Finally! A New Villager!

Even though I was on the fence about continuing with Dinkum, I decided that I would try to play it in shorter bouts and see if my experience improved.  It did!  A new villager (and fortunately one who sells something useful) finally decided to move to my island.  Rayne, the farm goods merchant, joined my town...now, population 3!  Now I finally have a source of seeds and can spend more time farming.

Finally!

I think I'm going to pop in and out with Dinkum and see if I can't attract some more residents--it feels like I'm finally making some headway.  I still think some systems could use some work--I'd like to be able to repair my tools (still can't!) and I wish visitors would stay for slightly more time.  I also built two houses that seem pretty pointless.

In between Dinkum sessions I've been replaying Assassin's Creed: Origins.  Origins is my favorite of the RPG-style AC games and I still think it's the best of them.  There's just something about Egypt that makes it so much more interesting than some of the other settings (namely dark ages England in Valhalla).  Plus, Bayek is a great character.

Aussie Pondering

Last week I wrote about how I decided to check out the early access Animal Crossing/Stardew Valley-esque mashup that is Dinkum.  I've spent a bit more time playing and I've found myself feeling pretty torn about it.  Sure, it's cute, but I think it has some pacing issues that need to be addressed in the full release.

My character and my sparsely decorated house.

Pros:

+ It's very cute.  The villagers, the animals, the ability to decorate and personalize your town--it all has a pleasant vibe that is a nice break from more serious, demanding titles.  The Australian setting is novel and adds a fun element.

+ There are tons of tasks to do during each in-game day.  Each new day includes a list of three optional "daily tasks" that can be completed and that provide a special currency that is used to buy new licenses that allow you to improve your tools, expand your inventory, or gain new abilities.  You can spend your days foraging for resources, fishing, exploring, catching bugs...or just creating materials and personalizing your town.

+ A huge variety of clothing items to personalize your character.  It's really fun to see all the new options and it's possible to find (or purchase) new items almost daily.

+ Controls are easy to learn and intuitive.  The only thing I had a problem with was the emote system--I couldn't get it to work (which meant I couldn't whistle--something that is used to call farm animals to your character).

+ It has run like a charm and I've had no issues with bugs/crashing.  It seems like the kind of game that would probably run on a potato PC too.

+ Collectibles and a milestone/goal-related system to keep you working toward accomplishments.

Cons:

- I've played for 19 hours and I've gotten bored with it.  I'll admit that creativity based games and sandbox style games aren't really my favorite, but I think the current version of the game has some big pacing issues.  Within a few days of your initial arrival on the island the store owner wants to move in--this is basically a mandatory part of the story because he sells the tools you need to be able to do all those daily tasks I mentioned above.  So, you unlock the tools you need and can start really collecting materials and that's fine for awhile.  Then, your next resident villager arrives--the museum keeper.  You spend some time gathering materials for the museum and paying off the debt.  The museum is a place to collect the bugs and fish that you find on the island--and, again, it's something fun to focus on for awhile.  After this though, there's a serious lack of villagers who want to move to the island and it's seemingly impossible to make much progress on getting them to want to move in--they visit for a day or two at most and you can slightly improve your relationship with them, but it's not enough to convince them to stay.  Then, you don't really know when they're going to visit again and someone new shows up and you go through the whole process again.

Sure, you can spend some time building your own house and extra houses for the town, but it feels very aimless.  One particular thing I've found frustrating is the fact that you need a certain villager to move in before you can learn the plan for the repair bench for your tools--you just have to repeatedly use your tools until they break and then buy new ones.  I've unlocked licenses to improve my tools, but it doesn't seem worth it if I can't repair the improved ones and have to keep crafting them over and over.  This has really stymied my progress because I need better tools to be able to mine new metals and chop hardwood.  It's possible that I've just gotten a bit unlucky because the character who grants the plan for the repair table has only visited once or twice (visitors are random).  It's also hard to farm or raise chooks (chickens) when the villagers who sell seeds or animal feed appear randomly.

I think the game could be massively improved if it was made clearer what you need to do to get villagers to move in (it mentions befriending them and spending money in their shops) and if they visited for longer periods of time.  Hitting this seemingly progress blocking wall has turned me off from wanting to play--which is a disappointment because it is a cute game.

Recommendation:

If you're the type of gamer who is perfectly content grinding out materials and having the ability to personalize environments--I think you'll enjoy Dinkum.  If you're someone who wants something with more specific quest-style tasks or a clear path of progression, there's a good chance you'll end up getting bored.  Dinkum is the years-long work of a single developer and what this person has created is amazing and deserves the praise and love that it has received from many fans.

Dinkin' Around with Dinkum

I decided to bite on a new game and have spent some time playing the Animal Crossing/Stardew Valley inspired Dinkum.  I'm still trying to work out my exact feelings but, for an early access game, it seems to be in a very playable and enjoyable state.  If you're in the mood for something nice and relaxing, Dinkum is a great fall gaming option.

My character doesn't have a permanent home...yet.

What I like (so far):

+ The controls have been very intuitive and easy to learn.  There's no need for a tutorial so players can dive right in.

+ It's set in Australia so there are lots of cute (and dangerous) Aussie creatures that populate your island.

+The map allows you to place and remove custom markers--I wish every game did this (and yeah, there are plenty that do).  It's nice to be able to easily mark the location of a resource so that you can go back later.

+ There aren't a ton of character customization options, but I still felt like I could design a unique, cute character.

+ I haven't had a single crash or bug yet. (*knock on wood)

+ There are plenty of activities to choose from--fishing, catching bugs, foraging for items in the environment, mining....I'm sure I'll unlock even more.

What I don't like:

- I've unlocked licenses for several activities but can't utilize them until I'm able to buy the correct deed and build the correct building.  (Although, it does look like you get new visitors to your island fairly frequently and can somewhat utilize their services)

- To place a new building you need to pay off the debt you incur from buying the deed.  So far it has felt like a real slog to pay off my debts.  It's likely that I haven't discovered the best ways to make money yet, but the time between building a new structure and then paying it off is sort of...weirdly un-anchored.

I'm hoping to spend some more time with Dinkum and see if I can't unlock my inner creativity and design the ultimate Aussie island paradise.

What to Play?

With the imminent arrival of fall and the pending conclusion of my total The Witcher marathon I am giving some thought to what I want to play next.  I'm having some desire to play back through Two Point Campus.  Recent patches seem to have addressed some of my gripes about student behavior and it might be worth seeing what's changed.  The same can be said for Cyberpunk 2077 which received a sizeable (18 gig) patch in anticipation of the release of the Edgerunners anime series on Netflix.  The patch notes mentioned the addition of a few Edgerunner themed items being added to the game as well as something I've long desired--the ability to transmog outfits!

There's just something about the weather cooling off and the arrival of fall that makes me want to hunker down with a warm blanket and play something comforting.  I've been keeping an eye on a charming Australian-themed farming game called Dinkum which is currently in early access but has glowing reviews.  It might scratch that Stardew itch in a perfect way.

In other Cyberpunk related news, it looks like the first (and, I would anticipate, only) DLC called Phantom Liberty will release sometime in 2023.  The trailer has more Keanu (ala Johnny Silverhand) and the story looks to see V joining up with some sort of military-esque faction related to the NUSA.  Color me intrigued, but also realistic in the fact that it might be quite awhile before we actually see said expansion as a reality (CD Projekt can't really screw this one up or their already embattled reputation could take another big hit--I would guess that they'll take their time with it and make sure it's in a much better state before it's released.  But, we'll see.).

Happy pre-fall to everyone!  Find something comfy to play and burrow into a nice soft blanket.