Thinking on purchasing Early Access? Is it worth it?

[Nutello]

I know this boils down to preference. I've seen so much positive and nice reviews about the game and been eyeing this one out. Is the game still worth the bucks and time? Will the road map for the game be better? Would appreciate your insights about this. Thanks!

[bumbaclad]

1.0 should be out in a few months; that's what I'm waiting for to play again; 1.0 and CoOp.

[HangarPilot]

I'd suggest you buy now and get in early while it's on sale this month! As already stated, 1.0 has been pushed to "early-mid 2025."

I bought the game early to support it, plugged about 45 hours into it, and had a great time with the "limited" content available at that time. Based on the EA success and feedback the game started changing quite a bit so I opted to just park the game and what for it to be done. I didn't want to get "burned out" replaying the EA content or "re-learning" the game over and over each time there was a major change.

I was really pleased with my initial time in the game and am looking forward to getting back into it at full release. I think the procedural nature of the game will mean a few hundred hours of play at least.

As you say, it boils down to preference. There's plenty to do and keep you occupied for the next few months ... so I say it's well worth the money (if not an outright steal on sale).

[LyaranTirel]

Originally posted by HangarPilot:

I'd suggest you buy now and get in early while it's on sale this month! As already stated, 1.0 has been pushed to "early-mid 2025."

I bought the game early to support it, plugged about 45 hours into it, and had a great time with the "limited" content available at that time. Based on the EA success and feedback the game started changing quite a bit so I opted to just park the game and what for it to be done. I didn't want to get "burned out" replaying the EA content or "re-learning" the game over and over each time there was a major change.

I was really pleased with my initial time in the game and am looking forward to getting back into it at full release. I think the procedural nature of the game will mean a few hundred hours of play at least.

As you say, it boils down to preference. There's plenty to do and keep you occupied for the next few months ... so I say it's well worth the money (if not an outright steal on sale).

From what I saw the game has many problems including limited water pump range. Is it really worth buyingg?

[HangarPilot]

Originally posted by LyaranTirel:

From what I saw the game has many problems including limited water pump range. Is it really worth buyingg?

Only you can decide that. But I still say "yes" and you should be able to decide within 2 hours if it's a good fit for you or refund it.

The "many problems" are relative. A lot of them stem from not understanding ... or not agreeing with ... a game design decision. You don't buy something like RimWorld and then complain the graphics are 2D. Len's Island is trying to be something "different" yet many players seem bent on making it just like everything else.

For example, the game initially had a locked camera and everything was hand-crafted to be viewed from that angle. Immediately upon launch there was whining ... what do you mean I can't move the camera? Dev gets attacked for his inability to create decent camera controls when, in fact, it was an artistic choice. Nevertheless, the dev sets aside his vision for the game, adds camera controls, and had to redesign every item and location to be viewed from any angle.

I don't know if the water pump has a limited range, never tried to pump water very far. But even so ... is that a problem? Just because a player thinks they should be able to pump water all the way to the other side of an island doesn't make it true. Maybe there's a programming limitation or it's design choice.

Or there's the argument that the main character doesn't wear shoes. Really? It's a whimsical design choice and arguing about the realism of fighting in armor while not wearing shoes is kind of silly.

Then there's the difficulty. The game was very casual initially ... well ... of course that's not acceptable. It just "had" to have increased difficulty, base raids, etc. (again, like "every other" game). Thankfully that came with the option to turn it off.

Not 100% sure, but I think the same is true for CoOp ... I don't think that was in the initial vision for the game but, for some reason, there's a large population that seems to think EVERY game needs to be multiplayer.

All of that said, I'd say Julian's track record to date is that each change is carefully thought out and released only when he deems it has the quality/experience he wants. I think 1.0 will be well worth the wait. Just my opinion. But to be fair, you asked!

[LyaranTirel]

Originally posted by HangarPilot:

Originally posted by LyaranTirel:

From what I saw the game has many problems including limited water pump range. Is it really worth buyingg?

Only you can decide that. But I still say "yes" and you should be able to decide within 2 hours if it's a good fit for you or refund it.

The "many problems" are relative. A lot of them stem for not understanding ... or not agreeing with ... a game design decision. You don't buy something like RimWorld and then complain the graphics are 2D. Len's Island is trying to be something "different" yet many players seem bent on making it just like everything else.

For example, the game initially had a locked camera and everything was hand-crafted to be viewed from that angle. Immediately upon launch there was whining ... what do you mean I can't move the camera? Dev gets attacked for his inability to create decent camera controls when, in fact, it was an artistic choice. Nevertheless, the dev sets aside his vision for the game, adds camera controls, and had to redesign every item and location to be viewed from any angle.

I don't know if the water pump has a limited range, never tried to pump water very far. But even so ... is that a problem? Just because a player thinks they should be able to pump water all the way to the other side of an island doesn't make it true. Maybe there's a programming limitation or it's design choice.

Or there's the argument that the main character doesn't wear shoes. Really? It's a whimsical design choice and arguing about the realism of fighting in armor while not wearing shoes is kind of silly.

Then there's the difficulty. The game was very casual initially ... well ... of course that's not acceptable. It just "had" to have increased difficulty, base raids, etc. (again, like "every other" game). Thankfully that came with the option to turn it off.

Not 100% sure, but I think the same is true for CoOp ... I don't think that was in the initial vision for the game but, for some reason, there's a large population that seems to think EVERY game needs to be multiplayer.

All of that said, I'd say Julian's track record to date is that each change is carefully thought out and released only when he deems it has the quality/experience he wants. I think 1.0 will be well worth the wait. Just my opinion. But to be fair, you asked!

All that Can literally be resumed to "I dont care about complains because I'M HAVING FUN" while ignoring the actual point... You should try looking into Josh Strife Hayes videos.

Thank you for your opinion thou. It convinced me to avoid this game

[tojamn]

well, considering each person has there own expectations. If you consider $1 per hour of fun and pay $20 for a game then the game should provide 20 hours of fun. This is how i look at it. With that said, the game is still very playable and very fun and worth it. Sure their are aspects that make you think about where to build things but that is apart of any game with building. The only thing i wish we could do is put an enchant on the shield. But thats just me.

[=] WTF MAN [=]

@Nutello If we assume this type of game appeals to you then with current content and the announced additional content that will be coming to the game later I would say yes this game is well worth the price.

I expect to have well over 100 hours spent playing this game and for me that is good value.

[enrionlee]

Short answer is yes if you like farming, base building, and 4x gameplay. The long answer is len's island is many things and can be played different ways depending on difficulty. you can not compare most games to others without understanding the many different mechanics in game. I like to fish and farm in lens' island, but everyone has their own fun.

[Mile]

Has been an awesome early access title to own and play, it has evolved a lot since its first EA release version. For the better IMO too. I look forward to 1.0 to dive back in and play through the game again.

[Nutello]

UPDATE: Thank you eveyone for those who have answered on this post. I appreciate it! I purchased the game on the 31st, which was the last day for the discounted price. I only played a few hours so far and all I can say is that it was great!! Worth it based on my preferences for games on this genre. Looking forward for future updates!

[Isilmo]

Yes. It's incredibly playable.