Forager's Boons are that rare gaming choice that really means something

I'll admit I was at the nodding-off stage with Forager when I discovered the weird altar thing. Forager is an exploration and crafting game, and it's also a clicker game. Everything you do makes the numbers go up, and everything you get for making the numbers go up makes the numbers go up faster. This is why I was starting to nod off, I think. Forager is filled with bespoke wonders, but they are delivered via a deliriously enjoyable grind. A luxurious grind. Grind that is like a warm bubble bath. Grind that might make you nod off.

But then I discovered the weird altar thing. It's in the red zone to the south of the starting fields. Its theme, I guess, is hell. There are certainly a lot of demons running around. And there's this altar, which feels suitably demonic and hellish too. I've seen a lot of hellish altars by this point in my gaming life. But this one was different.

This one gave me a choice. And it was a choice that actually mattered. The altar, it turns out, is how you access Forager's Boons system. Boons offer a trade: give up one of your permanent life hearts in exchange for one of two randomly selected boosts. I say Boons offer a trade, but once you click on the altar you're locked in: you're losing a heart whatever happens. So what do you want to trade it for.

Read more