My Time at Sandrock – Spotlight

My Time at Portia, a game by Pathea Games, was one of my favourite experiences of the year a little over a year ago. My gaming interests have been influenced greatly by these Life-Farming Sim games after playing them for over 200 hours. I was apprehensive but excited when I heard that My Time at Sandrock was coming out, having had such a wonderful time with the first game. Throughout this review, I’ll discuss the most notable changes made to My Time at Sandrock and whether or not the Early Access version of the game is headed in an optimistic, promising direction.

Taking place 300 years after the “Day of Calamity,” the My Time series depicts a post-apocalyptic world. When compared to My Time at Portia, Sandrock is an unnamed desert town that is trying to boost its tourist attraction. You take on the role of a newcomer to the sleepy town of Sandrock, an aspirational builder. After you’ve moved into a new workshop, you’ll be tasked with helping the residents of Sandrock by completing town commissions and other side quests. You learn more about the world and your surroundings as you interact with other Sandrock residents.

You’re also concerned about the environment, so you’re trying to conserve water and recycle waste materials to make use of them as building materials. Each factor has its own effect on how people view farming, collecting water, and working together in emergencies, which is further emphasised in the game’s main story questline.

Portia had similar environmental themes, but My Time at Sandrock incorporates a number of new mechanics to further emphasise this theme. In particular, you’ll be penalised if you start cutting down trees for wood because a significant portion of your resources will come from recycled sources. Although the previous game’s focus was on combat, this serves to diversify gameplay and makes things feel more natural.

The player-character relationship system was also updated with some new twists, which some may argue was a welcome change. A system called the Relationship System lets you complete side missions for various characters in order to strengthen your friendship with them. You can start a relationship with them if you complete commissions in addition to giving them gifts. Portia did the bare minimum to get the system up and running, but her robotic demeanour left something to be desired. As a cherry on top, Sandrock offers some additional, exclusive dialogue, providing even more motivation to investigate these possibilities.

We saw improvements across the board, not just in these specific areas. My Time at Sandrock aims to reinvigorate combat as another major cornerstone. For those who found Portia tedious, Sandrock encourages you to shake up your arsenal and use all of the tools at your disposal. In contrast to Portia, which relies heavily on a limited number of weapon types, My Time at Sandrock offers a diverse selection with each one serving a distinct purpose. Additionally, Sandrock aims to break away from the “spam-clicking” nature of many combat systems, such as My Time at Portia, by introducing defense-breaking mechanics and enhancing dodging abilities. My Time at Sandrock’s combat is both familiar and new at the same time because of these changes.

Sandrock’s gameplay mechanics are excellent, but as an Early Access game, there are a few snags that need to be ironed out. Early on, I noticed that loading times were a major problem. It doesn’t take a long time to get into the game, but it could take as long as three or four minutes for some people. Stuttering when entering and exiting buildings was the most noticeable symptom of the app’s performance problems. It wasn’t a game-breaking problem by any means, but trying to get to shops quickly before they closed was understandably frustrating for a while there..

Another problem arose in the mechanics of horseback riding, but not in the way you might expect. Many issues can be found when you ride your horse through the town of Sandrock, but cutscenes rendered in-engine often impede character movement and soft-lock cutscenes that can’t be skipped. Only a reload and a new run through the cutscene with my horse far away from the cutscene location would do the trick. Fortunately, it wasn’t an issue that occurred frequently, but it was still annoying.

My Time at Sandrock isn’t renowned for its stunning visuals or award-winning soundtrack, unlike many other video games. A big part of the game’s appeal is the bright, cartoony art style. Sandrock’s graphics are noticeably more refined and polished than Portia’s, despite the fact that both games use the same art style. While not a direct rip-off of Portia’s, the user interface is pleasing to the eye and intuitive to use. Despite the fact that some pop-up messages had translation errors, I was able to figure out what was going on most of the time. Overall, the art in My Time at Sandrock is a significant improvement over Portia’s, and it kept me smiling throughout the entire film.

Similarly, the game’s soundtrack alternates between a soothing, desert-themed soundtrack and upbeat songs to get you ready for a new day. You’ll hear a variety of music depending on the time of day and where you are, creating a dynamic atmosphere. The biggest problem right now is that there isn’t enough voice acting. It’s strange to see scenes that clearly call for voice acting but don’t actually have any.

My Time at Sandrock’s Early Access shows that it has the potential to be even better than My Time at Portia. It’s not just a great introduction to the series, but it’s also an excellent sequel that innovates while staying true to the original’s style. Pathea Games, on the other hand, made sure that critics’ complaints about Portia were properly addressed. My Time at Sandrock’s Early Access is off to a great start, with more than 30 hours already clocked and many more to come.