While there were certainly life sims out there to be found in previous generations, it seems that the combined successes of the likes of Animal Crossing and the indie darling Stardew Valley has kicked developer interest in making them into overdrive. The thing is, while you can certainly create experiences that go through the motions of cultivating your land, collecting resources, crafting, and more, it’s clear that not all titles in this space are even close to being equal. What we have in the case of Sunseed Island is another entrant into the eShop that checks a lot of boxes, even doing a better job than some of its competition, but that still simply comes across as bland.

The shame of this is the fact that, on paper, it has quite a lot on its side. It has a clean and pleasant look, with characters that are cheery and even a little expressive, which is a nice touch. You’ll be able to pretty easily get started whacking away at things as you choose, with the game contextually understanding what equipment you need, removing the need to toggle through multiple implements every time you go to work on something different. As you continue on, you’ll also get to go to new places representing different biomes, allowing you to enjoy more scenery and new challenges rather than being stuck in one static area the entire time. All of these are nice touches that many others in the space lack, so the effort is appreciated.

Of course, there are some issues that stand out as negatives as well. Fishing is inexplicably difficult, and this is exacerbated by the fact that as a whole the game is not inclined to explain things in context. There is some help available, but it’s mostly high level and not necessarily great at explaining how to be successful. Given the fact there are absolutely titles out there that handle helping the player more directly and effectively, this wouldn’t be as good a choice for genre newcomers. My more pressing concern though is that it all plays out pleasantly enough, but there just doesn’t seem to be a clear hook for having to keep playing. Here you’ll absolutely go through the motions, and it all works, but it’s all bland and lacking in personality. If you’re going to slow-burn continue to return over and over to cultivate your farm and town little by little as the genre dictates, there needs to be something unique, compelling, or inspiring to demand that you continue to come back. Lacking that critical element, Sunseed Island is a nice enough place to visit, but not so much for an extended stay.