The farming simulator genre has been around for a good while and has been presented to us in a litany of ways, but never before has it gone Jurassic on us. The giant selling point of this particular farming sim is the ability to ride and look after dinosaurs, but can this wrinkle do wonders for such a wholesome genre, or would you rather send these dinosaurs packing back to extinction?
Paleo Pines is a gentle farming simulator, where you are in-charge of curating and upkeeping your own farm, but this time friendly dinosaurs are knocking about. However, these dinos aren’t unruly and they won’t smash your home up and degrade all your crops; in fact they are gentle, cute and peaceful creatures, much like beloved domestic pets, so be sure to take good care of them and show them love and fidelity so they can live happily.
The relationship between man and Dino is a sacred and beautiful one in Paleo Pines, be sure to give them food and to pet them affectionally to keep your vertebrate friend’s stamina on the up and up, ensuring you can charge about the tranquil lands without your Dino becoming breathless like he was undertaking an exercise drill from an army sergeant. In addition, you pick up a flute early on in the game with four sweet and soothing lullabies that can be played to command your chum to stay with you or go about his/her business. Your dinosaur can come in handy when you ride it too, helping you to pick up fruit and herbs without requiring you to hop off and gather resources for yourself.
As you can tell, the inclusion of Dino’s brings a lovable and adventurous tweak to the standard farm sim, though they don’t get in the way of the busywork and the list of fetch quest chores you’ll need to undertake in order to carve trails through Paleo Pines.
When beginning your exploits in Paleo Pines, you’re introduced to your new dinosaur friend and fix up the abode you’ll use to save your game and change the time of day. Soon afterwards, you make the acquaintance of the townsfolk in a nearby berg, where a jobs board full of notices provides a laundry list of jobs to undertake. Before long, you’re taught how to plant seeds and form a gated pen for your Dino to stay in, after which the game opens up to let you explore and discover the verdant lands outside.
Paleo Pines settles you in well and makes farming simulation appear less daunting than many of its contemporaries. Instead of handing you the tools and expecting you to get to work, Paleo Pines shows you the ropes and acclimates you comfortably into the farming experience.
Emphasis is placed on exploration over the dregs of farm work in Paleo Pines. Discovering new dinosaurs by travelling to distant locations on the map is a treat, which will convince you the farming sim elements play second fiddle to the busywork of cultivating your farm.
However, when it comes to kicking you out into its colourful pastures, Paleo Pines starts to make performing tasks and knowing where you need to go a hassle. Paleo Pines can be disappointingly vague when it comes to satisfying tasks from your journal, by not giving you enough information to go on to find and complete objectives. Even worse, there is no mini map or markers towards your goal, so getting lost is all the more possible. Heck even trying to find the old biddy in the village is a laborious task, seeing as she’s one of the first characters you meet in the game.
On the bright side, the cheerful upbeat colours and happy vibes of Paleo Pines are ideal for families and younger audiences to embrace. There’s nothing super complicated or too irritable to endure, there’s enough here to satiate an appetite for gentle farm sim frolics for young impressionable minds to enjoy.
Conclusion
If you want to delve into a soothing farming simulator adventure that doesn’t put the strain on your back with rudimentary activities, Paleo Pines is a nice deviation from the chore-based habits of its forebears. Tending to your the dinosaurs is a pleasant twist to an otherwise generic formula, and the game’s pleasantness gives it a welcoming vibe that’s easy to snuggle up to. Yes, the mini-map and questing is unfortunately derivative, and surprises don’t come all that frequently, but for a little while you’ll be glad to settle down and spend time befriending new Dino pals.
Become a Patron!This game was reviewed based on Xbox S|X review code, using an Xbox S|X console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.
