Paleo Pines

Explore the titular island in Paleo Pines as you embark on a quest to collect all of the numerous dinos and variants in a fun exploration-focused title that leaves its life simulator aspects behind — oftentimes, for the better.

88%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

grinding, stability

88% User Score Based on 1,544 reviews

Critic Score 70%Based on 11 reviews

Platforms

Buy Nowfrom $7.33

Buy NowGet on Steam$29.99

Buy NowGet on Xbox Games Store

About

In "Paleo Pines" , join Lucky, your dino companion, to uncover the mysteries of a charming island where humans and dinosaurs coexist. Build a thriving ranch, help locals, and befriend various dinosaurs while unearthing the island's hidden history. Together, you and Lucky will embark on a mission to find the missing parasaurolophus and build a cozy dino sanctuary.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

+10

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,544 reviews

story67 positive mentions

grinding574 negative mentions

Adorable dinosaur designs and animations that bring joy to players.
Relaxing gameplay with a cozy atmosphere, perfect for unwinding after a long day.
Unique mechanics of using dinosaurs to assist with farming tasks, adding a fun twist to the genre.

Limited character customization options that feel lacking and unappealing.
Repetitive fetch quests that can become tedious and boring over time.
Lack of meaningful interactions with NPCs, making them feel one-dimensional and unengaging.

