From the very first Sims, all the way to the upcoming Animal Crossing New Horizons, life sim games have been a big part of the gaming community. Low-stress and low-maintenance, there’s no end-of-the-world threat to reverse, or a mad tyrant to defeat. There’s only you, whatever locale you happen to wind up in, and relaxing your way through the simple pleasure of living.
The latest game to join this peaceful genre is The Islander: Town Architect. And as its name implies, the degree of control you have is island-wide.
In this game, you escape the hectic madness of your life (a bit on-the-nose, isn’t it?) and escape away to Polynesia, pursuing a dream of becoming a great architect. Word travels fast, because by the time you make it there, the townsfolk are lining up around the block to buy up their own little slice of paradise.
The degree of creative control you have in The Islander: Town Architect is as vast and wide as the very island upon which it takes place.
When designing your house, you’ve got a lot of options. You can choose the type of house, and from there, the sort of design you’re looking for. You can keep things uniform for consistency, or go crazy and mix and match any which way you like for a Frankenstein monster house that’s uniquely you. Just make sure you have the resources to actually make it happen.
You’ve got a lot of agency in the interior as well. Just like the house on the outside, the indoors can be retooled to however you want, down to the type of plant you want. You’ll be able to add all sorts of decorations to it, like workstations.
Remember, the island is your architectural playground; you aren’t just limited to housing. Lay down pathways, make stores, decorations, plant trees, fountains, stone statues, if you’ve got the materials, chances are, if you can think to make it, it’s in there. There’s an enormous in-game catalog, from beds, to dressers, to lamposts, anything you think would make your island home look more like heaven on earth.
The Islander: Town Architect is set for a Steam release December 2019.
