Amber Isle

[h1]Reccetear-lite, but Dinos![/h1] [i]This is a review in-progress. While I have very little time put in, I've already popped this in as a keeper to my library, and wanted to get something a bit more up-to-date and relevant for other folks curious around the currently running sales period.[/i] [b]What is Amber Isle?[/b] I'd best describe it as a very light version of Reccetear, mixed in with the villager-focused psuedo-open "story" of Critter Cove/Animal Crossing. You're a shopkeeper, you're the only one who can craft anything, you know the drill. If you're entirely unfamiliar with shopsims, Amber Isle is a perfect entry title. It does lack a little quality of life for those familiar to the genre, but is more than servicable. [b]Should I buy this?[/b] If you're looking at this during the -75% sale period? Yes. If you're even a little bit interested in an Animal Crossing x Shop Sim tie-together, or love your dino games, this one's a no-brainer. Honestly, 9 dollarydoos felt like a total steal, so I wound up getting the Deluxe version on top to support the devs. [b]First Impressions: Pros[/b] - The character customization is meaty! It's not as in-depth as Critter Cove (the difference being a chasm even just for species), but the fact I was able to create a very cute Nargacuga-esque avian Paleofolk is a big win in my books. One massive point it has over CC is the ability to [b]save[/b] your presets! Sufficient layering/colour options will definitely have you stuck in to perfect your character for the first hour. - Well-written and personable characters. Obviously, the bar for expectations isn't all that high, but I was pleasantly surprised given how easy it is for these kinds of games to be painfully dry (or worse, have NPCs who don't talk at all!). - Tutorial being baked into the story (more an introduction). I'm not honestly sure why this is such a persistent complaint in the couple of Negative reviews I've seen, because at most you'll be in the tutorial stage (before Adi lets you loose) in less than an hour. It does a good job at cementing menu/sub-menu usage so you're less likely to get lost later on. [b]First Impressions: Cons[/b] - Notice how many of the reviews talk about the camera? It's.. not honestly THAT bad. You do have the ability to zoom out, but the perspective is hard-locked to front-facing, meaning no turning. You'll find the occasional half-second problem with resources tucked behind cliffs, but their very visible positions mean you're not missing them when you walk by. - You cannot rename your character or your shop. This is a particular lack of quality-of-life that I find baffling, though I'm hopeful - given the last major update was just in March - they have it on their radar for the future. It's just a bit odd that such a basic feature isn't in the game nearly two years after its release.

You're a dino and you run a shop. Worth 8$ on sale

Ye

I must say the art style is what pulled me into the game. I knew nothing else about it before I bought it since it was on a sale. I do think it is worth what I paid for it, but maybe not higher. It's like a simplified version of Stardew Valley. You get resources, craft items, sell them at your shop, rinse and repeat. You are also supposed to be able to bond and build friendships with townsfolk, but I have yet to see much of that in my current run. Take that with a grain of salt as I have only been playing for a few hours. They're moderately generous with the way you can customize your own character. I will say that even though you have the option to save presets, if that save file is lost your presets are also lost for some reason. Gathering resources initially yielded quite a lot of them. Over time however that begins to dwindle down and you can only get a few resources per day (until i assume you can unlock some sort of upgraded tools). Again I've only played for a few hours so there might be much more to the progression system. While there is certainly room for improvement when it comes to progression, I think it is overall a fair game with very memorable characters. I have a lot of fun voice acting them myself to bring them to life as the game has no voice acting of its own unfortunately. 8/10

Very nice game that's really chill, I always have a really good time playing

This is a cute cozy game with island building, shop management and time management. You can play at your own pace which is a nice feature. It is fun and relaxing.

Totalmente cozy, recomendable si te gustan juegos como Animal Crossing.

It's a fairly simple gameplay loop so far, but it's really fun! It's easy to turn your brain off and just enjoy gathering, running your shop, and talking to your dino friends! The story has been interesting so far, I can't wait to see where it goes!

Really fun and cute :3 lots to do, the building is fun, the shopkeeping is fun, the quests are alright Saw a review saying that the controls and camera are objectively bad - Im going to have to hard disagree with that, the camera is very adjustable and theres very few times in which the camera angle genuinely bugs out. Controls are easy. Being able to change keybinds would be nice, but oh well. I do wish there was more outdoor decor for building outside that looks fitting for said areas, but oh well.

This game is basically along the lines of what I expected animal crossing to be. That game let me down but this games great! Needs work on being more controller friendly as the cursor never goes where you want it to. Wouldn't mind just a bit more character dialogue and the relationships feel like they are just one layer short of being super engaging. that said, I love the characters, the art style, the gameplay loop if fun and relaxing and I honestly just love seeing all the dinos enter my shop. It's great and very chill.