Tinkertown Review – PC / Steam Deck
There are few types of games I don’t enjoy playing, and I do have a soft spot for the art people create with pixels. However, (and don’t come for me) I never could get into Stardew Valley, or any of the other games that really made farming (like actual crops) a part of the day-to-day (see Farm Together, Harvest Moon, Story of Seasons), but let me build villages and economies, and I am a happy gamer.
Tinkertown is an interesting one. I tested it on both my PC and Steam Deck and it ran like magic on both, so you can be at the comfort of your desk or pick it up on the go. You start with nothing, and then you go around your world, and gather resources to build your home, then a village, and if you’re really dedicated, a bustling town. Once you have the basics like your pickaxe, shovel and weapon, you can explore further, and then the good old sandbox gameplay loop begins – find new resource, farm it, craft it, explore, repeat.
https://youtu.be/5N7uv1kqLG0
You don’t have to do this all yourself though, you can create a world for friends to join. It is more fun with friends, but actually getting them to join is a bit of a pain at the moment, and I am hoping to see simple Steam friend list invites be implemented soon. Ping remains a big factor here too.
Some of the terrain is a bit of a pain to get across, or sometimes even around, with lots of trees, bushes and stones blocking the way. Rivers must be crossed with bridges, which need to be crafted, but even if you have a good stockpile of wood, you’ll be spending quite a few minutes clearing foliage to actually get to a place where that bridge has space for placement. Combat is fun, but nothing revolutionary.
The minimap was my main problem. In games like these, you tend to need to mark things to come back to, like a really nice spot for resources, a dungeon, or a new biome. When you load in and out of the game, the minimap resets. This really put me off the game a few times, especially in the case of dungeons. Dungeons aren’t really a huge part of the game yet, but I foresee them being built on in the future, and I would hope that the minimap gets a fix too.
Verdict: ✪✪✪ (Good)
Tinkertown was a nice change of pace from all the other high speed games that we’ve been playing lately, and feels cosy, with lots of potential. I’ll be keeping up with this one and seeing how it grows with time and community.
✪ Poor (0-5) ✪✪ Mediocre (6-7) ✪✪✪ Good (8) ✪✪✪✪ Great (9) ✪✪✪✪✪ Must-play! (10)