[Originally publish 30 November 2023]
TLDR
Relaxing island management
AI NPC interaction using speech was very engaging
I was disappointed that the demo ended could have kept on playing.
How to play
Playable on PC
Invite only
Game Loop
Your new home is an island
You start with a helper bot and 1 resident
Your aim is to expand the island and increase your resident count
To increase the resident count you need to increase your community points
Community points are collected by increasing the happiness of your residents
They have several needs, and by selecting a need to address you are set tasks
These take you all over the island collecting items, crafting or building
A key feature is interacting with the AI NPCs using your microphone
AI is also used within the building, where you have the choice to either build by hand or give AI prompts for what to build
Game feel
The graphics were stunning and immersive, if slightly power-greedy
The quests were very basic chores, plant some seeds, gather some plants, cook a pizza - however, I actually found this really engaging and relaxing. Just pottering around completing chores.
I really enjoyed the NPC interaction with the mic, even if I managed to offend one of them by mistake
The controls were easy and intuitive
Adding the hoverboard was good as walking could get a little slow for some of the longer quests
Rating
The demo took me about 45 minutes to complete, so impressions could change as the game expands
I really enjoyed it and was very engaged the full time i was playing
I can see an audience that wouldn’t enjoy it at all, but that comes down to picking the right game for you
I was really getting into it when the demo ended and was genuinely gutted that I could interact with the new resident
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