Look, let's be honest, the second week of September brought a fair share of attention to various new releases on Steam. The Touhou Project remake managed to pull off a Very Positive reception despite its punishing genre, while Wardogs and Halloween: The Game—both turning heads with some cheeky marketing—landed on Mixed. Valheim is still holding strong with a Very Positive rating after crawling out of early access, and the classic Phantasy Star-style remake also scored a Very Positive. Amidst this absolute flood of new games, Master Of Pottery stands out like a sore thumb.

Master Of Pottery is a simulation game where you literally shape ceramics by hand. The title basically translates to becoming a pottery grandmaster, and you get to directly mold the shape, colour, and patterns of your pots however you please.

First things first, you need to pick a grandmaster name for yourself. Right after that, a letter arrives from a friend who happens to run a pottery shop. The friend is stepping out for some activities and tells you to make yourself completely at home.

With the exposition out of the way, it is time to throw your very first pot. A lump of clay spins away on a potter's wheel, and your job is to get hands-on and start shaping it. Rubbing the spinning clay up and down alters its length, while dragging left and right stretches or indents the sides. If you fancy a change, you can even swap out the base clay to alter the texture and base colour.

Once the initial moulding is done, the first firing begins. You toss the pottery into a kiln and fiddle with mouse controls to nail the right temperature. You harden the piece step by step, starting low, moving to medium, and finishing with blazing heat.

Next up comes the painting. You slap on some dyes and glazes, carving in various patterns. Since you have total freedom over the colour, size, and position of these patterns, it comes in dead handy when creating your unique masterpiece. Once the painting session wraps up, you apply a quick blast of heat to set the colours, give the piece a name, and put it on display. Your very first ceramic creation is officially complete.

And honestly, that is just the warm-up. Pushing through more refined heat-treatment processes lets you bag higher-scored ceramics. The more pots you craft, the higher your proficiency climbs, which in turn lines your pockets with cash. Leveling up your proficiency unlocks a bunch of new features, and hitting level five even lets you hand-craft your own custom pottery patterns. The hard-earned cash goes straight into buying raw materials like alternative clays and flashy dyes, or expanding the exhibition space inside the shop.

The shop features a dedicated gallery area to show off your finished ceramics. Leave your works on display here, and visiting NPCs will occasionally snap them up. Sometimes, student NPCs who admire your work will even send over letters asking for guidance. You can constantly swap out pieces in storage to rake in profits and fame, using the proceeds to put even more art on show.

Master Of Pottery is currently sitting on Very Positive reviews on Steam with a solid 96% approval rating. Players are dropping glowing comments like, "My dream of becoming a pottery artisan starts today," "Time just evaporates," "A game where you can craft absolute monstrosities or SSS-tier masterpieces," "Soothing background music paired with my thoroughly lacking skills," and "I cannot believe they are buying this pot for that price."