So the big gimmick of this one is that this is the first open world Harvest Moon, which seems cool

but the first big problem for being an open world is the tutorial

you go off the side a bit and you find a couple of mushrooms

which, to me, suggests "there are things out there if you want to explore "

of course, if you go beyond the limited area (which the game does not highlight on the compass -- I don't even have access to a mini map) it rubber bands you back to the area you need to go

but it's even worse then that. It doesn't rubber band you by turning you around and putting you back where you're supposed to be

it puts you back to the farm which can be a fair bit away from the current objective

I kind of hate this kind of lack of communication. I had the same thing happen in Pokemon Violet/Scarlet

"there's a huge world you can explore, but you need to stick to our very specific path now"

it opens up, I'm sure, but that sort of clash makes me a bit grumpy x3