grinding
589 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
1%
97%
The grinding aspect of "Paleo Pines" has received mixed feedback from players. While many appreciate the cozy and relaxing nature of the game, they also note that the farming mechanics can feel tedious and repetitive, often requiring significant time investment to progress. Players enjoy the unique integration of dinosaurs in farming tasks, but some express frustration with the slow pacing and lack of depth in farming compared to other titles in the genre. Overall, the game is seen as a charming blend of creature collection and farming, but it may not satisfy those looking for a more complex farming experience.
- “Wonderfully cute, not too grindy, there is a lot to see and a ton of dinos to catch!”
- “Adorable dino farming sim, this game hooked me when I tried the demo out and I admit I loved it so much I bought it as soon as I had cash available. As I'm writing this, I have 146 hours logged into the game, I have completed the main storyline twice now and just enjoy a chill farming life collecting all the dinosaur colors.”
- “Wonderful little dino farming game that is easy and relaxing.”
- “The farming aspect does not feel very rewarding.”
- “Farming never progressed from being a dreaded chore into a comforting flow with a good payoff.”
- “The farming system is bland; there's some attempt to make it interesting with soil types, but it doesn't really hit, in my opinion.”
story
508 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
81%
6%
The story in "Paleo Pines" is generally described as cute and simple, with a focus on befriending dinosaurs and completing various fetch quests. While some players appreciate the charming characters and lighthearted narrative, many find the quests repetitive and lacking depth, often feeling like chores rather than engaging tasks. Overall, the game offers a cozy experience, but its storytelling and quest design could benefit from more variety and clarity.
- “The story is cute and the NPCs are fun.”
- “The main plot is sweet and simple, and all of the side characters have their own storylines as well.”
- “The story is simple but engaging, and there are so many side things to do in the meantime before actually doing the story that this game has kept me entertained for hours and hours.”
- “My main issue here is that I felt no connection or importance of the story whatsoever.”
- “The world is pretty, but ultimately feels very empty, and the 'story' is basically nonexistent.”
- “The quests themselves, some require materials from the second/third season.”
gameplay
286 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
61%
10%
The gameplay in this game is characterized by a charming yet repetitive loop involving farming, taming dinosaurs, and completing quests, which some players find relaxing while others deem it monotonous. While the dinosaur mechanics and cute aesthetics are praised, many reviews highlight issues with clunky controls, shallow mechanics, and a lack of engaging content, leading to a sense of frustration and disappointment. Overall, the game offers a cozy experience but suffers from a lack of depth and polish, making it feel unfinished to some players.
- “The gameplay is super fun and engaging, and you'll end up playing this game for hours!”
- “Very enjoyable gameplay loop with dinos helping you manage your farm.”
- “The gameplay is paced really nicely and overall you can spend hours befriending cute dinos, decorating your ranch and exploring!”
- “The gameplay is repetitive to the point of boring, the crafting system feels clunky and unoptimized, and no fast travel means that you're wasting a lot of time traversing the (admittedly small) map.”
- “The gameplay loop is dull and monotonous: care for dinos, water plants, and go forage/look for new dino colors.”
- “Unfortunately, it shows its true nature as a haven for bugs and nothingness after around an hour of gameplay.”
graphics
167 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
53%
3%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their adorable and charming art style, featuring cute dinosaurs and vibrant colors that create a soothing atmosphere. While some users noted minor glitches and a simplistic design, the overall aesthetic is considered delightful and appealing, making it a great fit for fans of cozy, casual gaming. However, a few reviews pointed out that the visuals alone may not compensate for gameplay shortcomings, suggesting that while the graphics are a highlight, they do not fully elevate the gaming experience.
- “The art style is amazing - creatures look both cartoon and paleo-accurate, striking a perfect balance.”
- “Paleo Pines combines a charming art style and graphics with adorable dinos that you'll instantly fall in love with!”
- “The graphics and overall style of this game is downright adorable, making the dinosaurs even cuter!”
- “15 dollars, its clunky controls to its ugly graphics makes the game really hard to play and look at.”
- “It's just nothing beyond the graphics.”
- “The gameplay loop is extremely boring, the graphics get dull extremely quickly, the voice acting is annoying, the world is tiny, and the character designs are... uncanny.”
music
68 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
59%
4%
The music in the game is generally described as charming, soothing, and fitting for its relaxing atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience. While many players appreciate the cute melodies and the unique mechanic of befriending dinosaurs through music, some find the soundtrack repetitive and limited, leading to occasional frustration. Overall, the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's aesthetic, though a desire for more variety is noted by several reviewers.
- “The music is relaxing.”
- “The dinosaurs are so cute and the soundtrack is lovely.”
- “Absolutely love this game... I could spend hours just making new dino friends and enjoying the in-game music; it's so aesthetically pleasing and relaxing.”
- “The most glaring one is the music.”
- “This is the only game I've ever played where I kept the music muted at all times.”
- “The only things that really bothered me was the music; there were a solid 2-3 tracks and changing location did not change that.”
emotional
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
96%
4%
The emotional aspect of the game is overwhelmingly positive, with players praising its wholesome, cute, and heartwarming nature, particularly in relation to the adorable dinosaurs and cozy gameplay. While the story and character depth may be considered shallow, the overall experience is described as relaxing and charming, providing a delightful escape that evokes feelings of joy and nostalgia. However, some players express a desire for deeper emotional engagement and improved gameplay mechanics.
- “What a cozy and heart-warming game.”
- “My heart has melted many times by the sweetness and heartwarming feelings all the dinosaurs give off.”
- “It's fun, it's adorable, the music is beautiful and it's a wholesome game I can get lost in, which was a much needed escape at the right time.”
- “As you go in the game, you'll notice a big lack of quality of life, an omnipresent clunkiness, and an extremely boring storyline with very stereotyped, borderline flavorless NPCs.”
- “My minor complaints include a boring story (matter of opinion, I know, but it’s a bit of a drag), the animation of human characters that emote during dialogue is just kind of uncanny and introduces unnatural pauses in conversation, and the gameplay quickly becomes very grindy and boring.”
stability
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
93%
