I was writing up on the new releases for Forestopia on the game the other day and thought “this looks like something that I would get into” so I tried it.
Forestopia
Right away I realized that it’s going to be another one of those games were, at the beginning, there’s enough stuff to do but pretty quickly you end up having to wait around for timers to end. Now this isn’t saying that that’s a bad thing, just not for everyone.
Forestopia does an moderate job walking you through everything. While what there is to do isn’t tough to grasp, I did find myself doing some searching in the game to understand everything.
The idea they have is both cute and gives you the feeling of being rewarding. I mean you’re a Yeti cleaning up and designing your island. Could it be a better base than that?
Forestopia Idle-tap elements
As you expand your plant and animal collection you’ll start making your island feel more alive. For those with a designer streak in you, or a little OCD, you can move the plants on the island into whatever configuration that you would prefer with relative ease.
As you upgrade these plants they’ll provide more seeds which, in turn, help upgrade the plants. The seed are also useful in unlocking more for your island and unlocking more of the island itself.
The more interesting part is definitely developing the animal life on the island. Using the food you collect you can “develop life” in the terrariums. While the development is random, there are ways later in the game so you help control and direct it. So while you may be hoping for a Albino fox, you might just end up with a white slime.
Although that might be the case, it really doesn’t matter as both will assist you in getting more food. Food in turn helps you try your hand at getting more animals. Eventually you’ll start getting animals you really like. Plus, each time you end up getting something you already have just helps that animal get closer to leveling up and providing you with more.
Forestopia Active game elements
Finally, there are some mini games within Forestopia.
Taking a balloon ride to one of the available islands puts you into a simplified game of “Minesweeper”. For those of you too young to know, minesweeper is a game that boggled the minds of almost everyone who ever played in the long long ago.
Following the same basic formula, you click a location and assuming you don’t die right then, you’ll be given a number. This number indicates just how many of the surrounding blocks have bombs in them. In the beginning this game relies somewhat on luck with a layer of deduction added in. As the game moves forward you can use the information you’re given to guarantee that the locations you’re choosing are safe.
Forestopia did a mediocre job describing this minigame. I found that the only reason that I understood it at all was due to my time having played minesweeper in the past. Once understanding it, it’s entertaining to play. Without understanding, it’s pure frustration.
TLDR
While Forestopia may be a simple game, it did keep me logging back in. The idea of cleaning and building up your own island is rather appealing. The game also makes it simple enough that I could log in for a few minutes here and there to get things done and log right back out again. Great for killing time on a break or to wake up your brain in the morning. One downside is that it would be nice if there was a little more to do when playing for an extended period of time.
You can find Forestopia on the Play store and the App store
Rating: Time Moderately well Wasted
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The best way to keep on top of those things you don’t want to do is to turn it into a game.
