If you’re something like me, then you definately totally loved enjoying My Time At Portia. It had its similarities to different crafting and farming video games, nevertheless it additionally stood aside with energy as a title that launched gamers to the life simulation style. There was a singular story to go along with it, permitting these of us who most popular an excellent combine of making, farming, gathering, and having fun with an immersive world to have a very well-rounded expertise. It has been a number of years since My Time At Portia was launched, and since then the builders have had extra in retailer for followers.
Initially meant to be launched as a DLC, My Time At Sandrock is the upcoming sequel to My Time At Portia and it manages to enhance upon its predecessor whereas retaining lots of the qualities that made us followers within the first place. I used to be in a position to spend the week crafting away to my coronary heart’s content material in an early entry copy of the sport, and to date, it hasn’t disillusioned.
The very first thing I seen within the sport was the vastly improved character creation. I felt like there was an excellent vary of choices, each when it comes to customizable coloration and elegance. I performed round with my character’s hair for an excellent whereas, and naturally, gave myself some sparkly coronary heart eyes. In case you felt like customization was missing within the sport’s predecessor, you may be pleasantly stunned right here.
Following the character creation, you may be launched to the brand new world. Gamers might now discover the gorgeous new Eufaula Desert the place the common-or-garden city of Sandrock resides. Sadly, the folks of Sandrock depend on a dwindling provide of water from Martle’s Oasis, a pure spring that had beforehand been bustling and able to offering greater than sufficient water to the city. Principally, poor administration and air pollution have left it a shadow of its former self. Because of this Martle’s Oasis is in want of great restore, leaving the participant’s character to collect the assets mandatory for its fixing.
The map itself is larger than My Time At Portia’s by virtually 50%, and is not lined by the big sea that took up a lot of the earlier map’s area. As a substitute, gamers will discover the world populated by relics and ruins which are open for exploration. Whereas the terrain and environments aren’t as lush, they do deliver a brand new desert vibe and with it a completely new setting to help the story.
Your character arrives with nothing of their very own apart from the small, shabby workshop the place they may reside. Identical to the farmhouse in My Time At Portia, this workshop is upgradeable and open to your participant to embellish! I spent most of my time specializing in inserting and upgrading my equipment outdoors, however I can not wait to spruce up my residing space a little bit extra and make it really feel much less run down.
As water will not be very ample, you’ll have to sustain together with your provide and ensure it stays topped up. This was one of many mechanics that I discovered a bit annoying within the sport, nevertheless it truthfully provides to the immersion because it traces up with the story. It additionally provides a little bit extra depth to the crafting since it is advisable to gasoline your equipment whereas additionally watching the water tank’s provide in order that it doesn’t deplete.
Fortunately, different assets in Sandrock are ample even when the land appears to be like barren. You’ll be able to spend a while kicking a tumbleweed round for fiber, or you may scavenge via a pile of junk for varied items. Vegetation are scattered all through the world that present completely different matierls, and if you happen to want the rest you may dive into the mines. Farming is one other enjoyable, resource-rich facet of My Time At Sandrock. It is possible for you to to make use of the land to domesticate and develop crops that you should utilize in recipes or promote.
Timing will not be too necessary with the principle goals as you may take them as slowly as you want to. This makes the sport really feel extra enjoyable, and it additionally provides you time to select up different aspect quests to do for cash or assets. I actually favored the regular tempo and ended up making myself a schedule in-game that labored, leaping between the first and secondary missions. By doing commissions for characters, I used to be additionally in a position to befriend them far more rapidly than merely chatting day by day. This provides much more incentive to select up requests from the board. Different quests will name so that you can restore issues for the federal government, like defective bridges or new elevators.
Whereas the timing is as much as you for greater issues like quests for the principle story, commissions you decide up for townsfolk could have limits so you will want to complete them inside a specific amount of days. A few of them will name for extra assets and fewer time, however the rewards can be better in flip.
A extremely helpful change in My Time At Sandrock has been the stock and equipment administration. You’ll be able to swap between completely different storage chests rapidly upon getting opened one reasonably than needing to go to the others manually. Machines and worktables additionally hold monitor of your quests and allow you to know what it is advisable to construct for it and what number of of a sure factor you will want.
Sandrock doesn’t shrink back from fight, and it is possible for you to to come across varied unusual enemies that can depart you questioning… did I simply defeat a lizard bandit? The reply can be sure. It is possible for you to to modify between melee fight and ranged fight, a characteristic I discovered to be a terrific enchancment. As normal, you may craft your weapons and defensive gadgets (e.g. shields). Get able to really feel like a cowboy knight working across the desert with weapons and swords.
The brand new world boasts 40 distinctive characters you could construct up a relationship with. They didn’t overlook to incorporate the fan-favorite animal NPCs. Prepare to satisfy and fall in love with Captain, the eternally grumpy kitty roaming Sandrock.
The townsfolk all have distinctive personalities and there are storylines to go along with them. Pen, Sandrock’s very personal “superhero,” is only one instance of a personality with many quirks. There’s additionally the excitable Elsie engaged on her father’s farm, hard-headed Cooper, protecting Justice, and extra. I felt like characters positively had a bit extra spark to them in Sandrock than in Portia.
There are different small options all through the gameplay that made me smile. In case your character is an excessive amount of of an evening owl and so they keep up previous midnight, they could get up with some darkish circles beneath their eyes! This was a cute shock for me, and made the sport extra immersive. It was little particulars like this one that basically caught my eye and demonstrated how the staff has been striving to make the sequel extra of a enjoyable expertise for gamers.
In the end, this sport seems like a stable sequel. Whereas it isn’t an enormous change from My Time At Portia, I really feel like that’s a part of what makes the sport so engaging to me as a fan of the unique. Adjustments had been made in some good locations and issues had been improved upon to make an general higher expertise. I really feel that the world map’s change and the storyline themselves let this sport stand alone as a follow-up to its predecessor.
If My Time At Sandrock sounds just like the sequel you’ve been ready for, make sure you test it out upon launch this Friday on Could 26. There can be extra to sit up for than simply their preliminary launch, as they’ve multiplayer and different new options deliberate for the longer term. When you’ve got not but performed the unique title, no worries. You can begin with Sandrock!