Island 359

About

Island 359 is a virtual reality dinosaur-hunting game that transports players to a remote island filled with prehistoric creatures. As a mercenary, your mission is to survive and explore the ever-changing environment, battling an array of dinosaurs using an arsenal of weapons. With each playthrough, the island's layout changes, offering new challenges and experiences. Fight for survival in this immersive, action-packed VR adventure.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

75%

Audience ScoreBased on 654 reviews

graphics68 positive mentions

stability36 negative mentions

The game offers a unique and immersive experience of hunting dinosaurs in a VR setting, reminiscent of Jurassic Park.
The graphics and sound design are praised for creating a convincing atmosphere, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.
The developers are actively updating the game, responding to community feedback, and adding new content, which shows promise for future improvements.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, including issues with controls, AI behavior, and item interactions, which can detract from the experience.
Many players find the gameplay repetitive and lacking in depth, with limited dinosaur variety and a simplistic scoring system that doesn't provide a strong incentive to continue playing.
The movement mechanics, particularly the teleportation system, are criticized for being unintuitive and frustrating, leading to a less enjoyable experience.

graphics
176 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
53%
8%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the immersive atmosphere and decent dinosaur models, while others criticize the overall quality as mediocre or reminiscent of outdated visuals. Many users report performance issues, including frame drops and graphical glitches, particularly in VR, suggesting that the game requires further optimization and polish. Despite these criticisms, some players find the graphics satisfactory for an indie title, especially in specific environments, though they acknowledge the need for improvements.
- “First the good, it has great dinosaur graphics, it has incredible sounds and atmosphere, and really pulls you into the moment with intensity and suspense.”
- “Combine the fluid free movement with the particularly high graphical quality of this game and you have an extremely immersive title.”
- “The graphics are amazing and the dinosaurs are pretty sharp.”
- “The graphics are poor even on the highest settings; the two raptors at the start of the tutorial got stuck on the fencing instead of walking an extra foot to come around the massive open fences. They were stretched way out of what they should be. I lasted 359 seconds before I thought it was terrible. Until writing this, I thought this was in alpha stage. I rely heavily on Steam's advanced tool to make myself bigger than I am to play, but that does not work on this game. Once I found the seated options, I used three lines on the Oculus Rift S, which brought me to near standing, but then I could not pick items off the ground. I tried every button, but nothing happened. This is the longest review I've done, so that's how upset I am about not playing a dinosaur game.”
- “Tons of bugs and glitches, awful graphics, dinosaurs are mostly in 2D, you can't enter 90% of the buildings unless you find a story note for each building somewhere on the island, and if you only see a T-Rex, you die instantly without it even killing you.”
- “It's early access so far, and it's a bit obvious from the graphics, which need some significant improvement to compare to modern VR games.”
gameplay
148 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
55%
16%
The gameplay of Island 359 has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its immersive dinosaur hunting mechanics and solid weapon handling, while others criticize the clunky controls, particularly for the bow and teleportation mechanics. Many users noted the game's potential for fun and engaging experiences, but highlighted a lack of polish and repetitive gameplay that detracts from overall enjoyment. Overall, while the game offers a variety of mechanics and modes, it suffers from frustrating controls and a need for further development to enhance the experience.
- “That aside, the gameplay is fun, graphics are good, animations are decent, and replayability is good.”
- “This game has massive, expansive exploration and a pretty clear gameplay loop, with enough fun and variation to make me want to keep playing.”
- “The gameplay involves hunting dinosaurs, using weapons such as a bow and arrow, knives, guns, whilst also upgrading weapons, picking up loot drops with useful items and more weapons, and most importantly trying to survive the dinosaurs.”
- “Some of the worst controls and mechanics in a VR game that I have played so far.”
- “Id give the developers points for trying; however, the resulting game is completely lacking in polish with frustrating game mechanics.”
- “Graphics and gameplay made me puke. Most games are not made with the Valve Index controllers in mind, and neither is this one. I cannot switch off teleportation, so the controllers are a nightmare to use. I've played for less than an hour but will never play again; ignore this review at your peril.”
story
88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
86%
5%
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting a lack of depth and engagement in the narrative. While some appreciate the potential for a more immersive experience, citing hints of a larger story and interesting backstory elements, others criticize it as feeling empty and disconnected from gameplay. Overall, players express a desire for more substantial story content, NPC interactions, and varied mission types to enhance the gaming experience.
- “Island 359 is a great emergent quasi-narrative FPS with obligatory wave modes and a fascinating progression through the story and upgrade paths.”
- “I bought it in a sale and with 16€ I still feel kinda ripped off... the game has very cool ideas, the movement works flawlessly and it does seem to have a nice story with good enough voice acting.”
- “It reminds me of Ark but with an actual story, but less dinosaurs.”
- “Not much story.”
- “Fifth, the story is empty.”
- “The ammo is ridiculous and I stopped because it didn't feel as if the story was even there.”
stability
