Island of the Ancients Reviews

Really well priced. Too well priced to convince me to request a refund and not give it another chance. I'm still within the request window at the moment, and the game has glaring issues, it does, but I don't want to. Overall, the things that intrigue me about it outweigh the problems. It's hard to explain this game. It's a third-person, first-person action shooter with RPG-esque stat increases that you gain naturally as you play, alongside the collecting of crystals and downing enemies. The shooting is honestly fine; given the other problems, I was worried about the combat, but I have no issue with it. Combat is simple but fun. Graphically, the environments are nice. I suppose I would've been alright with them looking less nice if it meant I didn't have to wait two-to-three minutes in load times, but once you're in, yeah, it makes exploration fun. Character models, on the other hand, are merely serviceable. They're not terrible, not bad, but they're not anything great, either. Story-wise, it's insane, and a mess, and really fun. The best part of Island of the Ancients, so far, has been its story. I have absolutely no idea what the hell is happening, and as a fan of B and Z-grade schlock, this hits a sweet spot for me. Every character speaks in text-to-speech, which only heightens the surreal oddity of playing Island of the Ancients, so I can't complain about that either. From what I can gather, your daughter is a budding medium, or has psychic powers, and she's having nightmares about ghosts in the attic of your home. So you (you, by the way, are BOTH of the parents; you can switch between them, as well as customize the racial makeup and genders and clothing of all four family members) gather up your family and head out on vacation. Unfortunately, the plane crash-lands on a mysterious island, which brings your daughters powers to full bear. The problems I have are with the jank, mostly. This is an indie (what, two people? One?) development, and one of the most ambitious I've ever seen of its kind, AND it's finished! No languishing forever in Early Access, this is released as a complete product. So with that needs to be an understanding that this is not going to have some of the quality of life elements or sophistication of larger games, and there must be a degree of leniency with the jank. You will, for instance, get stuck on terrain. This is such a persistent probability that there is an Unstuck command taught to you at the beginning of the game. Furthermore, I have not been able to get the companion system to work. At all. This Wolf Pup is just stuck to my side, indefinitely, and the controls recommended to switch out companions or send them away simply don't work for me. At one point I was magically transported to some other spot on the map (no, I did not enter a teleporter; I was standing on the beach, and then suddenly I wasn't; I was up on a high cliff, next to a giant crystal I needed to be near in order to get the story to progress). To make short 90 minutes of game time (well, maybe 60 minutes; there has been a LOT of loading and restarting as I tried to make things work) sometimes I was enjoying myself, and a fair amount of time I've just been frustrated trying to figure out how to get the game's systems of play to work. I'm recommending this to people who understand what they're getting into. It's bizarre, it's funny, it is NOT a cheap, weekend project asset flip. There is genuine work put into this, and the developer clearly wanted your money to be well spent. But it's also flawed and janky and, at times, frustrating. If you're willing to take the risk, Island of the Ancients offers a unique and ambitious experience. I'm going to continue giving it a chance.

Some times you are in the mood to play unpolished, with some bugs, but decent game with heart. Considering not high price i recommed this game as break from something with big budget.

Very interesting journey. Loved the different creature models. Certain levels were spooky. Would like to see more damage notifications, like a reddened screen or a sound from player character indicating somethings attacking you.

Do not recommend this game at all, I have a pretty decent machine, but this game is terrible, controls are wow um actual trash, graphics on ultra high are reminiscent of PS2 maybe PS3, instructions are vague and illogical not worth a penny more than $1.50. save yourself the trouble and hard drive space and give this game a miss.

Wow, a little rough around the edges, but holy smokes wow! The first 15 minutes are really slow, but after that, you will be in awe of the level of detail, and polish and just fall in love with one of the most unique games on steam at the moment. Screen tearing and foliage pop in are the only real issues, and honestly, who cares right, those issues are small and I would adore them to be fixed just so the game looks at its prom night best, but, nothing wrong with PJs and a good pillow fort either though. I love this game, flat out love it, there is nothing like it, and this is exactly the kind of game I was looking for, run around, shoot stuff, level up, complete quests, interact with your family and go on one heck of an adventure. Please dude, make more games, and polish this one so the Melvins can see its glory lol. (Update, you can rescue other survivors, play the game in first or third person, and there are human enemies to shoot! The levels are long, they are beautiful and overall, I just love this game so freaking much! Thank you Insight Gaming, you have just given me so far over 3 hours of happiness! I cannot thank you enough!)

Starts off charming, and quickly spins into a grand adventure worthy of the science fiction novels of old. Armchair critics who can't abide a few rough spots, should steer clear. I enjoyed every minute, and appreciate the care and craft that Insight has put into this experience.