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Even when it works on a technical level, Stranded Sails does next to nothing to earn its widespread comparisons to the far superior Stardew Valley.
For those who yearn to vicariously populate out their fantasies of being strand on a desert island , Stranded Sailsseemingly has it all . craft , farming , cookery , and high seas geographic expedition are the name of the game here , and the adventure - meets - feigning natural action is wrap up up in a very charming audiovisual package . It has all the crucial fixings to provide something for every kind of player , but the overall experience has point its held underwater by half - baked grease monkey and a plodding , hand - bear tread , the latter of which attain the whole thing find like an elongated tutorial . If that were n’t enough to to the full take the wind out of its sail , the game is also chevy by game - get out hemipteron that are liable to destroy a save and force players to start their voyage afresh .
Presentation - wise , though , Stranded Sailsis a pleasure to behold , with its artistic production style rest comfortably between discriminating contingent and low-pitched - poly minimalism . Characters - whose roster includes a girl or boy protagonist , their ship captain father , and a cast of stranded crewmates - and the game ’s fistful of island environments have the visual coziness ofPS2 - erapolygons that have been prettied up with New sensibilities and lighting . A reasonably measured solar day - night cycle bathesStranded Sails ’s round-eyed world in a variety of pleasant hues ( with the rising and setting of the offscreen sun being special standouts ) , while a well - bring about soundscape works to accentuate area and make some mundane actions like harvest harvesting or eternal sleep feel square .
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betimes on , these superficial elements define players ' time withStranded Sails , but they do n’t hide the too bad reality of its gameplay for long . Leading up to free , the game was lauded as apirate - theme reimagining ofStardew Valley , gaming ’s chancellor indie darling when it comes to relaxing farm pretending . While that charming classic has some of the most habit-forming gameplay hook around , strand Sailssole meaningful focusing is to shape up through its tedious taradiddle via a gauntlet of fetch quest and tutorial - like make-work . Thereisfarming , sportfishing , and a few other survival activities to be done , but those activity are either optional or can be done at the bare lower limit to keep the player going on their slog of a submarine ’s journey . Role - players can live as elementary island James Leonard Farmer or fishermen if they really want to , but , unlike ingames likeStardew Valley , the game will sit down dead in the water as a invariant monitor that there ’s only one correct way to wreak .
Although it ’s limiting and insistent , Stranded Sails ’s core gameplay loop topology is n’t horrible , but it is n’t fun either . The tarradiddle unfolds across four main islands that can be achieve by rowboat , and written adventures will see histrion reunite their disparate crew , build a lifeless settlement to domiciliate them , and expose the secrets of the curst island string that ground their seaborne to a stop . There are a variety of activities that need to be done to complete mission ( trees need chop , treasure involve digging up , ancient skeletal system need … killing ? ) and waypoints are thankfully never throw up onscreen to be followed , but it almost always boils to traveling to point A to collect an particular before return to camp or move onto point B-complex vitamin to wash , rinse , and repetition . Accompanying a sundial at the top of the HUD is a stamina metre that will prematurely kick player back to pack when emptied , but a meager amount of farming ( no , not that kind ) and cooking can ensure that the player character soldier on like a unflagging automaton .
That does n’t paint the prettiest of depiction , but unlucky players who adhere withStranded Sailslong enough are in for far , far worse . Until thing hit the fan , the game seems impressively urbane and hemipteron - free for an indie of moderate compass , with dynamic lighting , shadower , and pretty H2O effects never causing so much a drop in frame charge per unit . However , as was the pillowcase for this review and in numerous self - report substance abuser revue , there may arrive a percentage point inStranded Sailsplaythroughs where thing get screwy beyond repair ; the secret plan may perpetually crash when load a save , whole islands may disappear beneath players ' fundament and commit them falling into infinite limbo , and even the all - important rowboat may permanently fly , nominate further build impossible . strike some of these points of no return can write the substantive end of a save , and starting another to contact former progress can be a tall order after putting in potentially a dozen or more hours into an already boring plot .
bug , even on the monolithic scale ofStranded Sails ’s , can be define post - launch , but no modest patch or bug fix can reach far enough into the secret plan ’s waterlogged soul to make this experience seaworthy . As it is , it ’s the sorting of pretty , mindless experience that histrion can throw on a podcast to heed to while ticking off nonsubjective boxes and once in a while engaging in largely purposeless side tasks , but it ’s no phantasmal successor toStardew Valleyon any conceivable level . Had this reader even been able-bodied to seeStranded Sails ’s mildly piquant story through to its conclusion , it ’s doubtful that it could provide anything to make trudge through such shallow piss all over again worth it .
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strand Sailsis available for PC , PlayStation 4 , Xbox One , and Nintendo Switch . Screen Rant was provided an Xbox One codification for this review .
