Mayor May Knott

I've been telling all of my friends about this game! If you want to create a community outside of this capitalist hellscape we live in, this is the game for you. I love the fact that there is no shop and even though there are jumpscares, this is definitely not a horror game. The puzzles are so fun and I love that the hint system is so accessible. The game is so charming and I will definitely follow the devs and hope they will keep releasing games like this :)

I spent my weekend completing this game. It's impressively addictive from such a simple loop. Mayor May Knott is the story of May Knott, a young girl who, being afraid of everything, spends all her money on the last train to the end of the line and ends up in a town full of ghosts and monsters. However, with luck, she discovers the deed to the town and becomes its mayor. With nowhere else to go, May sets out on a journey on fixing up the town, inviting residents, and conquering her fears. But this isn't a management sim. The game has the gameplay loop of a point and click adventure game, but with the progression of a Metroidvania. This means you're going around fixing houses and dealing with the requests of the townspeople. This results in a very addicting sequence where you can clearly see an improvement in the town you're regularly going around: New paths open up, new mechanics and shortcuts to common routes become available, resource farming is sped up or automated and new equipment and recipes progress through the quests given by the townspeople. Everything ties up together in such a neat little bow as much as it's naturally blended with the town's growth. Every townsperson helps in some way, puzzles don't follow a linear path (you need to come back to some puzzles later on) and there's a certain joy seeing your town lit up and full of people going about their day. There's even a mechanic of listening to music to progress and they're all pastiches of songs we're heard elsewhere! I've heard The Smiths, boy bands, French rap, Michael Jackson, The Beach Boys, etc. It's sincere in all its goofiness. Visual and world design is very Addams Family and Burton-esque, that is, featuring comedic horror and dark whimsy. It's not scary, but it's creepy in an inviting way. May's fear plays into this. Alongside physical blocks and lack of tools/ recipes, May's confidence level blocks access to progress until you increase it via helping the town and its people. In a gentle way, you can very much see May move from being a quiet girl to talky as you progress. Performance-wise the game runs well for 75% of the time. There is some mild stuttering once you get enough people to live in your town and inside a mansion, but it's not bad enough on my end to affect gameplay, though your mileage may vary. Try lowering quality to see if it helps. Highly recommended. I recommend to the devs on selling a supporter's pack which includes the OST and concept art.

I love, love, LOVE Mayor May Knott. This is a game I didn’t know I needed in my life. It balances creepy, cozy, CHARMING, and challenging so well. The character voices are reminiscent of Banjo Kazooie and it tickles my nostalgia on top of everything. I binged my 17 hours in 2.5 days. Happily diving into a second play through now for the Thrill Seeker achievement.

It's just such a lovely game. I've completed it 3 times already since buying it (unusual for me, I'm usually a one and done player). It's such a nice world to exist in, very cute with a creepy edge to it. I love the character's, the art style is amazing. I love love love the music. I'm seriously considering buying the sound track. It's really funny especially if you like puns. A great creepy cozy game overall. Highly recommend.

Honestly one of the best puzzle rpg games I have played in a long time. This game is fun, cute and cozy!

This is literally my GOTY 2026. I'm so sad that I've finished it, but I loved every moment along the way. Will definitely play every game the developer makes from here on out.

Mayor May Knott is yet another game from the revival of casual / cozy life sims. But has its own charm, pros and cast of characters to meet and help. In Mayor May Knott, you play as May, a shy and anxious girl who decided to flee her own insecurity by taking a train. And leave wherever the end of the line is. But, she ends up in a haunted town and accidentally found the deed of this town. Making her, its mayor. AUDIO Mayor May Knott whole sound ambiance is simple, minimalist and often sounds cozy. In this category, it's not where the game shines when it comes to audio. But rather via one of its mechanics: the Edjukebox. A jukebox who plays extremely silly and goofy songs to teach you some crafting and cooking recipes. All of these songs are stupid (in a good way) and often parody great artists or genres. It's silly and can give you a really good laugh. ART DIRECTION Mayor May Knott has a retro feel when it comes to its graphics. It's not super polished like you expect from a modern 3D game and often the models are way simpler than its competitors. It looks good, not incredible but it has its own identity. But I do have a small criticism on its protagonist model. I wish her face had texture and was remodeled, you are not mean to turn the camera all the way around her. But GIVE HER EYES GAMEPLAY Simple, effective but sometimes grindy, but that's something you expect in these modern life sim games. My main praise for this category is the progression. It's incredibly linear and feel really natural. One good spoiler-free example is Grandfather Clock, he gave you a ton of advices / tools and his record will teach you how to build a bridge granting you the second part of the town and multiple paths as well. When it comes to puzzle and minigames, they are simple and do their jobs extremely well. I don't have anything to say about them, they are good/ AMBIANCE This game has a good atmosphere and interesting vibe. It's not overly serious and goofy, but will always give yourself a laugh or an intense brain moment. The scares are a genuinely good concepts. The monster looks way scarier in them than what they actually are and after learning about them. You discover that they are just friendly, not an active threat. This is such a great game design. We know that May is extremely insecure, and without words this game displays how she sees social interaction or befriending other people: scary STORY The story is relatively simple, May is taking her job as the new mayor seriously. She's fixing this town and wants to be sure that every residents feels at home. Speaking of them, they are a great quality for this game. Each one has its own talking habits and personality, they are so diverse and charming. As your social links progress with them, they will became more useful to you and the town (no spoilers ~) OPTIMIZATION Runs great and is certified on Steam Deck, you don't need to have like a 4060 to play this game. As long you have a decent GPU and more than 4gb of VRAM. You are going to be fine Final rating: 7.5/10 A great discovery and one game I'm 100% going to replay over and over again Edit: fixed several typos. I should have read what I wrote before posting it.