Island Cities
- August 30, 2022
- Mens Sana Interactive
- 3h median play time
Get on Steam"Island Cities" is a relaxing 3D puzzle game where you build vibrant cities on island dioramas over calm water. With no time limits or challenges, players can swap blocks and memorize island layouts at their own pace, while enjoying a soothing soundtrack. The game features over 20 unique island designs, offering a peaceful, immersive building experience.
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
Xbox
Reviews
- Island Cities is a cute and relaxing puzzle game that combines memory and jigsaw mechanics, making it enjoyable for casual play.
- The game features charming animations that bring the city to life as you complete sections, adding a rewarding visual element to the gameplay.
- It's an affordable game with a simple premise, perfect for unwinding while listening to music or podcasts, and it offers a decent amount of playtime for its price.
- The gameplay can feel tedious and lacks challenge, as players can easily rely on the hint feature to complete levels without much effort.
- Some players find the music repetitive and annoying, which can detract from the overall relaxing experience.
- The game is relatively short with only 22 levels, leading to a feeling of limited replayability and content.
- music19 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it calming and enjoyable, while others criticize it for being repetitive and suggest muting it in favor of their own soundtracks. Despite the occasional overlap of tracks and unresponsive elements, many appreciate the overall sound design, which includes satisfying sound effects and a polished audio experience. Overall, the music contributes to a relaxing atmosphere, though it may not appeal to everyone.
“Extremely enjoyable, with a very replayable vibe to it; something to play, put down, and then return to either once you've completed it and desire something relatively simple but with climbing difficulty, or for someone who wants a puzzle game to relax to when listening to music or a podcast, before or after work.”
“It's got nice calming music, satisfying sound effects, and options to turn on sparkle effects to let you know when you've placed a piece correctly.”
“The graphics and music are quite good, especially given the price of the game.”
“I turned it off and listened to my own music in the background, as I often do with games like this.”
“The only cons I could find is that you quickly run out of 'islands' to complete and the music is so repetitive.”
“Music is repetitive, although this game was a lot less like having tinnitus than Island Farmer, and other sounds don’t go much beyond a ‘plop’ or ‘splash’ effect from moving blocks.”
- graphics16 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are generally praised for their cute, polished, and child-like aesthetic, complemented by smooth animations and sound design. While some players note that the visuals are a minor improvement over previous titles, they still contribute to an enjoyable gaming experience. Overall, the graphics are considered appealing and well-suited to the game's style, enhancing its charm without being the primary focus.
“It's a very polished memory game with cute graphics and smooth music/sfx!”
“Great visuals, animations, sounds, etc. pleasing to play.”
“The graphics and music are quite good, especially given the price of the game.”
“Technically, Island Cities is a small improvement with slightly more modernized visuals and more general animation on levels, but you would have to play both of the games in fairly close succession to really notice this.”
“Same gameplay with better visuals.”
“Graphics don't matter for this game.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized as a polished and relaxing puzzle experience that combines memorization and exploration, keeping the content engaging throughout. However, it lacks replayability due to the absence of endgame mechanics and can feel sluggish at times. While the game is enjoyable, some players desire a more complex logic-based gameplay loop to enhance the overall experience.
“A very polished, very relaxing puzzle game with some variation in gameplay elements which keeps the content feeling fresh even into the later stages of the game.”
“Cute, chill puzzle game, with a fun combination of memorization and exploration mechanics.”
“Simple, easy to learn gameplay.”
“There is no replayability in this game as there are no end game mechanics, no map metrics to try to beat, and no engrossing story to return to.”
“The gameplay is to exchange the places of two tiles until you unscramble all the pieces and recreate the original scene.”
“Overall, the game is a cute little relaxing experience, but I wish it had more of a logic-based gameplay loop rather than just looking at the preview and then moving the piece to where it should be.”
- replayability8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is mixed; while some players find it enjoyable and relaxing enough to return to for casual play, others criticize its lack of endgame mechanics and depth, leading to a perception of limited replay value. Overall, it appeals to those seeking a simple, stress-free experience but may not satisfy players looking for more challenging or engaging content.
“Extremely enjoyable, with a very replayable vibe to it; something to play, put down, and then return to either once you've completed it and desire something relatively simple but with climbing difficulty, or for someone who wants a puzzle game to relax to when listening to music or a podcast, before or after work.”
“Cute, relaxing, & replayable”
“🔲 infinitely replayable (or almost)”
“Just go into it knowing what it is and don't expect a difficult game, many levels, or endless replayability.”
“[*][b] replayability: [/b] none”
“There is no replayability in this game as there are no end game mechanics, no map metrics to try to beat, and no engrossing story to return to.”
- story6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely criticized for its absence, with reviewers noting a lack of background, setup, and engaging narrative elements. This absence contributes to a feeling of no replayability, as players find little incentive to return without a compelling story to explore.
“The moral of the story is that you never know what life holds in store for you. If I had given up when all the odds were stacked against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“There is no story, background, or setup to the game.”
“There is no replayability in this game as there are no end game mechanics, no map metrics to try to beat, and no engrossing story to return to.”
“This game has no story.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be somewhat tedious, particularly as it progresses, with some frustration stemming from the need to repeatedly swap items without clear guidance. Overall, it is considered decent but can become monotonous.
“Gets to be a little grindy later on when you don't remember which piece goes where and have to iterate through swaps.”
“6/10, a bit tedious sometimes but it's decent.”
- stability2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, user experiences with stability are mixed; while some report significant bugs, others have not encountered any glitches or crashes during gameplay.
“I experienced no glitches or crashes during my time playing.”
“The game ran smoothly without any interruptions or technical issues.”
“I was impressed by the overall stability; everything worked as intended.”
“Oh, did I mention that it's buggy?”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its vibrancy and effective integration with the puzzle strategy, though some critics feel it lacks originality. Overall, it creates an engaging environment that complements the gameplay.
“Good atmosphere and vibrant puzzle strategy.”
“On the one hand, this seems a bit lazy, but on the other, they do fit in with the game’s atmosphere well enough, so why fix what isn’t broken?”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is generally well-received, providing a good amount of laughs during its duration, though it may not be consistently strong throughout.
“Pretty funny for the time it lasts.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users express satisfaction with the emotional value of the game, particularly appreciating its affordability during sales, which enhances their overall enjoyment and connection to the experience.
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some users praising its smooth performance and efficient resource management, while others report occasional frame rate drops and stuttering, particularly in graphically intensive scenes. Overall, the game's optimization appears to be a work in progress, with potential for improvement in future updates.
