Paleo Pines Review (PC)
Summary: Paleo Pines is a simple but effective farming sim with a fantastic hook.
3.5
Jurassic larks
Paleo Pines is basically Story of Seasons with dinosaurs. If that has you instantly sold on the game, chances are you’ll have a great time with it.
For the rest of us, slightly more decerning cozy gamers, Paleo Pines is a by-the-numbers farming sim with very cute cretaceous critters.
Riding into town on your pet parasaurolophus Lucky, the basic story is one we’ve seen a million times before you’ve moved to a rural community after inheriting a run-down farm in desperate need of renovation. Thus, with the help of your trusty dino, your first task is to clear the modest small holding of all sticks, stones, and boulders.
Once the yard is cleared and Lucky has a new pen, you can start the important business of renovating the property and turning it into a home while helping out your fellow townsfolk.
What sets Paleo Pines apart from the likes of Animal Crossing and Started Valley are the dinosaurs, and developer Italic Pig has done a great job of incorporating them into the basic farming sim mold, as not only are they fun to collect, but they also help you out around your farm by watering your crops and tilling your fields faster.
To bring more dinosaurs to your farm, you wander out into the wilds and study their habits before using your magic flute to communicate with them, and then slowly build a bond with them by petting them and feeding them their favourite food.
Eventually, you can bring them back to your homestead, where you build them their own special pen and then have them help you out around the farm, helping your limited stamina bar go further so you can get more things done in a day.
As you progress through the game, you’ll slowly unlock new areas of the island to explore with more dinos to meet, and it all unfurls at the kind of gentle pace fans of the genre expect while it doesn’t hold your hand too much, instead encouraging you to explore and experiment as you gradually build up your farm and collection of prehistoric pals.
The presentation is simple but effective, with the dinos all looking suitably cute and colorful, while the world itself feels warm and inviting in a kid’s TV kind of way. If you’d told me, there was an accompanying Netflix series to teach kids about dinosaurs. I would believe you.
Final Thoughts
Paleo Pines is a simple farming sim with a decent hook that, though not as sprawling or intense as something like Stardew Valley, is still a great way to while away a few hours and a great entry point to the genre for younger gamers that may get overwhelmed by it’s more complex cousins. Also, you can ride dinosaurs. When is that ever not fun?
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