## 2025-11-08 Every once in a while a game comes out that tries to position itself as the next **Recettear**, but almost always comes up short. I don’t think **Aeruta** is the next **Recettear** either, but it definitely comes closest. **Aeruta** is about a girl that really likes helping people, accidentally(?) blows up a bakery, and vows to help repair it. That’s pretty much it. The simplicity of the plot is a strength though — everything is told quite sincerely, and the protagonist is imbued with such pure, unadulterated shonen-protagonist energy that she serves as a strong foil to the rest of the cast. Some other stuff might be going on, but I haven’t gotten to it yet, so I couldn’t tell you. What we’re all here for is the gameplay loop. **Aeruta**’s loop …
## 2025-11-08 Every once in a while a game comes out that tries to position itself as the next **Recettear**, but almost always comes up short. I don’t think **Aeruta** is the next **Recettear** either, but it definitely comes closest. **Aeruta** is about a girl that really likes helping people, accidentally(?) blows up a bakery, and vows to help repair it. That’s pretty much it. The simplicity of the plot is a strength though — everything is told quite sincerely, and the protagonist is imbued with such pure, unadulterated shonen-protagonist energy that she serves as a strong foil to the rest of the cast. Some other stuff might be going on, but I haven’t gotten to it yet, so I couldn’t tell you. What we’re all here for is the gameplay loop. **Aeruta**’s loop is crack. Every day you do one of two things: run your bakery or go exploring. Exploring sets you off on a relatively simple but [[Combat Sauce vs Mouthfeel|mouth-feely]] series of action-platforming stages, where you collect materials. You then use those materials on days you choose to run the bakery. The act of running it isn’t at **Recettear** levels, but it gets kind of close. Specific days will have specific bread types be more popular than others, so it quite literally pays to plan ahead. You’ll then run around putting bread on shelves and checking people’s orders out by doing a quick little d-pad mini-game. It’s all very cute, and where **Aeruta** shines isn’t one specific mechanic, but the way it rises[^1] above the sum of its parts. It’s very systems-driven, almost like [[Yakuza and the Joy of Gratification|a Yakuza game]], with every aspect affecting another. Getting along with the cute cast will have them available to help with the bakery. Feeding enemies on the field lets you add them to a farm, where you can then have them go on expeditions or clean up the trash that builds during bakery runs. And of course, the money you get from bakery days can get poured back into leveling up your own stats, the bakery itself, or the town as a whole. It’s so goddamn addictive. One of those “I’ll play for half an ho—what do you mean it’s 2AM” type of games. I’m gonna marathon it for the next few days, but I doubt my thoughts will change much more than this. It’s pleasant and adorable and you should check it out! [^1]: heh. you know. like bread.