Islanders: New Shores Reviews
Islanders: New Shores is a gorgeously vibrant and chilled experience, one that brings a zen-like vibe to the city-building genre. Accessible and addictive, you'll wish you could stay in paradise just a little bit longer.
It's cute in its minimalism, and remedial in its gameplay loop, yet despite promising to find that je ne sais quoi in the future, Islanders: New Shores doesn't have it now.
ISLANDERS: New Shores builds upon what made the first game great and why I got it in the first place back in 2020. It added new elements to keep players engaged, while also providing a fresh improvement from the first game, by featuring better visuals, music, improved gameplay mechanics, and a points system that encourages you to reach the top of the leaderboard. It's a cozy game if you're after something chill or an intense puzzle game if you're after that top spot. Regardless, it's addictive and will keep you hooked.
Fun minimalist city-building sequel on PS5
ISLANDERS: New Shores is a chill building experience, full of strategy, that requires a lot of planning to maximise your score, but it remains a calm and relaxing experience.
Blending a relaxing feel with a light touch of strategy, Islanders: New Shores is a great game to spend a few hours in a leisurely, carefree way.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Wonderfully zen and relaxing, Islanders: New Shores is the city building game for people who don't want to get bogged down with nitty-gritty. All you need to worry about here is placing buildings and getting the highest score possible — and if even that sounds too stressful, there's a sandbox mode that simply lets you design your own aesthetically-pleasing townscape.
You still retain your overall score from island to island to shoot for a position atop the online leaderboard, and that "one more run" feeling is as strong as ever given the simple gameplay and the constant dopamine drip of numbers going up and card packs unlocking. ISLANDERS: New Shores is almost certainly going to enjoy a lengthy stay on my Switch's home screen as a way to settle into bedtime vibes at the end of the night. It's a fun, approachable puzzle sim that should hook fans of the original back in while also bringing even more people to these chill island settings.
Honestly, I don’t have any complaints about Islanders: New Shores. It delivers on all fronts: gameplay, visuals, and sound design. It fully captured my attention, and the experience was more than pleasant. It’s the kind of game you open “just for 10 minutes” and find yourself playing an hour later. So I guess… they did it again!
Islanders: New Shores is an awesomely relaxing puzzler with some optimized features to enhance it from the original. This is a great way to laze on a Sunday afternoon or during breaks in a busy day.
ISLANDERS: New Shores is an absolute treasure that improves on everything set up before. Amazingly, it also ends up being a great entry point for newcomers by remaining soothing and unstuffy even with the added bells and whistles.
Islanders: New Shores on Xbox Series S offers a familiar yet significantly enhanced experience compared to its Steam predecessor, drawing players in with its minimalist city-building puzzle gameplay and improved graphics. Despite minor control quirks and a less appealing sandbox mode, the game provides a deeply engaging and relaxing puzzle experience, making it a highly successful and captivating evolution.
Review in German | Read full review
Islanders: New Shores takes everything that was good about the first game and smartly builds upon it so that it’s never too overwhelming or doesn’t become tedious or frustrating. The same zen, relaxing vibe that was present before is still very active here but slightly more gameified to add longevity and extended interest. All with the added promise of an extended roadmap. If you loved the first, you’ll adore this. And if you need something extra and chill to break up your patterns, this is a perfect palette cleanser.
ISLANDERS: New Shores is the epitome of what a fantastic sequel ought to be. It adds to the experience in significant and thoughtful ways while honoring what made the original game unique.
ISLANDERS: New Shores is a meditative puzzle disguised as a builder. It’s a game about placement, rhythm, and calm thinking. It’s relaxing, rewarding, and quietly brilliant. Whether you’re chasing a leaderboard run or crafting a sleepy island village in Sandbox mode, it offers just enough strategy to keep you engaged and just enough beauty to make you care. It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t overwhelm. It invites you to stay a while — and maybe build something a little better each time.
Islanders: New Shores is a gentle, minimalist city-building puzzler that doesn't ask much of you—just your time, a little spatial awareness, and maybe a love for making things look pretty. It's a meditative experience, perfect for unwinding after a long day or for a short session when you're craving something calm and low-stakes.
Islanders: New Shores is, in every way, an improvement from the original Islanders game due to new buildings and gameplay elements.
ISLANDERS: New Shores is a colorful, relaxing yet challenging city-builder that serves as a worthy successor, offering clear visuals, strategic scoring, creative sandbox features, and amazing content for its price.
Review in Dutch | Read full review