Amber Isle review: Can you run a DinoStore? You bet Jurassucan

As a seasoned gamer with a heart full of nostalgia for games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, I found myself captivated by Amber Isle. The quaint island setting, the charming dinosaur characters, and the enticing shop customization gameplay loop had me hooked from the get-go.

In the bustling world of adorable, crafting, and shop-management games, Amber Isle, developed by Ambertail Games, aspires to carve its niche. This game invites you to design your own dinosaur, create and sell merchandise, and attract prehistoric settlers to the enchanting Amber Isle. The creators have a keen understanding of what the tight-knit gaming community craves, and while there are some appealing features, there are also a few items that might not hit the mark.

You do have dinosaurs in your dinosaur tour, right?

On Amber Isle, things get underway promptly by establishing the narrative framework. At a certain point in every young dinosaur’s journey, they are called upon to embark on solo adventures, develop their talents and interests, and ultimately decide their unique “dinosaur surname”.

Following the fun and charming character design interface of the game, I crafted a Triceratops-like dinosaur of my own (regrettably, no pink horns were an option), which set me on my unique “paleoadventure” to explore and define my part in this prehistoric creature’s life.

By sheer coincidence, the hot air balloon I was riding in made an emergency landing on an island, right onto a store destined to become mine. This once-thriving island, home to numerous dinosaurs, is now largely deserted. My personal growth and the need to rejuvenate this island form the setting for your adventure on Amber Isle.

As a proprietor of Tricera Treasures, my mission is to design, market, and build friendships while simultaneously revitalizing this island, piece by piece, with each unique crafted item I offer for sale.

They’re moving in herds, they do move in herds

To create items in Amber Isle, you accumulate Inspiration Points, which unlock various recipes. This currency is earned from a variety of activities on the island, giving you a continuous feeling of advancement, even during routine tasks such as setting up your daily business.

As a gamer, diving into this game, the unending flow of rewards lets me concentrate on mastering the intricate crafting aspects, such as the diverse categories. With plenty to explore, I’ve got a wide variety of merchandise to fill my store – each item boasting charming names like the ‘leaf tickler’ instead of a garden rake. It’s here that I began creating my own spreadsheet to keep tabs on crafting materials and their requirements, as Amber Isle doesn’t provide such details when my shop is open.

To keep things manageable, I postponed learning new recipes whenever feasible. The overwhelming number of crafting recipes in this game was simply too much for me to handle. Even though having over 370 recipes in a crafting game is generally advantageous, it’s not in Amber Isle. The user interface lacks a search feature, and the unusual names of items make it very challenging to find what you need, especially when a quest demands a specific recipe.

1) When I wasn’t taking care of the store, I was out discovering the area. Just like most games, the initial gameplay space is compact, gradually introducing you at a comfortable rate. By working at the shop, gaining money and Inspiration Points, you can clean up the island, open new areas, and maybe make friends with adorable dinosaurs and persuade them to relocate to the island. However, they can’t reside outside, so it’s essential to construct their homes so they can become regular customers, or rather, inhabitants.

After establishing residency in Amber Isle, it’s crucial to nurture friendships, as the game’s mechanics heavily rely on its tipping system. This system affects friendship levels, decorations for your store, crafting ingredients for merchandise, and even more aspects like the goods they purchase from you being sold through a haggling process.

It’s all oohs and aahs and that’s how it always starts

In Amber Isle, it’s unfortunate that minor glitches in the game become noticeable through the bartering system. The locals would frequently attempt to sell me goods at a certain price, which I would agree to, only for them to get upset as if I had offered them an unfairly low amount. It felt like they expected more than the price we had previously agreed upon, even though I had accepted their initial offer.

I did my best not to feel offended when they became irritable with me, because I truly wanted them to be friends. However, issues related to the store kept arising. Items on the sales floor got jammed and payment transactions froze on-screen, which affected the overall appearance of the shop.

It’s disheartening that my store’s appearance seems crucial to its success, yet I struggle due to limitations in resources provided by Amber Isle. Occasionally, customers would enter, voice complaints about the store, and depart. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t properly decorate the store according to my vision because Amber Isle didn’t offer the necessary tools. For instance, I wanted to place a stack of plates as decoration, but due to their classification as sale items, I had no choice but to put them on the floor. This arrangement is far from appealing; it lacks charm, elegance, and any aesthetic appeal whatsoever.

To prioritize gathering necessary ingredients for crafting, I temporarily set aside the shop customization tasks and ventured out to explore the island, where I also enjoyed socializing with my new friends in the meadow.

They’re uh.. they’re flocking this way

On Amber Isle, a significant portion of your adventure will unfold within your store, but there’s much more to this island that awaits exploration. Scattered throughout are numerous trinkets and treasures you can gather in your pockets for crafting later, as well as mess to clean up and benches to refurbish before I can comfortably perch on them. The treasure hunter in me thrives on exploring the environment, especially as I progress to unveil new areas.

Although the investigation is significantly affected by the camera’s fixed angle, since it can’t be rotated, we’re stuck with a single viewpoint. This leads to the camera often colliding with the environment, causing complete obstruction of sight. This problem was exacerbated by subpar controller handling, forcing me to resort to using a keyboard and mouse instead.

Even with the camera and control issues, I found it delightful to traverse the island, especially when I discovered a fresh area. A particularly memorable moment was my entrance into Woodbury Forest, where I could welcome new inhabitants and build houses for them. This experience reminded me of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but Amber Isle surpasses it by offering more depth in character development for its residents.

In my time, I couldn’t help but chuckle at some of their dialogue and felt genuinely motivated to assist with their missions to strengthen our bond. It wasn’t just about the bonus tips, but also to access additional game features and personalize the shop. Everything feels heartwarming and charming. The mayor, however, is a bit gruff; I’m making an effort to earn his approval.

Hold onto your butts

Although switching from controller to keyboard and mouse seemed to resolve my initial Amber Isle UI issues, I encountered some severe selection problems in my inventory, placement of items, and the overall menu system. Frequently, the mouse failed to select items in my inventory, regardless of where I clicked. The game didn’t accurately recognize the mouse position, forcing me to rely on the arrow keys instead. Despite these irritating bugs and malfunctions, I pressed on due to my continued fascination with the game.

Well there you have it, life, uh, finds a way

As a gamer, I’ve been eagerly anticipating diving into the world of Amber Isle, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to share my thoughts on it. While there are some minor hiccups with the camera and user interface, along with certain progression challenges that need to be ironed out, I can see myself investing plenty of hours in my store, crafting goods for my dino clientele. Amber Isle has a lot going for it, and the team at Ambertail has truly aimed to deliver an enjoyable, heartwarming adventure. By the end of this journey, I’m positive that all these charming dinos will become my friends – even the grouchy mayor!

2024-10-10 18:28