My Time At Sandrock

''My Time at Sandrock'' is a 2023 farm life sim developed by Pathea Games and published by PM Studios and Focus Entertainment. It is the sequel of '' My Time at Portia''.

Gameplay

Players control a new resident in a desert town. The setting, like '' My Time at Portia'', is after an event that has destroyed previous civilizations and people have rebuilt society. ''My Time at Sandrock'' combines elements of farm life sims and role-playing games. Players build up the town, farm, gather resources, craft items, perform side quests, and explore both dungeons and the ruins of the old world cities. Combat is like ''My Time at Portia'' and uses hack and slash mechanics. Players can also make aimed shots with gun sights. Twenty-one characters are romanceable. The Windows version has cooperative multiplayer.

Development

The sequel for ''My Time at Portia'' was announced in October 2020 and was initially slated for release in early access in March 2021 followed by full release in summer 2022. However, after the announcement on March 2021, the early access plan was delayed due to the fact it needed "to get a local rating certification" for online publishing. After a long delay, the game finally released into early access on May 26, 2022 by PM Studios for Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. The game was then fully released on November 2, 2023, having been delayed from September 26, 2023 to ensure the game meets the players' standards and expectations.

Unlike ''My Time at Portia'' (which never planned to introduce multiplayer), the Windows version has co-operative multiplayer, allowing family and friends to play together. There are plans for ''Sandrock'' to support PlayStation 4 at a later date as well as to release downloadable content packs in 2024. Cross-platform play is planned to be available circa June 2024. This will allow players from different platforms to play together.

Reception

Early access

'' Rock Paper Shotgun'' review of the early access released in 2022 described it as "a compelling and lusciously detailed life simulator" and praised the gameplay loop.

Release

On Metacritic, ''My Time at Sandrock'' received positive reviews for Windows and PlayStation 5, and the Switch version received mixed reviews. Despite some technical issues, ''IGN'' called it "a joy" and better in almost every way than ''My Time at Portia''. They found the dungeons and combat a bit basic but said the rest of the game makes up for them. '' Nintendo Life'' called it "reasonably enjoyable" but criticized the graphics, performance issues on the Switch, software bugs, and what they felt was "a lack of a distinct identity". However, they said patches had fixed some of the technical issues since the launch. ''Nintendo World Report'' also experienced performance issues on the Switch but recommended it on the strength of its gameplay loop and enjoyable world. '' VG247'' said it combines the best parts of '' Harvest Moon'' and '' Stardew Valley''. Although they felt the concept is not new, they praised the characters, story, and gameplay.

See also

*'' Coral Island'', another farm sim that released shortly after ''My Time at Sandrock''
*''Roots of Pacha''
*'' Fae Farm''

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://sandrock.pathea.net/

2023 video games
Farming video games
Indie games
Life simulation games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Nintendo Switch games
Pathea Games games
PlayStation 5 games
PM Studios games
Post-apocalyptic video games
Role-playing video games
Western (genre) video games
Windows games
Xbox One games
Xbox Series X and Series S games