Flow Studio has crafted a calming and beautiful world that somehow manages to feel like a huge action adventure RPG. This procedural open-world title, Len’s Island, Is more ambitious than it initially looks and provides enough depth to keep you coming back for more. Currently, the game is in Steam Early Access and allows players to build, fight, farm, and explore uncharted waters to uncover the mysteries of the Island. What will you do when you discover the darkness within the caves?
Gameplay
Len’s Island has a bright and warm palette that gives the game a sense of calmness and security. The Island is beautiful, full of vast colors between the different types of vegetation and the various crops that can be grown to aid your survival. However, there is a darkness hidden within the caves, or dungeons, scattered throughout the Island that quickly turns the game from a crafting sim to an action RPG. I believe this is the game’s true appeal and the reason why I keep coming back. The relaxing crafting and farming mechanics of the game balance out the combat sections really well.
The game allows you to create your character with some limited customization choices but in actuality, the creativity shines in the crafting. In the game’s current state, the options for crafting are enough to satisfy that crafting itch but I would be lying if I said that I am fully satisfied with the options. There is enough here to build above-average architecture, but I would say “above average” is spot on. Len’s Island would benefit from an update allowing more complex builds, giving the player more freedom of creativity. It seems like that is the overall goal for the game once it fully launches, but currently, there is enough here to keep one’s interest until then.
A typical gameplay session for me included gathering crafting material throughout the Island. Trees, plant fibers, stone, brick, and many others are found throughout the Island and can be harvested by different craftable tools. The crafting system is easy to use and is very straightforward, not much complexity here, but its depth feels like it hits the right touch. There was never a moment in the game where I felt the crafting was an annoyance or a chore in order for me to progress in the game, unlike many other titles similar to Len’s Island.
Players are able to interact with the ever-growing Town that can be upgraded with various resources found throughout the game. The high level the town is, the more townspeople are able to move in and aid Len in their quest to free the Island from the mysterious darkness. That’s right, there is a twisted dark presence on the Island that seemed to turn everything upside down. These dark monsters are hidden within the Isalnd’s caves and must be exterminated in order to restore the Island to its full potential.
Exploration is a big key to the game, as the world includes procedurally generated areas, keeping things feeling fresh between playthroughs. Whether it is on foot or sailing across the sea on your makeshift boat, the island is vast and consists of about 30 other islands, that need to be discovered. The world map is completely hidden when starting a new game but it eventually reveals itself as you explore the world and its different biomes.
The caves will also have an abundance of resources for Len to gather while purging the cave from the dark presence. Combat feels good and depending on the type of weapon, as well as its upgrade tier, Len can perform various melee attacks. These attacks differ in damage dealt, as well as cool-down times. It is refreshing to see a game like this put so much thought into every aspect it offers. Len’s Island does a great job of balancing all of its selling points. It isn’t a crafting game with some action elements sprinkled in, nor is it an action RPG with a few crafting gimmicks tacked on. It is simultaneously a great crafting and building game that also has in-depth action RPG elements with skill trees.
Expectations
I must say that I am very impressed with Len’s Island thus far. The game offers a giant open-world map that is slowly revealed as you explore, whether it is by land or by sea. The combat feels good and the crafting is simple, yet vast. I am looking forward to seeing more updates from the developer, especially the inclusion of a possible co-op mode. Everything is better with friends and I can see Len’s Island is a title that many would love to invite a friend to tag along.
Verdict
Len’s Island captures beauty, simplicity, and action in its procedurally generated world. I can’t think of a reason why one shouldn’t play the game. Even in its current state, the game offers plenty here to indulge fans of all of those genres and we will likely see its popularity rise to new heights, this year.
Len’s Island is available now on Steam Early Access via PC.
