My Time at Sandrock

My Time at Sandrock is a 2023 farm life sim role-playing video game developed by Pathea Games and published by PM Studios and Focus Entertainment. It is the sequel to the 2019 video game My Time at Portia and takes place in a desert 300 years after an event that destroyed modern technologies. The game was praised for its graphics while on the other hand, criticized for its repetitive gameplay.

My Time at Sandrock
Developer(s)	Pathea Games
Publisher(s)	PM Studios Focus Entertainment
Engine	Unity
Platform(s)	Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Windows Xbox One Xbox Series X/S
Release	November 2, 2023
Genre(s)	Farm sim, role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

The game was announced in October 2020 and funded via a Kickstarter campaign, and was initially due for early access release in March 2021. However, this was delayed due to it needing a local rating certification. This game was eventually released into early access on May 26, 2022 for Windows, before fully releasing on November 2, 2023, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S.

Plot

The setting, like My Time at Portia, takes place in a post-apocalyptic world 300 years after the Day of Calamity, an event that has destroyed previous civilizations and most modern technologies, causing people to rebuild society. The player inherits Mason's Workshop, a retired builder. Sandrock combines elements of farm life sims and role-playing video games. The player first arrives to Sandrock on the first day of summer, unlike other farm sims which start on the first day of spring. There, they meet Mi-an, another builder; Mason, and Yan, the town's guild commissioner. They also meet a local hero named Pen, who warns them of the infamous bandit Logan.

The player and Mi-an's first job is to repair a lift for a mining corporation led by a foreman named Rocky. Once that is done, they are soon given another job: rebuilding a wrecked outdoor stage owned by Mathilda, the town's minister. At one point, they help defeat some lizardmen-like creatures called Gleeglers threatening a moisture farm and has an encounter with their leader. The player later fights the Gleegler leader with the help of a sheriff named Justice, who intends to invade Sandrock, which ends with him falling down an unstable bridge; the Gleeger leader's death results in the Gleegers fleeing away from Sandrock. A new bridge is later built to replace the broken one. Logan later launches an attack on a train and escapes capture. Sometime later after discovering water shortage in Sandrock, the player joins Mi-an and her friend Elise to investigate Logan's house, to which Elise believes that Logan is innocent from a recent attack on a nearby temple. The player undergoes further activates such as exanimating an old submarine to find parts needed to create algae cultivation machines for a farmer named Zeke, rescuing Mathilda from Logan with the help of Justice and Pen; capturing a young boy named Andy, who's working for Logan; and defeating giant rats led by the rat queen, who are responsible for a recent release of toxic gases. An investor named Musa arrives in Sandrock to help support the town against Duvos. After saving some mole people from the rat queen, they enter a trading business with Sandrock. Once the player locates and fights Logan, they learn that he is indeed innocent and that Miguel, the town's pastor, is behind the temple attack as well as all the previous crimes that Logan was accused of. Grace, the town's cook, is revealed to an agent working for a peace organization called the Alliance Central Intelligence, who is at war with Duvos, and is allied with Logan. It turns out Logan's earlier actions were to get justice for his deceased father. She came to Sandrock in search for an undercover Duvos agent called "Tiger". They later discover that Miguel is also the one behind a water shortage plot in Sandrock, and that Pen and Yan are helping him; they are also in allegiance with Duvos. As Miguel attempts to frame Haru, a member of Logan's gang, and then the player for the incident, Logan confronts them, which results in Mathilda being shot by Miguel (though she survives) and Andy sabotaging Pen's power gauntlets. The player defeats Pen with some help from Elise. Yan tries to escape, but is stopped by Rocky and the player. After Yan, Pen, and Miguel are arrested, the player and Grace learn that the water diverting ploy was a front for an excavation project. After attempting to contact Duvos via telegram to figure out their scheme, Duvos prepares to invade, prompting the town to prepare for battle.

Duvos later attacks and rescues Pen and Yan. Mathilda is revealed to be “Tiger”, who sabotages their weaponry to ensure Duvos's victory. As a result, the player is forced to work for Duvos, but is allowed to freely move about while being supervised by a Duvos soldier named Stev. Logan and a mole named Ged rescue them and free the townsfolks. Duvos's commander takes Trudy, the town's mayor, hostage to force them to surrender, but Logan foils his ploy, allowing the player to defeat the commander and forcing the Duvos soldiers to surrender. Aware that Duvos's airship is still here, the player and their friends are sent to investigate the excavation site with the help of Elise's giant bird friend Daisy. It turns out Duvos is digging for engines belonging to ancient spacecrafts called starships. Infiltrating the facility, they defeat Pen and Mathilda, who is sent flying along with her mech. Duvos's airship flees when it comes under attack by Alliance jets. Mathilda is shown to be stranded in space and dies from lack of oxygen. Avery, an Alliance commander, awards the player and their friends for their heroics before taking the Duvos agents and Pen prisoner. A native named Burgess becomes the new minster, Yan's twin brother Wei becomes the new guild commissioner, charges against Logan are dropped, and Grace soon leaves.

