If you can’t wait for the new Animal Crossing game, this cute island town builder may be able to scratch that itch, find out more in this Castaway Paradise review!
An instant vacation on a tropical island!
Story:
Your boat gets caught in a storm and you find yourself washed up on the shore of a beautiful island. Mayor Viktoria welcomes you to Castaway Paradise and immediately puts you to work. LOL
The aim of the game is to help the villagers to rebuild this gorgeous island after the storm left in ruins. As you complete tasks and level up you open up new areas of the map. You will meet Angus, Amelia and Gustave who you help with things like deliveries and rebuilding their homes.
Looks:
The 3D graphics are delightful, super bright and are just really cute. A lot of detail has gone into each item in the catalog from the clothing to the critters and plants. I was especially impressed by the storm at the beginning of the game, that wave!!
Sounds:
The music is chilled, chirpy and tropical, which are great for relaxing and gives you a happy feeling inside. I found myself humming along as I was waiting for my corn to harvest and I even fell asleep playing one afternoon I was that relaxed!
The only issue for me was the sound options are ON or OFF.
I think a K.K slider option on the volume would be great and I only noticed this because I tried to stream some gameplay and although my setup is minimal, the ability to slide the sound down a little would have helped. I found a way to work around this by using the PS4 party chat audio options.
Plays:
The tutorial gets you started with the basics and then it’s side quests for days. It’s fun trying to tick off all of the daily quests and collect that day’s bonus or badge. If you are a trophy hunter, you are going to have a lot of fun with 40 to unlock.
As tempting as it is, don’t try to tidy the island up too quickly. I was stuck on a quest for ages because I’d cleaned up all of trash too soon and had to wait for it to regenerate. OOPS!
It took my brain a while to forget the Animal Crossing controls and figure out where my tools where but once I did it was easy enough to remember although I’m still getting my head around the fishing and fish food combo.
You have access to certain tools such as fishing rod, bug net, duster, watering can and shovel. These can be upgraded with gems in the catalog tab which is also where you will find and amazing selection of outfits, hairstyles and shoes. You could spend a solid gaming sesh playing dress up and I loved that there were Star Wars and Angry Birds inspired clothing! You can also stop off and visit Marcel the Fashion Director for something fancy at Stuff2Buy.
Fishing
The fishing feature is my favourite feature, especially since there are some creative fish to catch including the Piccaso fish or the elusive flying squid which is needed to fix the town’s photocopier. There is different fish food which you can purchase and can help with catching rare species.
Bug Catching
Creep carefully with your bug net and you can catch a lot of bugs, it depends on which flowers and plants you have in you town. This can be a bit tricky at first as the bugs seem to zoom across the floor.
Once you unlock Harold’s museum, you can donate items and complete your collections.
Farming
I have to say it, I am not a fan of farming features in games. I never have been and I think this is because I don’t like feeling obligated to play 5 hours later to harvest a crop otherwise it will be spoiled by bugs.
However, I was super happy to discover that although the farming is timed in Castaway Paradise, you can return a day later and your crops will be ready and waiting for you, whether you want to send them to the silo or continue to evolve them. Trees and plants can also be planted to decorate your island.
Buildings and Decor
Your starting accommodation is a tent, but once you begin to make bank you can start upgrading and expanding your home. The catalog and Samir’s shop have plenty of home decor to make your space just as you like.
There are also special events around Halloween and Christmas. I can’t wait to see what they have planned for Halloween.
Final Thoughts:
All in all this is a fantastically cute game that I urge fellow Animal Crossing fans to check out plus it’s rated E for everyone. It looks amazing, it’s relaxing and it’s fun to play on a big screen. This game is perfect for relaxing on the sofa with some snacks.
Title: Castaway Paradise
Genre: Adventure, Family Friendly, Simulation, Town Building
Developer: Stolen Couch Games
Publisher: Stolen Couch Games
Release Date: Out Now
Official ESRB Rating: EVERYONE
Platform: XBOX One, Playstation 4, Steam
Price: $12.99 / $14.99
*Stolen Couch Games kindly sent me this game for review on PS4. All opinions are my own!
Have you played Castaway Paradise yet? Who is your favourite character?