In the demo for Alpine Lake, I created a cute little Inn in a darling town. I also met my neighbors, explored, fished and had a really great time! I’ll bet you will too!
The Backstory of Alpine Lake
The demo for Alpine Lake began by showing the photo below. It’s an old picture of the property I had purchased. I assumed that was what the property would look like when I arrived to move in. Not!
When I arrived, I was stunned to see the building was in very bad shape, essentially non existant. The only thing I could do was tear it down and start again. Dang.
I was given a sledgehammer and went to work. When I was done, I had an empty plot of land and the motivation to start over. I received a letter from the Town Council that they wanted to meet with me, so I hopped on my bike (!!) and rode into town. I found out that the town would really like me to open an Inn on my new property, and they were willing to help me do this. How exciting!!
The Look and Feel of Alpine Lake
Alpine Lake is very special, and I loved it there! It was an extremely detailed place with wonderful small touches. The first thing I noticed was the sound effects. I could often hear beautiful bird calls in the background. I also noticed that when my character walked on pavers in town, I heard a clip-clop sound. When I walked on grass, it was more of a swooshy sound. One day, it rained, and the sound of rainfall was such a soothing, calming sound. Best of all, the fireflies came out when it got dark. So magical!
When the demo of Alpine Lakes began, there was a bicycle in front of my decrepit property. I hopped on it and had a lot of fun riding it! It made it super easy to get around fast, and the tyres made an excellent sound on the dirt paths I rode on. I thought that was such a unique feature in a game!
The demo for Alpine Lake lasts 7 in-game days. I played it twice. I don’t usually play management-type games, or games where I have to actually design and create my own buildings, but this one seemed special, so I downloaded the demo and gave it a try. I was a bit confused the first time around, particularly with the building aspect of the game. It really wasn’t difficult, but it was something new for me. On my 2nd playthrough, I understood so much more, and this time I got right to work building an Inn on my property.
Turns out I needed some materials from my local carpenter. However, I didn’t have any money to pay him so he suggested I run some errands for him instead. Ok by me!
Many of my fellow villagers lived in the town, which was a really detailed and delightful place. There was even a restaurant which was styled after the diner in Twin Peaks, as well as elements from other popular shows, like Parks and Rec and Gilmore Girls. Cool! I love to find little Easter Eggs like that in games. There was a super cozy antique shop where I could buy items for my Inn. There was a hardware store, a town hall, a pop-up farmers market, a flower shop and more. All the buildings were very pleasant to look at, colorful and cheery. As an added bonus, all the doors in Alpine Lake made an excellent sound when they were opened or closed! Bravo!
There’s So Much to Do in Alpine Lake
I learned that the Alpine Lake Regional Park was right near my Inn. I’m sure my guests will enjoy walking the trails and picnicking there. As I rode my bike through the park one day, I came upon a pond and a fishing pole. I picked up the pole and cast my line into the water. The fishing mechanic in this game was unique, hard to explain, but a lot of fun!! I usually like fishing in my games, and this was no exception! There were many locations for me to fish, too, not just this pond.
The game screen had handy reminders of my ongoing quests as well as my total money, the time of day and my energy level. The game had a day/night cycle, and the demo saved when I went to sleep at night. The full game will be the same.
There was a cave in the park in Alpine Lake. I never did figure out how to get inside there. That definitely gives me something to look forward to!
The park even had a lovely visitor center with exhibits. Most of the exhibits had signs with just ??? on them. I believe these are things I will unlock as I progress in the game. Jeff was the friendly park ranger, and he needed a lot of help! That’s ok, I’m always happy to pitch in and assist my neighbors.
The Gameplay of Alpine Lake
The game revolved around the Inn that I will run. In the demo, I first needed to meet my neighbors, and build my Inn. Then I could put out the “open” sign and start accepting guests. One of my quests was to send customers to the local diner, so that was easy! I could also suggest things for them to do, such as exploring the local park. My goal was to have happy guests who left good reviews for me. So far, in the demo, I succeeded at that!
I was given a very comprehensive journal with information about quests, my hotel, my inventory, a map, pictures I took and more. There’s even a page with gameplay information in case I needed a refresher. (it’s the tab with a question mark in my screenshot) I hope that is still a feature in the full game.
Final Thoughts
I had a nice conversation with the developer, Andrew, at Mossy Grove Games. He’s a solo dev and is working full-time on Alpine Lake so he can complete it this year. He told me he does all the game dev live on Twitch, taking suggestions from players as he works. What a great thing! If you want to watch him, here’s the link to his Twitch page.
I really liked Alpine Lake!! Because I don’t usually play this genre of game, I was a little lost at first. But once I figured it all out, it was a lot of fun! The game environment is soothing, and the challenges of the gameplay are just right. There is so much more to the demo than I discussed; I highly encourage you to try it for yourself. Based on what I saw just in the demo, I’m sure the full game will be packed with fun things to do! I’m looking forward to it.
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