Islanders Reviews
Islanders is an elucidation of how games build meaning from abstract systems. However, more than that elucidation, Islanders gave us the time to ponder. It’s a repetitive, extended, calming experience that uses just enough power of just narrow enough a collection of faculties to induce a half-aware presence in reality. Which is when you think up all the dumbest questions: could it be that contemplating the meaning of life is the meaning of life? Woah.
Islanders is a deceptively simple puzzle game where you build little cities to score points. More importantly, it's the absolutely perfect game for making beautiful picturesque villages you can fall asleep and dream about.
Islanders truly is a relaxing, immersive experience that’s so easy to get lost into. The challenge of working out the best location to place a building is endlessly enjoyable, and for puzzle fans there’s even a hint of Tetris as you rotate differently-shaped buildings in order to make them fit perfectly within a space. For players looking for something a little lighter to play, I can’t recommend it highly enough – Islanders is the perfect way to switch off and unwind from the stresses of real life.
Islanders is the perfect strategy game for people who love that genre or gamers who are just getting into it. It's a simple game that is incredibly addictive and is very hard to master! I hope more industry and building packs become available as time goes on!
Islanders is a uniquely-designed city builder that offers a relaxed experience even if you only have ten minutes to spare.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Islanders is a really interesting, serene city-building experience that reduces stress instead of adding onto it. Its clean-cut visual style and pickup-and-play mechanics fit the Switch like a glove.
Islanders: Console Edition is a very good addition to the Nintendo Switch's library. It is the the perfect game to take on the go, to play in short bursts or for longer spells. For this price you can't really go wrong.
An almost perfect game within its context, it transports us to a world of introspection and relaxation while we play it.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Islanders is a game you can play either in short bursts or hours at a time if the mood for a longer session strikes you. The entire product is a thoroughly enjoyable exercise in creation, the mechanics layered on top make the game a complete and compelling experience, while the core gameplay remains simple – and at £4.79, the hardest part is finding a reason to not own it already.
Islanders: Console Edition trims every bit of fat from the city-building genre, stripping it down to the core mechanic of plunking down buildings for points. While the controls are a bit fidgety, the chill gameplay and focused mechanics more than make up for it. Play for a few minutes or a few hours, either way, Islanders delivers.
Meanwhile, if you're just here to relax and create detailed island dioramas, Sandbox Mode is the way to go. Here, you can build to your heart's content without having to worry about score modifiers, switching islands at will. And it helps that Islanders is very aesthetically pleasing; there's real satisfaction to be found in the simplistic art style as you decorate each landscape.
A breezy and relaxing puzzle game hidden within the veneer of a city builder which just happens to be highly addictive and rewarding despite the lack of visible Islanders. Easy to pick up and hard to put down, Islanders will appeal to anyone who enjoys meditative gaming.
Islanders is simple and straight-forward but still manages to make each of its city-building runs engrossing with a high-score to chase and procedurally-generated spaces to explore. It's the charming visuals and meditative soundtrack that make your brief stays worth it, enrapturing you in a relaxing aesthetic as you try to survive as long as you can.
Islanders is a relaxing little builder more concerned with letting you get right to making the town than bogging you down with the details.
I wish the controls were a bit more refined and that some buildings came with a few more tips on where to place them. But for this small package, it has quite a lot of content that kept me satisfied. If you were to send me off to a deserted island and I could only bring one game, this one would certainly be on my list of choices.
Islanders doesn't necessarily reinvent the wheel and may have a few control issues, but it still provides a hugely enjoyable time that's always there to dive into between other games. It also has a very enticing price point of £4.19 / $4.99. The game has quickly become a perfect title to wind down with when extended sessions of Splitgate have aggravated us or the intense subject matter of Lost Judgment has become too much. If you’re looking for something to break up your gaming life, Islanders: Console Edition is a fantastic choice.
At five dollars, ISLANDERS is a steal. What it lacks in permanence, it more than makes up for in replayability thanks to its point system for score chasers and procedurally generated landscapes. I only wish I could zoom in to get a better look at what I’ve made, but that’s a quibble against something really fantastic and cool. Beyond that, this is a game I keep coming back to for how laid back it is, for it relaxes me between games I’m playing. ISLANDERS is simply wonderful, a micro game for macro enjoyment.
In a few hours of play, you will see almost everything this game has to offer you, but I doubt you’ll be done with it. It’s easy to boot the game and temper your stresses for anywhere between minutes and hours. ISLANDERS is a wonderful excursion into a simple world of city building, puzzle fitting, and high scores.
Even with simple gameplay and a small variety of game modes, Islanders manages to present a pleasant puzzle that will make you relax during the quick matches. The visuals and the soundtrack take you into these small worlds and help you forget about problems at least for a moment. The difficulty, that is high in some islands, is not a problem, since the progression will depend on what you learned in previous moves and on the chosen strategy. In the end, Islanders is an excellent option to play in short moments of rest.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Overall Islanders is a game that I was not expecting to like - at all. It didn’t take long for it to sink its hooks into me and gently coerced me down a winding path of tranquillity. Genre be damned, in a world full of elevated heart rates and perpetual soul-crushing stress, Islanders is a nice break from reality. Its gaminess can be a bit off at times, but for the most part, this is a fantastic hybrid of a game.