Developer: rokaplay
Publisher: rokaplay
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch
Tested on: Switch
Sugardew Island – Review
A cozy game is the perfect way to unwind after a long day. Even more so when farming and cute animals are involved. Sugardew Island is a farming sim in which farming is an all-consuming activity. In order to achieve the greater goal of the game, you need to sell products, and to sell products in your shop, you need to grow them. So if you love farming games and want nothing more from your gaming experience, then this game is perfect for you. But if you want more, you might want to sit this one out, and here’s why.
Story
Sugardew Island’s story is rather simple, as it’s just the island’s history and that’s it. There’s no in-depth story that unfolds once your character sets foot on the island, and there are no interesting side characters to meet. In Sugardew Island, your character is shipwrecked on a nearly deserted island. The island is inhabited by the Harmony Tree, forest folk, and nature spirits. A quick note here: you will be able to romance the latter later on, which is a fun addition to the game, but unfortunately, no deep relationship develops, and it remains rather shallow.
Anyway, in a small hut, you’ll also meet Tomte, the island trader and pretty much your only real ally in the game. He explains the history of the island and how it became deserted. Inside the island is the Harmony Tree, which is overgrown with thorns. The island was once a place of harmony between the forest people and the humans, but the humans became greedy and tried to take more than their share. This created a magical reaction that caused the island to be overrun with thorny vines. Bringing harmony back to the tree is the only way to restore the place. The way to do this is to grow produce and sell it in your shop.
The history of the island might pique your interest, but no real storyline develops from there. There’s also little to no dialogue in the game, apart from Tomte and a few one-liners from the four nature spirits. It is this lack of conversation and companionship that makes the game a rather monotonous experience. You will also meet a mystical fox-like creature who lives in the tree, but he dislikes you immediately.
Graphics
The visuals of Sugardew Island make up a little bit for the lack of story. The visuals are cute, vibrant, and colorful. However, if you’ve played farming sims such as Story of Seasons, then the graphics in this game will be lacking a certain spark. Fortunately, the cute animals and adorable design of the forest folk make up for it.
Sound
The soundtrack doesn’t really stand out. The tunes are pleasant and appropriate for a farming game, but there’s little variety, and if you don’t pay attention to the music, you might not even notice it’s there. The game could have done better here. All in all, the sound design is extremely simple, and we expected a bit more for a title such as this.
Gameplay
Sugardew Island is a farming simulation game in which you have to sell your produce to revive the Harmony Tree. Growing your crops and selling them is the only thing that matters in this game. In the beginning, you may have trouble with the mechanics. Switching back and forth between the tools and trying to find seeds is tricky and takes a bit of getting used to. Also, the game doesn’t really offer a way to teach the mechanics. You have to figure things out for yourself, but once you get the hang of it, you shouldn’t have any problems.
As the first human in an unknown amount of time, it’s up to you to restore harmony to the land and heal the tree. You do this by accepting quests from the tree. These quests simply involve selling a certain amount of goods in your shop. The quests are laid out as islands: Bunny Island, Deer Island, etc. Each has 5 levels, and every level requires a greater number of sold items to complete. Again, there is little explanation of how to do this. This makes the whole animal island-bit quite confusing. There’s also no depth to the quests, as all you have to do is sell your produce.
And that’s Sugardew Island’s problem. Things get boring pretty quickly. All you have to do is get up, sow, water, fertilize, and wait. Other than that, all you can do is break rocks, chop down trees, and pull weeds. As your crops grow, you can harvest them and sell them in your shop, but that’s about it.
On top of that, the controls aren’t the best either. It’s just hard to focus on a certain plant as the camera is forced into straight lines. You either get used to this or it will just get you frustrated instead. Plus, everything’s one button press at a time, so you’re doing the same thing over and over again.
There are a couple of other things that you might find annoying. Firstly, during your shop’s opening hours, you’re fixed behind the counter and you can’t move. Next, the barn and livestock are pretty useless in this game. And lastly, you’ll find some adorable seashells laying around on the beach, but you can’t pick them up! We simply missed extra things to do.
Conclusion
The game needs more. A lot more. There are too many frustrations, and it just isn’t fun to press the same button over and over again. It’s nice that there are some romantic elements, but otherwise, there’s nothing really exciting going on. However, if working the land is your favorite part of these games, Sugardew Island should be high on your list. But if you want more than that, you might want to sit this one out.
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