Available for more than 2 years on PC, Islanders showed up at an Indie World conference on Nintendo Switch, with immediate availability. The opportunity to relaunch a title that I really liked when it was released. Does the magic still work? Yes, largely.
Each new game will offer a selection between two "packs".
GrizzlyGames' game hasn't evolved much since its initial release, which isn't a bad thing given the quality of the base title. We are still dealing with a city-builder type management game, but very simplified. No need to manage the economy of his island, nor to count the inhabitants, nor to check the literacy rate of the population. A single score is authentic in the game, and this score will increase the placement of your different buildings on the map.
We start the game at 0 points, on an island randomly generated by the game, and we will have to choose between two building packs. Depending on the topology of your island, you will have to favor one pack over the other: if your island is wooded, the lumberjack pack will seem more suitable than an agricultural pack, which will be used on vast plains. When placing your building, you will see a score appear. The more elements that match the building, the better the score. A sawmill in the middle of a forest is therefore an attractive idea... at least if no other sawmill is present in the vicinity, otherwise a point penalty will apply. The goal will therefore be to arrange its buildings according to your environment, and the surrounding buildings. The houses will appreciate being close to the city center, while a druid will prefer the tranquility of nature and will see his comfort drop (hence his points) if he is attached to the city.
A photo mode allows you to immortalize your most beautiful islands!
To move from one island to another, you will have to reach a certain number of levels on the current island. After reaching the required score, you will be able to select the "complete" island on the right of the screen to move on to the next one. As long as you manage to stay within the expected scores, you can go from island to island. However, if you fail to reach the required score and you have no buildings left to place, the game ends. After one or two games where we will grope, the game will let itself be tamed and you will be able to climb in the world ranking.
By its artistic direction and its simple "score" to achieve, the game is very calming and has never generated stress on my side. You don't have to play for many hours like any city-builder to feel like you're progressing. Here, everything happens naturally and the island fills up quickly. The only slightly frustrating point in the end is when you start to run out of space on an island, and you find yourself "forced" to move on to the next island.
Quite a quick defeat this time... due to the bad position of my buildings
Side grip, I admit I was disappointed at first. The touch screen is not supported, while it lends itself quite naturally to titles of this style. Getting started will therefore be done in the classic way, using the two joy-cons. The selection and the pose are done via the joysticks (and the L and R triggers to turn the building on itself) while the camera is controlled via the ZL/ZR triggers, the left joystick and the up/down arrows. Nothing insurmountable, after a few minutes, most operations are carried out naturally, even if it seems less easy than via a keyboard/mouse combo. The studio had the good taste to add a "Backspace" button in case of installation failure. Practice ! On the technical side, nothing to report, it works like a charm, the low-poly side helping, no doubt about it.
We are therefore faced with the porting of a City-Builder as simple as it is calm, which retains most of its strengths, as well as its affordable price of €4,99. It's hard to be choosy and not fall for this "Console Edition" of Islanders.
ISLANDERS: Console Edition - Nintendo Store
