Sandrock plays like its predecessor, you come to a town for the first time and discover what makes it unique. The player meets all sorts of interesting people, and learns what they like. They become one of the town craftsmen, and learn how to make their workshop the best in the land. The player first creates their character. The character creator is pretty robust. There are plenty of different outfits to wear later, so create a character worth playing as. The character can be adjusted later, which is always a good thing, if the player messes up somewhere.
The player starts the game leaving the train, they meet up with Mei Ann the other builder, and get started on meeting locals and learning how things work. It’s a simple start but it relies on the player exploring and learning for themselves. They might have to work hard, but the ends justify the means.
The game pushes the player along through the story with missions. They don’t usually have any date to finish them, but usually have far reaching positive consequences. It might be to fix the train so it can run, build a school or build a sand wall to block the oppressive sandstorms. Sandstorms are a terribly horrible occurrence in the game. The player is initially told to skip work on any day there is a sandstorm. Players can get things done if they want and equip gear to make it manageable but erecting a sand wall is the only way to curb it permanently.
The builder can be learn all sorts of skills. These skills fall into one of four major categories, gathering, workshop, combat, and social. Doing things related to these skills nets the player experience which they can allocate to earn skills. Players can learn all the skills it just depends on how they play. Players then work to make their workshop the best in the land. They can build all sorts of devices to create new things. Players must be wary of how much water they have as water is instrumental in creating things. Allt of the machines are hydro electric so without water nothing gets done.
Players can work on their workshop at their own speed, and fine tune it whenever. They can add land to grow their home base, decorate their house, and work to make it just how they’d like it. Everything flows together with the player, and lets them do as they please. It all works cohesively to push the player to want to have the best workshop in Sandrock.
The true way to be the best is to complete commissions. By taking commissions players not only help the characters and build friendships but they rise the ranks. The commissions are generally easy, but it all depends on how players playch. If they don’t have the right tool for the job the commission is impossible. Commissions are the one part of the game that always have a time limit. It adds to the urgency, even if the character themself doesn’t remember requesting something. Players can also requisitin supplies from the civil corps. It’s interesting to be able request help and shows off how the town comes together.
At the end of each season, the boss of the company Yan comes to tell the player how they did. He does honestly admonish the player for not doing well. It’s a nice change of pace to actually be told that the player isn’t doing as well as they could. A playful slap on the wrist of sorts that will push the player to greater heights next time.
Players can also dive into dungeons. The first requires players to pay for a week’s pass. This pass lets players mine for scrap, ore, gems, and even treasure pieces. Players can put together the pieces to fill up their museum. The museum gives players buffs on their stats so it’s a worthwhile investment of time. The other dungeon which is opened up later is a challenge dungeon. Players first dive in and clear it to help Grace a student and explorer who lives in town. They then can jump in to challenge time trials, taking out enemies and earning riches and rewards. It mixes up the formula and adds a timed challenge which improves the overall game.
My Time At Sandrock has a fantastic cast of characters to meet and greet. The characters are voiced partially, and that lets the players get a better feeling for them. They all have their interests and wants and it’s fun figuring out what they like and don’t like. The characters are all worth getting to know for the perks too. While it might be a little callous, befriending characters gives the players perks. The perk might just be a discount at the store, but it can also be perks in other areas. It’s a cool reason to befriend characters besides just wanting to know more about them.
Just like Portia, the builder can woo any of the potential mates. They can win them over and see their progress too. The characters can go on dates and see fully dating events too. It’s a great progression system that’s built up on by other activities. While players can gift their way to winning hearts this can be tedious. It’s now always easy to get the gifts the characters like. Players can also fight their suitees, if they win they will gain affection points. There is also a game players can play each in game day with every character. This game is short and to the point. The game is similar to rock paper scissors with each card being stronger than another. It’s simple but can offer up quick affection points.
The game offers up different holidays too. Players can hunt ghosts, run with bulls, and send lanterns off into the sky. The events are all full town activities and more crop up as the game progresses. It’s always fun to see what the holidays have to offer, as it changes up the gameplay loop even just for a day.
The music in the game is decent too. The song that plays the most does get a little grating, as it just loops. It plays just about all the time and players might find it annoying. There are other songs that play during the different events and they are once again a nice change of pace.The battle music is at least pretty good, and it can be injected in every time a player fights a monster.
The Switch version while it plays well, does have it’s issues. The game takes a good amount of time to start up each time too, but my launch Switch might also be a contributing factor. Loading the menu does take time, and there is a little lag when shifting between different sections. It otherwise plays fine, and works well. Players of course might find issue but that’s generally just because some gamers like to complain.
The My Time series might be new but Sandrock shows a continued need to expand. The characters are lively and the world is worth exploring and making the player’s own. It’s a stellar game that gives the player a lot to accomplish and have fun doing it.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
