Sugardew Island Review - Farming on a Budget

In a world long abandoned by humans, you'll soon take on the role of restoring balance through the power of growing crops and selling produce. This Sugardew Island review will explore Rokaplay's latest entry into the Farming RPG genre — a game that also happens to have a dash of shop simulator gameplay mixed in.

In Sugardew Island, players take on the role of a human whose boat has crashed into the titular island. Fortunately, a merchant named Tomte rescues you and sets you up in a derelict (but serviceable) house. In a tale as old as time, you've been put in charge of bringing a dilapidated farm back to life.

Farm and Shop and Farm and Shop and...

You won't be able to do much in your first few days on the farm — you don't have much in the way of money or energy. Still, you'll be able to get your journey started in earnest.

Sugardew Island has a pretty simple gameplay loop: you plant crops, harvest them, and sell the resultant produce in a store. Selling produce in a store earns you Sugardew (the game's currency) and Harmony, a sort of experience point that can be used to advance quests at the Harmony Tree. Each completed quest unlocks new items on your farm.

This simpler style of gameplay makes Sugardew Island more appropriate for younger gamers.

As you progress further in the game, you'll be able to unlock animals and pets. Pets are a cosmetic luxury that don't contribute to your earnings, but farm animals such as cows and chickens can put a little extra money in your pocket — as long as you remember to feed them.

One quickly falls into a routine: wake up, water and plant crops, sell items at the shop, complete a quest, and repeat. It's plenty of fun in its own right, but it feels like there's a missed opportunity to do more.

Farming, Distilled

Sugardew Island essentially has three core gameplay mechanics: growing crops, tending to your animals, and selling the items you get at the store to advance quests. It's a simple gameplay loop and it works, but other games in the Farming RPG genre have much more on offer.

For example, Farming RPGs traditionally will have cooking, fishing, and other side activities. In some cases, there are dungeons to explore, too. Sugardew Island has none of these things; it is laser-focused on its basic gameplay and nothing else.

The lack of a cooking system is particularly disappointing. There are 20 or so different crops that you can grow, but you can only make one energy-restoring item. This is a seriously missed opportunity to let players experiment with different ways of restoring energy or gaining short-term buffs. A robust cooking system often adds a welcome layer of complexity.

On the upside, this simpler style of gameplay makes Sugardew Island more appropriate for younger gamers. There's no risk of tears from dying in a dungeon or losing an animal to sickness. There's no stressing out about catching legendary fish, no list of cooking recipes to scroll through. There's a sort of zen comfort in the simplicity of your daily routine.

Sugardew Island Review | Final Thoughts

While Sugardew Island keeps things simple, it manages to do a solid job of performing its double act as a Farming RPG and a shop simulator. It may not be the best game in either genre, but it certainly works well enough for the price point.

Experienced fans of Farming RPGs probably won't find anything novel to enjoy here. Younger games and players new to the genre, however, could easily learn the basic mechanics of Farming RPGs through Sugardew Island without having to crack a wiki open to sort through hundreds of different crafting recipes.

Sugardew Island is a great game for younger kids or people who want to simply farm crops and sell items without too much stress. If you don't fall into either of those categories, then you'd probably want to pass on Sugardew Island for now.

Sugardew Island was reviewed over approximately 55 hours of gameplay on PC via Steam with a key provided by the publisher. All screenshots were taken during the review process.