Starsand Island came across my desk the same way most of these games do—with CGM’s Dayna Eileen presenting it to me with an interested inquiry, due in large part to general cuteness. But I’ve played quite a few of these “Life Sims, but with Farming” these past couple of months, and in some ways they’re all starting to blur together a bit, so I was really anticipating this game to WOW me.
Maybe it’s too soon to tell, since Starsand Island is still in Early Access, but it didn’t exactly ignite the fire, but it certainly sparked a couple of embers. The game has many good ideas and a solid foundation to build on, but it lacks a distinctive edge. I was never hating my time with it, but the more I played it, the more I wondered why I wasn’t just playing Story of Seasons.
Following the formula, Starsand Island begins when the protagonist decides to leave the hustle and bustle of big-city life behind and return to the idyllic island of their youth. Once there, they’ll take up a simple profession, live off the land, raise animals, and reconnect with the locals. As far as stories go, it’s pretty standard, which isn’t terrible for a game like this. But where Starsand Island falls a bit flat is in its characters.
It’s something I’ve noticed, even with Heartopia, none of the characters are visually distinct. They all kind of look like generic anime characters, where clothing acts as a substitute for physical attributes. None of them looks bad, but none are particularly remarkable. Looking back at a game like Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, all the characters had incredibly creative, diverse physical designs that fit their personalities. But when every character looks like a beautiful Saja Boy, they all just kind of blend together.
But where Starsand Island makes up for this is in its gameplay. While it follows the familiar beats of the average farming/life sim, it elevates the form by giving players greater creative freedom. I saw someone comment that it felt more like The Sims than Story of Seasons, and I can definitely see that comparison. Right from the start of the game, players are given a cornucopia of crafting options to customize and expand their house in whichever way they see fit.
“The level of control and fine-tuning in Starsand Island is remarkable, even going so far as to allow players to make minor adjustments along each axis.”
Everything from the placement of walls and roofs to decor and more is given to the player with near-unlimited freedom—save for the space itself and their imagination. The level of control and fine-tuning is remarkable, even allowing players to make minor adjustments along each axis. But it’s not just building and crafting; players have a wide range of mobility options for getting around the island, from Vespas and hoverboards to riding animals or even cars. There’s a clear sense in the game that it wants players to do things however they want and encourages them to do so.
And while the farming aspect is fairly standard, there is a bit of nuance to it that I do appreciate. I like how weeds can crop up in your plots of land, and if there are crops in them, they can die if the weeds aren’t pulled within two days. Or how plots of land can hold water for a certain number of days, and don’t require constant attention. While some players—myself included—may enjoy the familiar grind of a solid routine, I like that Starsand Island is at least considering unique ways to streamline its gameplay.
However, one thing I wish Starsand Island didn’t do was incorporate dungeons and monster combat into its proceedings. The combat isn’t exactly deep anyway, and I’m just kind of over these farming/life sim games feeling like they need combat, lest the player get bored with the day-to-day routine. Dungeon crawling and monster battling in a farming sim was a neat idea when Rune Factory did it, but unless you’re REALLY bringing something new to the table, it just feels kind of trite.
Visually, Starsand Island is fine, but a little unremarkable. Animations are fine, but can feel a bit stiff at times—I’m not sure how much of that I’m willing to let go since the game is still in Early Access. Audio is similarly acceptable, but again marred by noticeable hiccups, such as when the music restarts on a really clear loop, or in one cutscene where the English VO suddenly stopped and was replaced with Chinese (as were the in-game subtitles).
It’s still early, and Starsand Island already has a fair amount to offer players. I think what minor gripes I have with it are covered by the game’s solid farming mechanics, expansive world, and incredibly freeform building elements. There’s a lot to enjoy here, and while I don’t know if it’ll pull anyone away from Stardew Valley or even The Sims, anyone who hasn’t will find the ultimate middle ground.
