The Islander Reviews

The Islander is a very charming idle game with quite a bit of potential, which unfortunately most likely won't be utilized further. Don't get me wrong, it is a good game, but it has its own flaws that can be rather severe if you don't prepare for them in advance. First the good things. I personally count figuring things out on your own often as a big plus in games like these and The Islander doesn't leave you hanging in that regard. You're just thrown on the island to figure things out and no one is holding your hand in this. The interface has everything you need basically, and as one progresses through the game, it will eventually just click. The different decoration options are pretty neat and having them actually affect the game play in form of multiplier is pretty neat, and there are things to choose from. The random island mode also is pretty good, giving you pre-made layout of island that you can plan around to make the most out of it. This mode I could see myself playing more often if things I found the game lacking would get addressed. Now the ugly... Unfortunately the lack of any kind of tutorial or hint system can be frustrating to some. The game also doesn't auto-save for you, so if the game happens to crash for any reason, your island goes there and you need to start from the beginning if you didn't save before. I also wish I was kidding when saying that during the 6 hours I played the game, there were 5 crashes that just shut the game. Thus you need to religiously save your progress. The regular island mode also leaves a lot to be desired when you are done with expanding the island to its maximum. Thus you really need to plan your layout to get the multiplier to maximum while same time having decent profits coming in. Speaking of the multiplier... the decorations don't really make any difference, they just give as many points as they occupy the amount of space, so four flowers and one four-tile flower are essentially the same thing. Meanwhile with random island mode, it kinda leaves you wishing that there were bridges you could build, just so you could let your little Islander go over small bodies of water. Also... you can't get rid of Coco Bots once you buy them as there's no way to just turn them off... and sometimes these same bots just wander off to who knows where, when you have perfectly good resources to be collected. I just eventually ended up turning off the sound effects as everything began to drown under their helicopter sounds, which really just gets old really quick. While The Islander is good for a short game, I can't really recommend it in its current state. If the previously mentioned problems do not steer you away, do yourself a favor and get the game on sale rather than at full price.

The Island is primarily an idle/clicker game with 'farming sim' elements. Judging the game by this fact, it's a relatively short and simple experience. The gameplay is straightforward, and if you're aiming for 100% completion, you can unlock all the achievements in about five hours. For what it is, and at its price point, it’s a fine little game. Just don’t expect anything too deep or complex.