The Islander
- February 13, 2018
- Boxhead Bros.
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"The Islander is a single-player Simulation game set in a Polynesian-inspired island, where you build, farm, and customize your own island. Experience grinding and leveling up to unlock new plants, animals, and decorations, while taking advantage of the trusty cocobot assistants to help with harvesting. With around 5 hours of playtime and the option to save and start anew, The Islander promotes relaxation and creativity in building your dream farm island."
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- Cute graphics and relaxing gameplay make it enjoyable for casual players.
- Easy to obtain achievements, making it appealing for achievement hunters.
- Offers a simple and fun experience, ideal for passing the time.
- Frequent crashes and lack of an autosave feature lead to lost progress.
- Limited content and gameplay depth, making it feel repetitive quickly.
- No tutorial or guidance, leaving players confused about mechanics.
- graphics40 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their cute, colorful, and pixelated art style, which adds charm and aesthetic appeal to the overall experience. Many players appreciate the smooth animations and the visual design, particularly highlighting the adorable representations of animals. While the gameplay may be considered simplistic, the graphics are consistently noted as the standout feature, making the game visually engaging.
“It is a beautiful game, visually and audibly speaking, in cute pixel graphics with nice animations.”
“Graphics are really cute, colorful, and bright.”
“To start with the positives, I really love the graphics in the game; it runs smoothly and is visibly aesthetic.”
“Cute graphics but it's boring, small island and not much to do.”
“Graphics are what you'd expect from an indie game like this.”
“There isn't much there in terms of gameplay, as it's basically a clicker game, but there's a lot of charm to it due to the Stardew Valley-esque graphics.”
- gameplay32 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a simple, repetitive clicker mechanic that offers some charm reminiscent of games like Stardew Valley, but it lacks depth and strategic elements. While players appreciate the spontaneous creativity it allows, many express frustration over missing features such as a tutorial and save function, which detract from the overall experience. Despite its enjoyable aspects, the game is seen as needing more content and polish to fully engage players.
“To cut a long story short, I recommend this game; though rough around the edges, the relatively simple gameplay loop lends itself to the kind of spontaneous creativity which very often leads to delightful creations.”
“It's definitely got a fun gameplay aspect that's worth the admission cost - I would, however, like to see more added to it.”
“Cool little simulation game with farming and clicking mechanics, much like Plantera and Voodoo Garden.”
“As there is no tutorial, this mechanic is never explained.”
“There's no progression saves and the lack of design to properly implement this decoration mechanic also makes it fail as a designer/creative game.”
“Gameplay has no strategy other than placing to get coins and whatever the multiplier hearts are, then adding cocobots.”
- grinding28 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is described as both tedious and charming, appealing primarily to fans of idle and clicker games. While some players find the mechanics repetitive and the gameplay bland, others appreciate the potential for relaxation and automation through features like farming bots. Overall, it offers a simple, stress-free experience that may be more suited for casual gamers or younger audiences.
“I enjoy idle games, clickers, these kinds of farming games...but this one was just bland.”
“The fact it can be a little tedious to click the fish sometimes, and the fact you have to hunt each of these things down on the map makes it easy to lose track of them, save for the starfish which are stationary, makes it pretty tough.”
“It's an idle/grinding game that feels like it should be on mobile or a free browser game.”
- music27 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its calming and cheerful qualities, creating a relaxing atmosphere that complements the gameplay. While some users noted that the soundtrack can be repetitive, it is described as pleasant enough to enhance the experience without becoming a distraction. However, the sound effects can occasionally overpower the music, detracting from the overall ambiance.
“The game has a very nice soundtrack.”
“This combined with the music made it a really relaxing experience.”
“The music is cheery and relaxing.”
“Just quiet background music and a half a dozen sound effects.”
“There only seems to be one musical track which plays on repeat.”
“By itself, it's a fine, maybe quirky, soundtrack.”
- story12 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game lacks any narrative or storyline, focusing solely on the repetitive goal of earning money through planting crops. Players note the absence of quests, achievements, or meaningful interactions, resulting in a gameplay experience that feels devoid of substance. While some find this lack of story acceptable for the game's design, it remains a significant point of criticism.
“There's no story or substance in this game; your 'character' does not interact with his environment in any way, and the only point of the game seems to be planting crops and making money to unlock more of the same.”
“It has no storyline and only one goal, to gain more money.”
“It's one of the few games that doesn't have a story at all.”
- monetization10 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its fair monetization model, requiring only a one-time purchase of 2.99 euros without any forced microtransactions or wait times, distinguishing it from typical free-to-play mobile games. Players appreciate that they can progress without spending additional money, making it a refreshing experience in the mobile gaming landscape.
“You won't need to fork out actual money for in-game purchases to get anywhere.”
“This is where the inaccurate advertising starts.”
“Feels like a free-to-play mobile game, but thankfully there's no forced wait times and microtransactions.”
“The developer of this little game does indeed deserve the 2.99 euros it's asking and I commend it for not being a cash grab like many other mobile games with in-game transactions.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Overall, players appreciate the game's graphics and smooth performance, but they report significant issues with optimization, including crashes and poor functionality of in-game elements like cocobots that obstruct visibility. Many users suggest that updates are needed to enhance stability, add a save feature, and improve overall gameplay experience. Despite these concerns, the game is described as easy, fun, and relaxing, indicating potential if optimization issues are addressed.
“I'm working with a beefy enough system to run Ark for 6 hours straight without any performance issues while I have over a dozen tabs open looking up crafting information for various things in-game on my second monitor, so something like this game should not be having a problem with me moving a few wheat fields around.”
“Easy, fun, relaxing, addicting, but needs more content and optimization.”
“To start with the positives, I really love the graphics in the game; it runs smoothly and is visibly aesthetic.”
“This could be improved with an update to stability and performance to avoid crashes, adding a save feature, and perhaps changing how cocobots work so that they do their jobs as intended and do not block your field of vision for your island. Why design if you can't see your designs?”
“I'm working with a beefy enough system to run Ark for 6 hours straight without any performance issues while I have over a dozen tabs open looking up crafting information for various things in the game on my second monitor, so something like this game should not be having a problem with me moving a few wheat fields around.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The stability of the game is heavily criticized, with multiple users reporting significant bugs, particularly with the save function, leading to a perception that the game is broken and potentially abandoned.
“In my tests, the save function for this mode is buggy.”
“Game is broken, buggy, and appears abandoned.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game has mixed reviews regarding replayability; while some users claim it offers "infinity replayability," others argue it lacks replay value due to its short length, leading to a quick completion.
“* Infinity replayability”
“* Infinity replayability”
“It doesn't have replay value, and believe me, the game is not long, so you're done quickly.”
- humor2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by the presence of amusing alien collectors, which adds a lighthearted and whimsical tone to the experience. This recurring theme of quirky characters contributes to the overall comedic appeal.
“The humor in the game is top-notch, especially with the funny collectors (aliens?) that you encounter.”
“I love the quirky humor, particularly the funny collectors (aliens?) that add a unique charm to the gameplay.”
“The game is filled with hilarious moments, especially with the funny collectors (aliens?) that keep you entertained.”
