Will you be able to reach the score necessary to move on or will you end up dead in the water?
ISLANDERS is a pretty simple rogue-like city builder. You have to place buildings on small islands, and each one earns you points. Some buildings get adjacency bonuses, some can only be placed on certain terrain, and as you level up you gain access to more buildings. After you reach a score threshold you can move onto the next island, which is bigger, and requires more complex structures. It’s a very satisfying loop that start off easy, but ramps up rather nicely.
The best way to describe ISLANDERS is relaxing. The whole aesthetic, from the soft graphical style, to the music and sound effects, all work together to provide a calming experience. Buildings snap and slowly slide into tight spaces. Clouds wisp by as waves calmly roll up on shores that surround your island. Coins drift out in an arc as they get counted towards your ever growing score. It’s a very enjoyable way to unwind between more intense play sessions with other games.
As a rogue-like it does a good a job of teaching you the basics, but also requiring you to learn through failure. Over time you figure out which buildings work best where, and which get adjacency bonuses. You also learn to plan ahead, leaving room for large structures you’ll need later on. It also throws some clever scenarios at you, like winter levels where crops won’t grow, or archipelagos that must be connected with floating piers. There does seem to be a limit to the amount of buildings it will allow to place, however. I had a few games that I lost because I kept receiving the same types of structures over and over again.
The game features an online leader board so you can see how you stack up against your friends or the world at large. It’s far more complex than it initially lets on, and that can lead to some exciting runs. ISLANDERS will test your tactics while also calming your mind. At only $5 on Steam, any shortcomings are easily overlooked.
