- Abiotic Factor – PC (P)review - June 19, 2024
- Mr. Sun’s Hatbox – PC Review - September 22, 2023
- NecroCity- PC (P)review - September 20, 2023
Genre: 3D farming simulator
Developer: Chicken Launcher
Publisher: Awaken Realms
Release Date: March 17th, 2022
Edited by AlexKnight2005
Why do we need to take care of our surroundings? Keep the living habitat clean and safe? Make sure that we don’t ruin the environment around us? There is one simple answer to that. There is No Place Like Home.
Welcome back to Earth. Yes, I am saying back. In this game, you step into the shoes of Ellen Newland, who just returned from a space station, where humanity started to move when the planet got too polluted and covered with trash. But not everyone ran away. Some people stayed back on Earth because that is where their home is. And one of those people is your grandfather. Someone very dear to your heart. And you have to ensure that he and his animal friends on the farm are okay.
No Place Like Home is a third-person simulation game focused on farming and cleaning up the world you grew up in. As much as this is a lot of work to do, the game works perfectly fine with just using two tools. Your Vac Pal is a vacuum cleaner used to get rid of the trash around you, and your drill is necessary for breaking up bigger piles of rubble. And also for fighting, because on your way to clean nature, you will cross paths with enemy robots that will keep trying to get rid of you.
During the game, you’ll be able to unlock new buildings, workplaces, and also personal upgrades. For that, the game works with just two types of “currencies.” The first type is organic, which consists of things you grow or get from your animal friends and Prepared meals that are universal for buying things. The second type is raw materials that you’ll be getting from cleaning up and recycled materials that are required for building, which is very important to the game. During your playthrough, you will need workstations, chests to store all the treasures and resources from your adventures, and of course, houses for your animal friends.
I specifically say friends because you don’t buy or breed them. You befriend them. Build a home for them, give them their favorite treats, and you can be sure they will be moving to your farm. But it will not be that easy because once they move in with you, you need to keep them happy. They will require your attention, food, and sometimes a bath. And, of course, you can’t mess up with throwing a party for them or giving them some hats. And to further ensure you know which one is which, don’t forget to name them.
The farming part is pretty easy, as all you need to do is get some seeds, plant them and then water them for three days. No matter what plant you are growing, they always take the same time to grow.
Also, at some point, you might find you have too much fruit and too many fields. And that is where you can start to plant flowers to make your farm pretty. And to go with oh so many indoor and outdoor decorations.
Once you are done with the beautification of your farm, It’s time to move forward to unlock more lore and upgrades. To avoid you just blindly wandering around, the game has a branched main storyline. Although one of the things I found challenging was not getting too much info about the quest’s objectives, which led me to ramble around looking for a way to complete it. Luckily, a network of fast travel points will help you jump around the map.
To ensure you don’t get bored while doing that, you will visit several different biomes. Every one of them is portrayed amazingly. Even though the game is not relying on realistic graphics, the beautiful and colorful landscapes are truly mesmerizing. And the amazing artwork is not too far behind.
You might catch yourself just standing around and enjoying the tiny details around you.
Of course, if your PC is not catching up with the high details, you can go through three more settings, starting with Performance. And even though You will be missing some details at that point, there is still a lot to admire.
Speaking of admiration, another strong point of the game is the soundtrack. The music is very chill and relaxing except for the music you might get during the fight, but even that fits the situation perfectly. It’s not disturbing, and now and then, you might find yourself humming the music to yourself because sometimes it can get catchy.
Now since the game is set in a world with a destroyed environment, Most of the sounds you will be hearing are the sounds of your making. And trust me, you will be hearing your drill a lot. But you can still sometimes find places where it’s possible to hear nature. Wind in the high mountains, waterfalls and flowing water, and of course, animals. And once you befriend them, your farm will start to get busy and loud.
Thanks to being very simplistic, you will learn the controls quickly. The absence of jumping caught my attention right from the start. You can get used to that, but there are still moments where jumping would be very beneficial. Another thing that is unusual for third-person games is the unavailability to zoom in or out. Whether in-game or on the map screen. Again, it is not something that would damage the gameplay itself, but after some time, it might be a little upsetting, especially because it’s creating some camera issues inside a building or close to the walls.
All things considered, No Place Like Home is a fun and chill game. And since it’s been released from Early access very recently, I expect it to evolve significantly. There is already a big Fishing patch announced for the second quarter of 2022.
Pros:
- Amazing artwork
- Simple gameplay
- Easy controls
Cons:
- Very basic quest info
- Absence of jumping
- Unavailability of zooming in or out
Coipher gives No Place Like Home for PC a Drastik Measure of 8.0 out of 10.0 (80)