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
90%
The game is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, significantly impacting stability and gameplay progression, with some players reporting issues that require restarting the game and losing progress. While a few users noted minor glitches and expressed willingness to overlook them due to the game's potential, the overall consensus is that it is unfinished and requires substantial polish before it can be considered stable. Many players have expressed frustration with the game's mechanics and performance, leading to calls for refunds.
- “It is also pretty bug-free.”
- “Amazing game, runs great!”
- “Made progress in the game and fell in a hole. Now I can't get out no matter how hard I try, and I have to reset the game, start from the beginning, and lose all my stuff until the devs fix all the bugs. The game also needs a lot of polish. I am going to get a refund and not touch this buggy game again. Not worth £5, let alone £11.39. Too much for a boring, broken game, and the graphics are horrible in VR even on epic settings.”
- “Tons of bugs and glitches, awful graphics, dinosaurs are mostly in 2D. You can't enter 90% of the buildings unless you find a story note for each building somewhere on the island, and if you only see a T-Rex, you die instantly without it even killing you.”
- “The doors get stuck, levers get stuck and glitch, dinosaurs glitch, and the ragdoll glitches.”
optimization
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
36%
14%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant performance issues, including stalling and stuttering, particularly on mid-range systems. However, recent updates have improved performance, allowing for smoother gameplay on high-end systems, though many still find it necessary to lower graphics settings to achieve acceptable performance. Overall, while the graphics are praised, the optimization remains a concern for many users.
- “It now runs smoothly and is fun and intense, with a decent tutorial level and so on.”
- “There's a good range of settings to adjust for looks vs performance; I turn on sampling highish and then turn down some settings to low or medium to compensate.”
- “Graphics are really good and are well optimized.”
- “Regularly stalls, poorly optimized and clunky.”
- “Need to be optimized (object jitters, vision stutters frequently).”
- “Performance isn't the best right now, but it's certainly playable.”
atmosphere
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
33%
8%
The atmosphere in the game is widely praised for its immersive graphics, intense sound design, and effective use of lighting, creating a gripping environment for dinosaur hunting. Players appreciate the well-defined atmosphere and the adrenaline-pumping experience it offers, although some express concerns about potential gameplay monotony after the initial excitement. Overall, the atmosphere is a standout feature that enhances the game's appeal.
- “It has great dinosaur graphics, incredible sounds, and atmosphere, and really pulls you into the moment with intensity and suspense.”
- “I've just hunted my way through a full day/night cycle and found the different lighting conditions wonderfully atmospheric.”
- “This game is very atmospheric, with excellent level design and good sound locality.”
- “In all honesty, the atmosphere of that game is all wrong.”
- “Closing comments: I can see how the game might be fun for someone for 30 minutes after taking in the atmosphere, but then get bored with the same hard-to-hit enemy type running at you every 10 steps you take.”
replayability
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
19%
19%
Island 359 is praised for its high replayability, largely due to procedural dinosaur spawning and the freedom to explore the environment. Players find the game fun and engaging, with many noting that its replay value justifies the price. Overall, it offers a compelling experience that encourages repeated play.
- “This game has an extremely high replayability factor, due to its procedural spawning of dinosaurs and the ability to explore anywhere you can put your cursor.”
- “It's intense, fun and has insanely high replay value.”
- “Lots of replayability and a great dev.”
- “Island 359 has enough novelty and enough replayability to warrant its asking price.”
- “Decent replayability.”
- “Replayability!?”
humor
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by the absurdity of scenarios, such as clubbing small dinosaurs and using unconventional weapons against larger ones, creating a blend of comedy and tension. Players find the physics glitches of dinosaur corpses amusing, adding to the overall comedic experience, even if these mechanics aren't ideal. Overall, the game successfully combines humor with its hunting theme, resulting in entertaining and ridiculous moments.
- “Killing a triceratops with a modded 9mm while fleeing a T-Rex makes for hilarious nonsense.”
- “This is both scary (being hunted) and funny as you eat dinosaurs to survive.”
- “The corpses can have some funny physics glitches at times which the devs have noted they are working on.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The music in the game is highly praised for its cinematic quality, particularly during the tutorial and pre-hunt sequences, evoking the feel of a blockbuster movie. Overall, players find the soundtrack to be quite good and immersive.
- “The music during the tutorial and before you start your hunt makes me feel like I am in a big blockbuster movie.”
- “The music during the tutorial and before you start your hunt makes me feel like I am in a big blockbuster movie.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly due to repetitive tasks like saving and purchasing items. While some improvements have been made, such as a number selector for buying magazines, the overall experience remains cumbersome and time-consuming.
- “Saving is also a pain in the ass; when you get good at it, it doesn't take more than 10 seconds, but still requires tedious tasks to complete.”
- “It's like a bug before the update, and it's very annoying to have to buy a single magazine repeatedly. Now it's a number selector instead of just the one.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express a positive sentiment towards the monetization strategy, particularly appreciating the integration of ads alongside the sprinting feature.