*Note: I was given a free copy of the game for my honest review. Thank you to Renaissance PR for the Nintendo Switch game code.
I played My Time At Portia and I loved it so I was excited when My Time At Sandrock was announced. Finally it was here and I could not wait to get started. This is a sequel to Portia and it is set in the same world with the builders helping to rebuild after an event that destroyed previous civilizations. You play as a builder who has just come to the town of Sandrock which is out in a vast desert. It's quite different from the lush fields and forests of Portia, but a new setting with a new builder was exciting. The character design is great with a lot of diversity for skin tones and hair styles. You can even change the color of the hair and there are long hair options. You can tweak how you want your builder to look with the editing tools in the character design menu. Once you name your character, you're ready to go and meet everyone in town to begin your journey.
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| Welcome to Sandrock! |
I learned right away how different Sandrock is in regards to gathering resources and building. There is of course a workshop, but in order to keep the machines running you have a water tank that needs water constantly, but you also have to conserve water because you're in a desert. There are a couple solutions to this with being able to buy a set amount of water from one of the villagers and building a contraption called a dew collector which would catch the morning dew. Once you had enough dew you could make a jar of water. You can't just cut down trees because again you have to conserve water and places that help the oasis in Sandrock. You can kick the trees, cut down dead trees, and sort through scrap piles spread throughout the area. It definitely makes you plan out each day with what you want to do and makes good use of the desert setting. There are mining areas too and you do need those for building and various requests from the villagers. I feel that the mining is slightly better here in Sandrock as it feels a bit more streamlined and they improved on some things from Portia. The farming aspect is a bit different too as you have to carefully plow your fields with a special tool that adds a border of straw so the seeds you plant don't get whisked away by the wind. You also have to be aware of how much water you're using and it kept me on my toes keeping track of each detail with farming and using my machines to build.
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| Doing a bit of mining. |
Sandrock's story kept me going because it was interesting and added to that sense of adventure making it more than a farm sim. The whole town works together to reverse the town drying up because of a relic boom that had treasure hunters sucking up all the resources while trying to figure out the motives of Logan a bandit who was a member of the community who was kind, but suddenly went rogue and is causing a lot of problems for everyone. There is a bit of downtime between each story chapter, but when a new chapter started up I was invested. Unraveling the mystery of Logan by looking for clues, talking to people, and trying to piece the puzzle together was fun and intriguing. Some of these searches lead to old world dungeons and the combat is hack and slash mechanics like Portia. You can also use old world guns which work really well for distance attacks. The fights are straightforward and with the boss battles you have to figure out patterns and sometimes use your environment to win. These are great places to level up and you do get a lot of great rewards from them.
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| Battling it out in a dungeon. |
There are of course plenty of side quests as the town's residents make requests. There's also the builder's guild board where you can take on jobs and improve your shop's reputation while earning money as you build. Each character is different and I loved seeing how their personalities shined through as I got to know them better. This can lead to romance with some of them. There are twenty one possible romance options in Sandrock and yes, you can romance them as a guy or girl builder so there is queer romance in the game. I had a hard time choosing because there were quite a few I liked and some of their quests and requests allow you to get to know them better. You can go on a date with them which is a terrific way to learn more about them and give gifts they like. Eventually, you can choose to get married in the game to the person you choose and it's really cute and sweet. Just make sure you have expanded your house and made room for them ahead of time.
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| On a date with Owen. |
I noticed that there were a lot of quality of life improvements in Sandrock compared to Portia. Some of the ones I appreciated most was a better menu system, having icons over desert creatures showing if they're hostile, and free sprinting with no stamina bar. It made for a much easier time running around getting things done. There are holidays and festivals in the game as well that I enjoyed like a Summer festival that had everyone making a wish and releasing lanterns into the night sky. It showed very well the community aspect of Sandrock and it added a nice touch to the game.
Sandrock isn't perfect. On Switch there are definitely a few bugs and visual issues. Honestly some of them are quite hilarious like the character Matilda sometimes being stuck in a t-pose. The running joke is this is how she establishes dominance. Sometimes there would be an odd visual glitch with a tree or a rock which was also amusing. It's nothing game breaking, but it is noticeable.
Overall, My Time At Sandrock is such a great time. I've loved every single minute of it because of how good the story is while making the building, exploration, and farming aspects of it a lot of fun. There's always something new to be discovered and the townspeople in the game add to that desert life charm. It's well thought out and every detail is wonderfully done making it so enjoyable to play.
*My Time At Sandrock is available to play on the following platforms: Nintendo Switch, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows
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