Islet Online - Creative Mode

Sandbox games are pretty popular at the moment, especially since there are plenty of options to choose from, depending on what you are looking for. Minecraft is still reigning strong even after so many years, but there are other contenders on the market at the moment, each one of which offers players a slightly different experience. On the other hand, there are certain mechanics that must be present in all of them.

Islet Online is an MMORPG in which the only goal is to let your creativity go wild and build whatever you desire, all while cooperating with other players from all over the world. The game world is voxel-based, and it appears to be a lot more intricate than the one from Minecraft in certain regards. On the other hand, it’s also a lot more empty, since you can easily get bored if you don’t feel particularly creative.

Your character can be customized a bit when you first create it, but only in regards to his or her visual appearance. The actual skills can only be improved by playing, and it’s a pretty nice system, much like the one from The Elder Scrolls series. Hence, you improve a skill by using it, which means that you do not have to worry about spending points on abilities you might not need later on.

Since the game is in early access as of right now, it’s only natural that it has little content and quite a few bugs and annoyances. Spawning is a bit problematic, and the world design can be a tad boring sometimes. The English translation is atrocious, although the developers admit to using Google Translate, at least until they get someone to do it properly.

As for the graphics, the voxel engine is quite pretty in the right circumstances, even if most of what you see are actually blocks. There are also trees, animals and plants, on the other hand, and they all come together nicely in the end. The soundtrack is pleasant as well, especially since it keeps to itself and it provides you with a pleasing ambient while you are exploring or building things.

In the end, Islet Online is probably going to be a pretty sturdy game by the time it is complete, but right now it requires a lot of patience if you want to play it. Hence, the gameplay needs more elements in order to keep boredom at bay, and the crafting system has to be improved a bit as well.