The player, Elise, and Logan later help with constructing a tunnel to Portia, the town from the previous game, to gain access to water and tourism. They also rescue a suffocating Gleeger named Larry, who allies with them in turn. Turdy then make plans to upgrade the town, which includes building a school and repairing a broken pipeline. A botanist named Luo and his assistant Nia also come to town to help grow new trees. At one point, Grace retires and returns to Sandrock. When attempting to retrieve an algae sample from a hidden laboratory inhabited by Gleegers to help with the tree growing project, they encounter Larry's wicked cousin Gary, who has taken both Larry and his wife Xena hostage and is now the Gleegers' new leader, who intends to take control of Sandrock. After the player and Logan defeat Gary, he activates a sonic device to stun them, but Nia frees Larry, who fights Gary and destroys the sonic device, but Gary overpowers him and makes himself stronger with a super algae potion. Following Gary's second defeat, he perishes and Larry retakes his position as the Gleeger leader. Once the player finishes constructing a new airship using starship engines for both tourism and defense from Duvos, Trudy thanks them for their help in reviving the town and the main story ends.

Gameplay

Players build up the town, farm, mine, gather resources, craft items, accept side quests (known as commissions), and explore dungeons and the ruins of the old world cities. Combat uses hack and slash mechanics. Players can also make aimed shots with gun sights. Due to the fact that Sandrock is located on a desert and therefore has a dry climate, players and residents are asked to conserve water and not to collect water from the lake. Most machines use up water, which is stored in a water tank. This is needed so that the machines do not get too hot. They are also asked not to cut trees and doing so can cause penalties to the player. Players have the option of romancing 21 NPC characters. This allows players to socialise and eventually marry some of the characters

Development

The sequel for My Time at Portia was announced in October 2020, funded through a Kickstarter campaign. The campaign reached almost 10,000 backers from over 160 countries and pledged a total of $524,770. For comparison, Coral Island, another farm sim that entered early access and fully released in 2022 and 2023 respectively, pledged $1.6 million. The game was initially slated for release in early access in March 2021 followed by a full release in summer 2022. However, after the announcement in March 2021, the early access plan was delayed because it needed to earn a "local rating certification" for online publishing. After a long delay, the game finally released into early access on May 26, 2022, by PM Studios for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. During early access, the Knives Out Update was released in April 2023, which introduced minigames, new weather, a narrative, and weddings. The game was fully released on November 2, 2023, having been delayed from September 26, 2023, to ensure it meets the game's quality.

Unlike My Time at Portia (which never planned to introduce multiplayer), the Windows version has co-operative multiplayer. The developers plan to release downloadable content (DLC) packs in 2024. Cross-platform play has been available since June 2024. The game was ported onto the PlayStation 4 (PS4) on September 12, 2024

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	PC: 80/100 NS: 64/100 PS5: 80/100

On Metacritic, My Time at Sandrock received positive reviews for Windows and PlayStation 5, and the Switch version received mixed reviews. Various critics praised the game as entertaining. Some liked its cozy nature, while others praised how the game made them fall asleep. An early access review from Rock Paper Shotgun described it as "a compelling and lusciously detailed life simulator" and praised the gameplay loop.

Despite some technical issues, IGN called it "a joy" and better in almost every way than My Time at Portia. They found the dungeons and combat a bit basic but said the rest of the game makes up for them. Nintendo Life called it "reasonably enjoyable" but criticized the graphics, performance issues on the Switch, software bugs, and what they felt was "a lack of a distinct identity". Digitally Downloaded has also reported on the technical issue and that the game is so laggy that players "can make a coffee in the time that it takes to actually load the thing" However, Nintendo Life said that the patches had fixed some of the technical issues since the launch. Nintendo World Report also experienced performance issues on the Switch but recommended it on the strength of its gameplay loop and enjoyable world. VG247 said it combines the best parts of Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley. Although they felt the concept is not new, they praised the characters, story, and gameplay. TouchArcade's review for the Nintendo Switch stated that the game felt "like one of the best sequels in the genre with how much it improves".

Sequel

In September 2024, Pathea Games has announced another sequel for the My Time series. This is titled My Time at Evershine. It has reported that the new game will feature better multiplayer after Sandrock "may have failed to deliver on its promises of a fully fleshed-out multiplayer mode".

See also

• Coral Island, another farm sim that released shortly after My Time at Sandrock, set on a tropical island
• Fae Farm
• Roots of Pacha
• Sun Haven

References

External links

• Official website