Paleo Pines Switch Review
Of all the places in time we could have existed, we exist in the era where Game Developer “ItalicPig” said “Hey, you know farming games? Let’s do something like that but make it cosy as heck, and add some dinosaurs.” The result of this statement is Paleo Pines, a cozy farming game where dinosaurs and humans co-exist to grow all manner of fruits and vegetables in a wonderfully vibrant world full of a diverse cast of people and dinosaurs. So does Palio Pines bring its unique concept into the modern era? or is it stuck in the stone age? Let’s saddle up and find out!
Paleo Pines drops you into its world alongside your Parasaurolophus friend, Lucky, who it turns out, is a rather rare dinosaur who draws the attention of the inhabitants of Palio Pines. So begins your quest to find out if there are other Parasaurs in the world, all while restoring your grandfather’s farm to its former glory (a common trope in nearly all cozy games.) Along the way, you’ll make friends with both humans and dinosaurs, discover new biomes, farm a lot, and build new pens for your dino pals. It’s all very charming, relaxing, and fun to play.
You can befriend all manner of dinosaurs which have different likes and abilities. Some can water a large group of crops, others can clear debris, and some help you till the ground. The pacing is done really well because at first, you have to perform these tasks yourself and manually do things one at a time, so it’s rewarding when you make a new friend to help out on the farm, conserving your stamina. The relaxed nature of the game means there are no harsh time constraints on completing tasks for people, and I never seemed to run out of time during my days on the farm. Sometimes, this can be a double-edged sword as there were times when I felt like I needed a little direction into what I should be doing and also quests complete with little to no fanfare… I didn’t even realise I had completed some as there’s only a small prompt in the top right corner informing you when a task is complete.
Farming starts off slow, but as you make more Dino friends you can rapidly expand your Paleo Agricultural pursuits by using different dinos for tasks. Some are able to water large groups of crops at once, others excel at clearing debris, and some can even be used as tractors, tilling and preparing the earth for your next harvest. There isn’t a crafting system, and you simply sell gathered materials to tradespeople from which you can also buy things like fences and food. You can cook, however, although for some reason these recipes didn’t seem to restore spent stamina, instead providing small buffs like making it easier to tame dino friends. Stamina is only restored by sleeping to the next day.
Befriending Dinosaurs comes down to a mini-game of communicating via flute to mimic dinosaur calls and cries. IT can be a bit touchy, having to balance the excitement of the dinosaur by feeding them or calming them down to get the indicator to the sweet spot, before feeding the dinosaur a special treat. At times it could be frustrating, but the payoff of communicating correctly with the dinosaur makes you feel rewarded, and it’s great to see dinosaurs of the same species having a range of colours and markings, making some rarer than others. It felt great to see a rarer dino in its group of friends, and befreinding it to join your dino farming crew. Another unique and interesting feature is your Journal, which you equip to take notes or research objects before you collect them. It provides handy information on how your dinosaurs are doing, what items a what, as well as dino likes and dislikes.
The art style and graphics of Paleo Pines are bright and colourful and Dinosaur companions have their own Dino charm to them, and the inhabitants of the world of Palio Pine are diverse with their own styles and professions. All of this is backed by a great soundtrack of mellow steel drum vibes and a sort of lo-fi feel that seems to hit the sweet spot. It would have been great to see the characters taken a step further with voice acting, but interactions and dialogue have to be read on screen. For my gamer friends with vision difficulties, Paleo Pines has some great accessibility options such as being able to increase the text size and high contrast mode, and as the game had a bit of reading, this is a nice touch. No matter what options you choose for your character, for some reason, you look like a giant adult baby, and running and walking look a bit stiff. It’s slightly off-putting but not a deal-breaker. The game also has a minimalistic UI, really helping immerse you in the game, which is only broken by loading into new areas. While it can take you out of the game for 30 seconds or so, it doesn’t take long until you’re back in the saddle to continue your tasks.
All of this combines to make a great little cozy game that may not have the depth of those that came before it, resulting in it being a great introduction to the Cozy Farming genre. Aside from some slightly odd human character designs, the world of Paleo Pines is full of charm and it’s easy to get lost in. Its fun gameplay means minutes turn into hours and the unique concept is intriguing enough to warrant all fans of Cozy Games (or Dinosaurs for that matter) to take a trip in time to try it out, as well as enticing new and younger players into the genre. Palio Pines is a roar-some time for gamers on the go!
So What’s it Like?
Paleo Pines is a cross between Everdream Valley and Harvest Moon (But with Dinosaurs!)
