with what appeared to be a familiar look mixed with some silliness...”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Thanks to simple controls and near constant progression, this can quickly become unbelievably addictive. There's a lot more to Forager than meets the eye. Save for some occasionally fiddly controls, this is a pleasant surprise indeed. ”
read full review ↗ - 65
“Even though completing achievements (Feats) unlocks extras like comics and a music player, the fact remains that getting to 100 percent completion seems to be the primary objective of the game. Reaching this milestone will take hours and hours of grinding and repetition, so this is a game better played in the background, perhaps while watching TV or listening to a podcast. Ultimately, Forager has potential, but a little more scavenging is needed to take it from an appetizer to a main course.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Forager is a lovely surprise, its simple appearance disguising a huge amount of content packed under the surface. Rarely has crafting been as enjoyable and streamlined, whilst the sheer range of things to do means that you never have to feel bored. You're always working towards something whilst the dungeons are well designed and feature classic puzzles which makes for a refreshing change of pace from the relentless acquisition. All in all, Forager is a gem, and well deserves to dig its way under your skin. Just don't complain to me it's 4AM and you're still mining.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Forager is a fun 2D open-world simulation game that puts the player on an expansionist endeavour from a small patch of land to an empire...and it does a good job at that. Forager gives a very good feeling of growth and progression to the player while it keeps its mechanics and learning process quick and simple. Pity the game seems to lose some of its performance capacity as the player's empire expands.”
read full review ↗ - 45
“Forager demonstrates the importance of anchoring players in the world. It has great content, but that's hidden away behind random chance and hours of grinding. The idle-like mechanics are irritating at best, but the dungeon crawling and the puzzles come into their own. I only wish the rest of the game lived up to the excitement of finding a dungeon.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Forager is a game that appeals to all kind of gamers and that is part of its charm. It’s hard not to love the game for what it is. It doesn’t try too hard, and offers you a relaxing but busy place for you to spend your free time in. If you’re looking for something not too taxing, where you can catch some fish, mine some ore and fight some monsters, then you’ve come to the right place.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Though entertaining and containing massive potential, Forager's content still struggles to compete with modern gaming giants such as Terraria, and is not quite strong enough to fully stand as it's own genre masterpiece.”
read full review ↗ - 60
- 80
“Overall I love Forager for how simplistic it is in it’s design, and how grand it is in it’s execution. It’s a very cute game with lots to do and explore. Behind the minimal exoskeleton lies a really big game that I just keep coming back to, even after 10 hours of playing. If I had one complaint, it would be that, as a crafting game, it does get very grindy if you don’t choose the right skills. My second go around I had a much easier time, but an option to respec somehow would be a nice addition. I would definitely pick this up for the small price that it is. As of writing this, you can get the game for about $16.99 on Steam, which is well worth that price.”
read full review ↗
Pure Nintendo
Nintendo Life
Nindie Spotlight
Push Square
NintendoWorldReport
TheSixthAxis
FNintendo
TechRaptor
Thumbsticks
Geeks Under Grace
Screen Rant
oprainfall…and 13 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Nuclear Update is out! Join the stream with the devs!Jan 16, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- New Forager update coming this week!Jan 13, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- Combat Update now available!Oct 15, 2019significant · resets scoring window
- Forager: Combat Update is releasing next week!Oct 8, 2019significant · resets scoring window
- Forager Combat Update - Open Beta!Aug 26, 2019significant · resets scoring window
- Free Appreciation Update!Jun 7, 2019significant · resets scoring window
- Open Beta for the Appreciation Update starts now!May 29, 2019significant · resets scoring window
- Forager Update RoadmapMay 2, 2019significant · resets scoring window
- Forager v1.0.3 Patch NotesApr 24, 2019
- Forager v1.0.2 Patch NotesApr 22, 2019significant · resets scoring window
- Forager v1.0.1 Patch NotesApr 19, 2019
- Forager Beta 8.2 is out!Mar 7, 2019significant · resets scoring window
- Forager Beta 8.1 + Mac version!Feb 22, 2019significant · resets scoring window
- Development Update + Instagram stuffFeb 12, 2019significant · resets scoring window