Slime Rancher vs Stranded Sails - Explorers of the Cursed Islands
Slime Rancher
Slime Rancher is a pretty unique ranch simulation that's played in a first person view. In this game, you play the role of a futuristic pioneer who has just settled down on a planet filled with slime. Your job, like the gold miners of old, is to collect and ranch these slimes, make sure they are fed with their respective favorite food types, collect the valuable plorts that they spit out, and turn it into some profits!However, not all types of slimes are friendly. In fact, slimes that are friendly can turn hostile -
these are called Tars - simply by combining with multiple plorts from other species of slimes. Tars will gobble up everything nearby be it slimes or food stuff alike. Aside from having a whole new, and alien, world to explore, there are many ways for you to upgrade your ranch as well just so you can unlock new zones and hence, new slime types for your collection.
Slime Rancher is likely the most recent "big thing" among indie games, and although it won't be the last, the game definitely deserves its shot to fame. The game is incredibly easy to get into and once you're in, you'll be completely hooked! If you're looking for a game that's somewhat casual for the weekends, Slime Rancher is the perfect game to play.
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.