Stranded Sails - Explorers of the Cursed Islands vs Tiny Pixel Farm
Stranded Sails - Explorers of the Cursed Islands
Stranded Sails - Explorers of the Cursed Islands is a farm simulation/adventure game where you’ll not only need to maintain a farm and make sure that your surviving crew’s needs are being met; you’ll also need to set off on mini-expeditions to explore the many mysterious islands within the archipelago and to discover the secrets they hide. Maybe, if you’re lucky, you might end up finding a way off the island after all!The game is really easy to get into, mainly because the game is driven by its story-based quests so by completing these quests, you be able to unlock new areas and even new tools that will allow you access to different parts of the archipelago. However, you’re given complete freedom to explore any of the islands as you wish, though there are certain parts of the island that would be “roped off” until you’ve progressed far enough into the story and have unlocked the necessary tools.
Everything you do in this game requires energy - and yes, this includes walking – and it’s the main “currency” you’ll need to keep an eye on whenever you head out for a bout of exploring or just a resource-gathering run. Due to this energy system, the gameplay here can be quite strategic, forcing you to decide when you’d want to focus on exploring and when you’d want to spend some of the energy you have to gather some resources like fishing and chopping some trees.
Being a farm simulation game, Stranded Sails also has an allocated area within your base camp for you to grow some crops and feed your crew. You can even try your luck by fishing at the ocean, and then use those raw ingredients to whip up some delicious food to fuel your adventures.
So, overall, Stranded Sails is an oddly strategic farm sim/adventure game mainly because of its energy system, and as a result, the game isn’t as casual as some players would have liked. That said, the game has an interesting storyline going for it, and the gameplay, aside from the energy aspect, isn’t too shabby either. It’s definitely a game that fans of Harvest Moon or other similar games would love to play.
Tiny Pixel Farm
Tiny Pixel Farm is an idle farming game that is unlike any other. Backed with a heartfelt story about an elderly farmer whose farmland is slowly being claimed by greedy corporate goons, in this game, you play as the grandchild of the said farmer and you are determined to reclaim what was rightfully your family's.Although the gameplay is generally idle in nature, the idle part of the game isn't exactly textbook-styled. As opposed to fully automating everything, you still need to put in some "work" for instance, by swiping and tapping on your animals to collect produce, on your hay-producing farms to collect hay, on your pets to collect exp gems, and others. Aside from the well-design and satisfying progression system in this game, there is an insane number of animals you can keep at the farm too.
The game is also very "video ad-heavy" mainly because you will always be given an option to watch video ads in exchange for instantly completing something, be it a construction process or selling all the goods in your shop. However, what I really like about the game is how it gives you a heads-up whenever a full-screen ad is coming up and it also thanks you after you've watched a video ad. More games should seriously take a page out of this game's book and do this!
All in all, although this game does require a good (middle range to high-end) mobile device to run, Tiny Pixel Farm brings a ton of innovation to the idle gaming genre and the game does it so brilliantly well. If you enjoy idle games, farm games or both, you might want to give this game a try.