Game: Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition
Genre: Adventure, Other, RPG, Simulation
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam, PS4, & iOS )
Developers | Publishers: Chibig Studios
Age Rating: US E10+ | EU 7+
Price: US $19.99 | UK £17.99 | EU € 19,99
Release Date: April 15th, 2021
Review code used, with many thanks to Evolve PR.
Chibig Studios started the saga with a mobile version called Deiland Tiny Planet in 2016. The game got a lot of positive feedback but there was still some room for improvement. Two years later, they returned with a better and newer version for PS4 and PC.
Fast forward a few more years to 2020, Chibig Studio decided to develop Deiland for the Nintendo Switch, under a new name Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition, with exclusive content for the Nintendo Switch. They set up a Kickstarter campaign to fund the game, and within 24 hours that dream was realised as the campaign was funded. Chibig Studio first game on the Switch was Summer in Mara, which we reviewed and wrote a few walkthrough guides for.
Take care of Your Planet
Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition is a farming adventure where you take care of your tiny planet. You have to farm, craft, fight and explore the universe of Deiland.
You play as Arco in this single-player experience, in a tale about growing up. You’ll help many others who visit your little planet by completing quests for them. As you do you will reveal the secrets that lie in the heart of your tiny planet.
Young Arco
The story revolves around Arco, who looks around ten years old to me. Arco lives on the smallest planet in the universe. He wears a red cape and a pendant with a Crystal stone. Arco doesn’t know about his past nor about the purpose of him being on Deiland. As the game progresses, he will have a better understanding of things and so will you.
I don’t want to go into details about the story as I might spoil it. What I will say is that Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition story is quite charming, you are told sections of the story throughout the gameplay in various ways. From whisperings in the night to visitors telling you tales when they land on your planet.
Farm, Craft and Explore
The mechanics in Deiland are pretty simple, if you have previously played Summer in Mara they are similar to that. You farm on your little plot of land, three plots in all, talk to visitors, complete quests for them, mostly of the make this item and deliver it kind of quest. You’ll also craft, fish, mine and care for animals. Eventually, you’ll leave your planet and visit other planets as the story grows.
The difference in Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition to Mara is you’re on a planet, and that comes into play a lot.
Whenever the rain comes, you can spin the planet or move the clouds to provide the crops and trees with extra water and help them grow faster. Likewise, when a meteor strikes and threatens Arco’s house or crops, the planet can be spun so that they crash harmlessly. I like this twist from the norm in the game, it keeps you on your toes. You have to be aware of when danger threatens your planet and act accordingly to save your crops and such.
Help Visitors Land
Any visitors to your planet needs help with landing their spaceship, you only have a few seconds to land the ship, otherwise they will fly away. You can go visit other planets yourself by hitching a ride on one of the spaceships. In-between crafting, farming and completing quests your keep busy defending your little planet.
Intruders in the shape of monster slimes, bats and strange flower-like creatures will pay a visit to your planet. The combat is basic, a few presses of the A button and your opponent is taken care of. Different enemies can be killed quicker using the different tools you have. Later in the game a little bit of magic comes in to play, you can use a wand to kill the enemies and craft healing potions and such. While crafting and farming Arco’s experience level increases and you get the pick of two skills to increase after his level increases. It is not a detailed skill system as we have seen in other games, but it adds a little more to the game than just increasing Arco’s experience level.
Appeal to Adults and Children
It’s a great game if you want to sit back and relax, tending to your own little planet. The characters are nice and funny, I think Deiland would appeal to both adults and kids.
However, Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition is not without its faults. Quests are not explained well, which can cause frustration to some. Many visitors to your planet will ask for things and you have no idea where to get them. The game doesn’t offer much in the way of helpful advice at all, little snippets of information relayed to the player isn’t a good substitute for a more detailed tutorial. It’s not a difficult game by any means, but some things could be explained a little more than they are.
Features like the cabin are cosmetic as you can’t enter the cabin. The crop plots are limited in both location and quantity, preventing you from turning the entire surface into farmland which I really want to do. Certain features like wells, flowerpots and trees can be placed almost anywhere, however it’s a good idea to leave a clearing so that visitors can land their spaceships.
Visuals and Soundtrack
Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition has the same cartoon-like graphics as Summer in Mara. The game is colourful and vibrant, with the changing of the seasons means your planet never looks the same for long.
Deiland: Pocket Planet Editions soundtrack is peaceful and adapts to different occasions. Visitors to the planet get their own amusing sound, waking up happens in a soothing atmosphere. Even though sometimes there is no music to enjoy, the experience is never spoiled.
Controls
The game runs quite well, I haven’t had any frame rate issues, and load times are kept to a minimum. I have had two occasions where the text during a cut screen has changed from English to Spanish. Developers Chibg has obviously learned a lot from their release of Summer in Mara on the Switch and I think it shows in Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition as the performance is so much smoother.
The game is controlled by the joy-con, the controls do work well. Though once again the controls and menu inputs are not explained in much detail to the player, so a lot of it is down to trial and error on the player part.
Conclusion
After quite a few hours of fun gameplay with Deiland, I think Chibig studios did a good job in building on the adventure sandbox genre. Complete with a little free roam, small aspects of roleplaying and simulation, if you liked Summer in Mara you’ll enjoy Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition.
Some people will enjoy it for its sense of accomplishment. Many others will not like it due to the fact you need to wait some time for plants and trees to grow. Impatient gamers will probably not enjoy it.
However, if you’re looking for a game with lots of farming, crafting, and many many quests to complete then Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition is your game. The story is interesting, it’s not the sort of game you will rush through. This is an adventure to take your time with, enjoy the chilled life that your own planet provides, and stop and smell the roses along the way.
Final Verdict: I Like It A Lot 
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