Attention lovers of all things prehistoric, there is another cozy game that just might be perfect for you. A free demo for Amber Isle was released on Steam this week as a part of this month’s Steam Next Fest. If you or someone you know is a fan of dinosaurs, life sims, Animal Crossing, or all of the above, you’ll definitely want to check it out.
I played just more than four hours of the Amber Isle demo to see if it was the game for me, and it did not disappoint. Let’s get right into how this game came to be and why it might just strike your fancy like it did mine.
The Minds Behind Amber Isle
Amber Isle is the colorful product of Ambertail Games, an indie game studio based in Northern Ireland that was founded back in 2020. This cozy dinosaur game is actually the studio’s first title to its name. When playing through the demo, it didn’t feel like a first-time game to me. It felt like it was made by a team with a lot more experience with how good everything looks and how the mechanics were planned out.
The company responsible for publishing Amber Isle is Team17. It’s a company dedicated to working with teams of talented indie developers to get their games out into the world. You may just recognize some of the games published by Team17 like DREDGE, Killer Frequency, Overcooked, and so many more. Just like those games, Amber Isle is another title under their belt that will likely be loved by many.
All About the Cozy Story
The story of Amber Isle takes the classic story of restoring a community that cozy games tend to have and puts its own spin on it. It begins with your character going on a journey that is a rite of passage in this fantasy world. This particular journey is called a Paleoventure, and it’s meant to help your character find their way and earn their very own Saurname. This journey is interrupted when you crash land through the roof of a shop located on the island where our story takes place.
From there, you are put to the task of restoring and eventually running that very shop while earning the money to pay for the havoc your abrupt arrival caused. Just like the well-known Stardew Valley and other cozy life sims like it, the story goes deeper as you become one of the primary Paleofolk who will be taking on the prolonged challenge of raising a community from the metaphorical ashes and possibly making it even better than it was back in the good old days.
The story itself feels like a combination of plots seen in different games. While playing it I noticed similarities to Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, and even the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games. The latter is mainly because of the way your character enters the story. The fact that you get to play as a cute prehistoric animal adds to that as well. Considering my biggest issue with the Animal Crossing games is being forced to play as a human, Amber Isle feels all the more refreshing.
Cute and Charming Characters
Speaking of the cartoony Paleofolk featured in this cozy dinosaur game, the character design in Amber Isle is probably the best part of the game. The artists involved with those designs have managed to take prehistoric creatures like the triceratops and megalosaurus and turn them into adorable and colorful caricatures. Each of these characters has their own purpose within Amber Isle as well as their own charming personalities. While playing through the demo, I was delighted to meet a few of them.
Of course, we can’t talk about cute Paleofolk without discussing the character creation a bit more in-depth. For the demo, customization is a bit limited to one body type, but you can still choose things like head shape, patterns, colors, and clothes. In the full version of the game, there will be more options for what creature you will be playing as. I’m not sure if there will be more clothing options as well, but for now, I’m satisfied with the available options.
What the Gameplay is Like
In terms of actual gameplay, I found the features and mechanics in this game to be surprisingly detailed. For the business aspect itself, there is much more than decorating and selling things in the shop you take over. You have to craft each and every item that finds its way onto the shelves while unlocking more recipes as you progress. You can choose your own prices, take custom orders, haggle, and even buy items from your loyal customers. While all this happens, you also have the task of keeping the shop clean.
If you think running a shop is the main thing you will be doing for this island, let me give you a bit of a surprise. Even though you are a newcomer, you will also be responsible for revitalizing areas across the island. Whether it be for recreation or to convince other Paleofolk to move in, you will be the shining beacon for a blooming community. Basically, I’d say to imagine Animal Crossing: New Horizons but on a larger scale.
With all of this responsibility being dumped on your character’s shoulders, it may seem like the game could be overwhelming at first. There’s nothing to worry about though since the tutorial does lean towards the longer side because it has so much to cover. You’ll be thankful for this tutorial when you’re a successful combination of shopkeeper, landscaper, and community activist.
Final Thoughts About the Game
All in all, I can’t express my positive feelings towards this game enough. It has pretty much everything that a person like me would want out of a cozy game. This is coming from someone who likes all things related to dinosaurs, but if the characters were not prehistoric, I’d still find myself playing it. The only reason why I didn’t play the demo more is because it doesn’t have a save feature. I’d rather experience much more of the game after the full release.
There are a few issues with it since not every game can be perfect. The sleeves of some shirts don’t bend with the character during customization, and the animation of the playable character running towards the camera seems a bit warped in a way. Those are the only actual issues that I found in the game, and I’d say those aren’t even big problems. It’s still a cute and cuddle life sim that I and others like me will enjoy playing a ton of when release day finally arrives.
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