When it comes to successful indie titles that have been copied, cloned, and iterated into the ground, Stardew Valley would be near the top of the list. The undeniable appeal of its mix of classic farming sim elements, character interactions, a wide variety of activities to engage with, and just outright charm made it an instant classic for a reason. Not surprisingly, everyone who has tried to grab a piece of that same action has tended to fail in any number of ways at recapturing that essence, either fumbling key areas of design or omitting essential elements outright. I have no doubt that the people behind Starsand Island had aspirations to make something great, and in some key areas I think they’ve actually done a great job, but there’s no mistaking that at launch it isn’t always putting its best foot forward.

The first important thing to know is that this isn’t a game simply trying to outright copy what made Stardew a success. Aside from the fact that rather than going with a classic pixel art style it uses a 3D presentation, I’d say this feels like a melding of concepts and styles of play between Stardew, the likes of Animal Crossing, and a collection of very cozy elements. If that makes it sound a bit like a muddled hodge podge, it sort of is, leaving the door open to you really being able to do whatever you like, whether that’s crafting, farming, exploring, or any number of different activities. If you choose to chase different badges, you’ll have the benefit of having a mentor who’ll put you through the paces and try to help set you up for success. If you just want to walk around, meet people, and do things your own way at least to some degree you can certainly do that too. For fans of more carefree cozy or sandbox-style experiences, the lack of strict direction, general abundance of resources, and plenty of people and animals to meet and befriend give it some real appeal.

All of that said, at least at launch there’s also no mistaking that the game’s ambitions are let down quite a bit by a number of technical problems and outright bugs that can sometimes be hard to ignore. These range from riding around on a skateboard being a really bumpy experience, to NPCs sometimes getting stuck in some way, to outright crashes periodically. Thankfully they’re more often aggravating than infuriating, but even while I’ve found myself more prone to returning to this title than many of its competitors, it would also be irresponsible to brush aside the fact that it isn’t in a great overall state. The freedom to just do what I want, and the sense of adventure it offers as you do things like explore absolutely have appeal. But details like the fact that the game didn’t track instances where I’d accidentally already completed major badge objectives before having them given to me, then having to repeat them, are also disappointing. My hope is that these issues are worked through and the game’s true vision can be fully realized, but for now I’d say while it’s very playable, it also may be worth holding off for until it gets into a better state.