A long, long time ago I heard about a new game on mobile that clearly had been inspired by Animal Crossing. Dutch company Stolen Couch had made Castaway Paradise, a blocky looking game that had the same kind of gameplay as in Animal Crossing at its heart. The game was free to download, so the micro transactions kind of killed it for me back then. Now though, the game is coming to the Nintendo Switch, to be published by Rokaplay. I’m very curious to see on release date (April 29th) if the game still is fun!
A Blocky Version of Animal Crossing
I can of course only tell of my experience with the mobile game, but this is the storyline of the game: You are washed ashore on, you guessed it, an island, but at least you’re not alone. The mayor is there to welcome you, and after the kelp beard is taken off you your looks are revealed, dependent on whether you choose to be a girl or a boy. You spend your first time on the island sleeping in a tent, tending flowers, picking apples, fishing, catching bugs ( hey, nobody said it would be frightfully original) and doing chores for the islanders. Familiar eh?
Eventually you upgrade your house, build more bridges to reach other parts of the islands and get to know more islanders. Fill up the museum with bugs and such, and even play on the stock market to make more money. So, no Tom Nook here, but you still need a lot of in-game currency to make it work!
A Good New Simulation Game on Switch?
Don’t expect the smooth and cute graphics of Animal Crossing, and you won’t be disappointed. It’s a blocky approach, and I’d even say the characters are kinds ugly. But the game keeps it very interesting to play, with festive times like Christmas, lots of decorations. Around the winter holidays for example, the island will be covered in snow, and you can help the villagers by decorating all the houses and the rest of the island.
In the mobile version, it had a good social component too, giving each other gifts. What I didn’t like in the mobile version though, is the rather aggressive approach to micro transactions. And that’s why I think this game will be perfect on the Switch for a set price. That way we can enjoy the game without further micro transactions needed.
Check out the trailer below