A Feline Farming Fantasy or a Tedious Toil?
One of life’s most crucial decisions also happens to be the hardest… what do you want to do with your life?
But what if something decided it for you? Something otherworldly and omniscient. That is the question that RedDeer.Games’ latest farming and exploration title Sunseed Island sets out to answer.
Is this game worth being a part of what you do with your life, much like the question it raises? Or would your time be better spent elsewhere? The answer is complicated.
Furry Friends and Fallen Towns
You start as a cat creature on the namesake of the game, Sunseed Island, a fallen town that needs reconstructing, only with your furry help. The gameplay cycle of the game consists of planting seeds to grow fruit, veg and plants to sell, whilst harvesting trees for wood and rocks for stone. Using these you can build various facilities such as a lumberjack, blacksmith and so much more.
Like the various other farming sims it’s based off, Sunseed Island is a game which gives the player full reign to do whatever they want. You can start your journey off by finding various crops and seeds to plant, selling them on to pick up the life of a typical farmer. You could also opt down the route of an adventurer and complete NPCs quests to receive rewards and make new alliances. Anything you want to do in Sunseed Island you can.
A Steep Start, a Steady Flow
Once you understand the main loop, the game is simple enough to play, and in fact the large majority is entertaining and relaxing… a game where you sit down after a long day at work or school and let out a big sigh, ready to take on the world for adventure.
But the part that drags the game down is the opening. For my playthrough at least, the curve from starting to everything after was extremely steep. I found for the first week or two of in-game days, I was making no progress and had to rely on chests with coins as an income source, dawdling around and waiting to progress when I had enough. After this however, I obtained a steadier income stream through things such as crops, animals and trees.
You’ll maintain your progression throughout the game’s various islands spanning many biomes and creatures, all supported by a wondrous, atmospheric soundtrack. You can build facilities such as a herbalist’s house that creatures from the other islands can move to – only after you complete quests for them – making your island the central hub of the game and expanding your reach.
The feeling of progression that is so fundamental to farming sims such as Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley is crucial here too, and thankfully the gameplay loop works perfectly around it. This allows for a relaxing game that doesn’t take too much energy to invest your time into, but also a rewarding experience, filled with colourful characters and wacky quest lines to go on. By the time you finish all the quests for each respective character, you’ve formed a bond with them that is so integral to the sense of community and fulfilment given by this genre.
Questing for Progress
These quest lines are a prominent feature of the gameplay and provide for a nice balance of adventure, whilst the simpler events are a nice welcome home, reminding you where is safe. Each quest will focus on a character asking you to fetch something for them, or grow it using your farm, both of which will be rewarded through coins and other seeds you need to expand your island.
The rarer and more difficult quests however offer a more enticing incentive. Pass cards to travel to the next island, and thus progress your story, can be given through certain quests, which when paired with the blueprints that upgrade your items, ensures the gameplay cycle in Sunseed Island works in unison to plant the roots of a well thought out playing loop.
Throughout my journey, I found various items that were never explained, but rather made the player think, use their common sense and ask the question “how can this help me?”. Whether that be the stamina potions that increase your overall energy, or random shells or berries you can use to aid your farming, there are always discoveries to make even when you think every nook and cranny is explored.
A Relaxing and Rewarding Farming Sim for All Ages
Sunseed Island knows what it is, in fact, it relishes in the knowledge it’s a farming sim and never oversteps the mark into being pretentious or overbearing. It sits there, waiting for the moment you need it, offering relaxation and care like a pair of open arms filled with motherly love. Whether you’re a child, drawn to the colours and characters, or an adult simply looking for something relaxing, Sunseed Island awaits for you to rebuild and nurture it, chock full of everything farming sims stand for.
Whilst the protagonist may need a long sleep in bed to feel fulfilled and replenished, playing this game was enough to achieve just that for me.
Important Links
Been Waiting, Xbox Fans? Sunseed Island’s Charming Adventure is Now Available – https://www.thexboxhub.com/been-waiting-xbox-fans-sunseed-islands-charming-adventure-is-now-available/
Sunseed Island Expands with New Mysteria Island and Farm Decorations Packs – https://www.thexboxhub.com/sunseed-island-expands-with-new-mysteria-island-and-farm-decorations-packs/
Buy Sunseed Island on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/sunseed-island/9pl34qd2t400