Overall, the stability of the game is mixed, with many users reporting minor bugs and glitches that do not significantly hinder gameplay. While some players have experienced smooth performance with minimal issues, others have noted more severe problems that affect their enjoyment, particularly on the Switch version. Despite these concerns, the game is generally considered fun and engaging, with hopes for future patches to address the stability issues.
- “Initial impressions are that this game is adorable. I love my little ranch! It's perfectly cozy and it runs great on my PC. I have been looking forward to this and rushed home to play as soon as possible since it launched today. I can't wait to spend more time with my little dinos.”
- “In my opinion, the game has good bare bones; I didn't run into any bugs, crashes, or glitches so far.”
- “However, it has glitches that make it virtually unplayable.”
- “This isn't a bad game, between its dinosaur designs and what is a reasonably good gameplay loop, but it probably should have been playtested a bit more, between glitches and general progression grinding to a halt several times.”
optimization
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
50%
29%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant performance issues, including crashes, stuttering, and high GPU temperatures, particularly after updates. Others report a smoother experience with good graphics and no major problems, indicating that optimization may vary based on individual setups. Overall, while some players find the game well-optimized, many express frustration with its clunky mechanics and performance inconsistencies.
- “The final game really looks, feels, and is optimized way better than the demo was.”
- “A few small glitches but graphics are great, runs smoothly, optimized really well, and has engaging gameplay.”
- “No issues with performance and plenty of quests to do!”
- “The gameplay is repetitive to the point of boring, the crafting system feels clunky and unoptimized, and no fast travel means that you're wasting a lot of time traversing the (admittedly small) map.”
- “At first I had no issues playing the game; then at some point an update was released where the optimization went down the drain. I'm running a mid-tier computer setup that can handle some pretty beefy games (AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, GeForce RTX 3050, 16GB DDR4 RAM), and I'm running above the recommended specs by a landslide, but I cannot play the game without it crashing almost immediately.”
- “Just a heads up, this game is poorly optimized at the time of release, and can cause your GPU temperature to skyrocket.”
character development
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
45%
27%
Character development in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising the unique and cute character designs, while others criticize the lack of depth in NPC dialogue and customization options. Many feel that the character designs are inconsistent, with some aspects being charming and others described as unattractive or poorly executed. Overall, there is a consensus that while the game has potential, significant improvements in character development and design are needed.
- “The character designs are very cute and I love the fact the game has such a hands-on dev team who are willing to take suggestions and update the game more. It's a very cozy game and I've already been playing for hours.”
- “This game is so cute; it's like Stardew Valley but better! I love the dino designs and the character designs, and the story is so cute! :33”
- “I love the character designs; every one of them is unique and fun!”
- “No effort is put into NPC dialogue or character development.”
- “Human character design is the worst part of this game, in my opinion.”
- “The gameplay loop is extremely boring, the graphics get dull extremely quickly, the voice acting is annoying, the world is tiny, and the character designs are... uncanny.”
atmosphere
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
45%
27%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its cute art style, charming music, and therapeutic qualities, creating a relaxing and cozy environment for players. While the visuals and designs contribute positively to the overall experience, some players feel that the NPC interactions and questlines detract from the immersive atmosphere. Overall, the game is described as visually appealing and enjoyable, making it a great choice for those seeking a calming gaming experience.
- “I love the cute simple style of the game and the relaxing atmosphere!”
- “Paleo Pines is carried by a nice atmosphere, charming music, and a soft, cute art style.”
- “- the NPCs' relationship system is very random and uninteresting because these characters don't bring anything to the atmosphere, and their questline even more so. Those kinds of things can also get you soft locked quite easily.”
- “The atmosphere and tone of the game is therapeutic and calming.”
- “It's very easy on the eyes and the visuals create a calm atmosphere that can melt you in for hours.”
humor
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by quirky dialogues from townsfolk, amusing item descriptions, and running gags that add a lighthearted charm. Players appreciate the comedic elements, such as the absurdity of dinosaur behaviors and the humorous nature of quests, which contribute to an overall enjoyable experience. While some glitches can be frustrating, they often elicit laughter, enhancing the game's playful atmosphere.
- “Some townsfolk have quirky yet very on-brand dialogues ("I'm as busy as a baryonyx" and many others), and funny item descriptions that gave me a chuckle (spring onion "once picked, it's a sprung onion", mango "man come back").”
- “Tyrannosaurus, despite not being able to sprint, can jump several meters high in the air; this is so hilarious.”
- “Good game, funny dino, funny human, overall a very good game.”
monetization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a blatant cash grab, with developers prioritizing merchandise advertisements over meaningful game updates or bug fixes. Players feel that the focus on selling dinosaur plushies detracts from the overall gaming experience, leaving the game feeling incomplete and lacking in depth.
- “Overall, I was really hoping for a good dino farming sim, and instead got a low-effort paleo cash grab.”
- “If you buy this game, expect your news feed to be absolutely spammed with ads for their dinosaur plushies and no actual updates to the game itself.”
- “The developers don't care about fixing bugs or addressing community concerns; they just constantly push out advertisements for new plushies or merchandise.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players find it highly enjoyable and worth revisiting for dino-collecting, others feel limited by the capped number of dinosaurs and lack of new content, leading to a perception of low replay value. Overall, it seems that while there is potential for fun in starting new farms, many players may not find enough incentive to replay the game extensively.
- “Maximum replayability, 10/10, would dino-farm again.”
- “Not to mention the level of replayability.”
- “My only big gripe is that after playing through the game, there's not much to do aside from finish off side quests and continue to farm and collect dinos, which are unfortunately capped at 45 with no renewable way to grab dreamstones. This can be a bit restricting unless you start a new farm just for collecting those rare critters, which can be fun, but many might not enjoy replaying the game since the replayability, personally, is not super high outside of wanting to collect more dinos.”
- “Point 5: there's little to no replayability.”
- “A farming game that isn't replayable feels like a hate crime.”