The Isle Has Ruined My Mental Health.

[Steele]

Let me begin by saying that I have poured countless hours into The Isle, hours I will never get back. Hours that were stolen from me by a game that lured me in with promises of prehistoric paradise, only to chew me up and spit me out like some hapless Dryo caught in the jaws of a fully-grown Rex. It was supposed to be an escape, a refuge where I could live out my dinosaur dreams. Instead, it became a living nightmare.

You log in, hopeful and naive, ready to embody one of nature's most magnificent creatures. You spawn as a tiny hatchling, so vulnerable, so full of potential. Then the cycle of suffering begins. The hunger bar ticks down mercilessly, the water gauge mocks you, and the shadow of a larger predator looms overhead. You are not a majestic creature; you are a walking snack.

Do you like walking? No? Too bad. In The Isle, you will walk. You will walk across barren, sprawling landscapes that stretch endlessly into the void. Oh, look, a bush! Not the one you can eat, though. That’s miles away. Your precious time, your energy, your very soul will be consumed by the monotony of this relentless, ceaseless walking. The world is vast, but it isn’t alive—it’s a wasteland designed to drain your spirit.

And just when you think you’ve reached salvation—water, food, a herd!—disaster strikes. A rogue carno barrels through your group, scattering your fragile community into chaos. A raptor leaps from the shadows, claws raking your flesh. A Rex bellows in the distance, the sound of your imminent demise. The Isle doesn’t reward effort or strategy; it rewards the brute force of those who have already ascended the food chain.

But perhaps the most egregious crime of The Isle is its community. If you survive long enough to interact with others, you’ll quickly learn the truth: this isn’t a game about dinosaurs—it’s a game about who can betray you first. Friendly calls? Lies. Group invites? Traps. Trust no one. The moment you let your guard down, you’ll find yourself bleeding out in a ditch, betrayed by the very creatures you thought were your allies.

Let’s talk about progression, the cruelest joke of all. Hours of grinding to grow, only to be killed in seconds by some unseen predator who’s been stalking you the whole time. Your hard work means nothing. It’s not just unfair; it’s malicious. It’s as if the developers sat down and asked, “How can we make every moment of this game as punishing as possible?”

And the bugs. Oh, the bugs. You’ll spend hours painstakingly nurturing your little dinosaur, only for it to fall through the map, become stuck in a tree, or starve because the game decided it would be funny to make every edible bush disappear. Technical issues aren’t just annoyances in The Isle; they are existential threats, as real and dangerous as the apex predators lurking around every corner.

I’ve smashed keyboards. I’ve screamed at my screen. I’ve stared into the void of that respawn screen, questioning every life choice that led me to this point. Yet, like an addict, I kept coming back. Why? Because The Isle doesn’t just break you—it makes you believe that the suffering is your fault, that you just need to “git gud.”

Then there’s the downtime. Do you enjoy staring at a screen doing absolutely nothing? Great, because in The Isle, that’s 90% of your experience. Need to heal from a fight? Sit down and wait. Want to grow into your next stage? Sit down and wait. Feel like doing literally anything fun? Too bad—sit down and wait. The Isle is not a game; it’s a waiting simulator disguised as a dinosaur survival experience.

And the meta. Oh, the meta. You didn’t think you could just pick a dinosaur because it’s your favorite, did you? No, you must consult the sacred tier lists and play whatever overpowered abomination the devs haven’t nerfed into oblivion yet. Want to play a trike because you love herbivores? Too bad. You’ll spend your entire existence getting circled and harassed by Utahraptors until you die of frustration.

But the absolute worst part? The false hope. Every update, every patch note dangles the promise of improvement—a new dinosaur, a new mechanic, a better experience. And every time, without fail, you are left disappointed. The Isle is the king of shattered expectations, a monument to what could have been but never will be.

I’m done. Done with the endless grind, the toxic players, and the soulless, barren landscapes. Done with the hours wasted walking across a map only to die to something you never saw coming. Done with a game that confuses “challenging” with “actively hostile to your existence.”

To those still playing: good luck. You’ll need it. To those considering it: run. Run like your tiny hatchling self, sprinting for cover as a pack of Utahs descends upon you.

The Isle, I hate you and will always cry myself to sleep every night by the thought of you.
*4 calls*

[Steele]

Also, the next person who gives me a jester award, know this: you mock not just me, but the countless hours of anguish, betrayal, and hollow victories that The Isle has inflicted upon my soul. Your gesture, though wrapped in levity, is a dagger to the heart of every weary survivor who has trudged through its barren landscapes, only to fall prey to its merciless predators.

If you must brand me with that cursed accolade, do so knowing you are not crowning a clown, but a battle worn warrior who has stared into the abyss of The Isle and emerged, not unscathed, but unbroken. Choose wisely, for you tread on the remnants of my digital despair.

[Powerferret]

It's a sad state of affairs when in this day and age, I read all your posts and assume you used chat GPT to write it for you. I think it's mostly the cadence, since every paragraph is approximately the same length and tone, with a lot of embellishment. If I'm wrong, then I apologize, and maybe you should start a career writing instead of wasting effort on the dregs of the steam forums.

[Steele]

Postat inițial de Powerferret:

It's a sad state of affairs when in this day and age, I read all your posts and assume you used chat GPT to write it for you. I think it's mostly the cadence, since every paragraph is approximately the same length and tone, with a lot of embellishment. If I'm wrong, then I apologize, and maybe you should start a career writing instead of wasting effort on the dregs of the steam forums.

Hey, I get where you’re coming from, and I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. Honestly, this is just how I write. I’ve always enjoyed organizing my ideas in a way that feels clear and expressive. I get that it can come across as “polished” or even too consistent, but it’s not because I’m using ChatGPT or anything like that. I put effort into writing because I enjoy it. If it seems embellished or over the top, it’s probably because I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to words.

[Maj. Grumpy]

Agreed. I want to play, but know it's all going to be in vain, wasted hours, if I can even survive without food that long.

All I know is that when I first started playing this game a few years ago, I was addicted. Now i just get sad seeing it in my library.

[Wes]

Postat inițial de Struggler:

Postat inițial de Powerferret:

It's a sad state of affairs when in this day and age, I read all your posts and assume you used chat GPT to write it for you. I think it's mostly the cadence, since every paragraph is approximately the same length and tone, with a lot of embellishment. If I'm wrong, then I apologize, and maybe you should start a career writing instead of wasting effort on the dregs of the steam forums.

Hey, I get where you’re coming from, and I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. Honestly, this is just how I write. I’ve always enjoyed organizing my ideas in a way that feels clear and expressive. I get that it can come across as “polished” or even too consistent, but it’s not because I’m using ChatGPT or anything like that. I put effort into writing because I enjoy it. If it seems embellished or over the top, it’s probably because I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to words.

I've thoroughly enjoyed your words , believing this polished, effort-filled digital scripture may divulge a more "constructive" setting for the challenges we face....as we face them together. Paving common ground ?....Alas, in theory so it seems . Subjective defence? or disparaging cliche. The expected bombardment of questioned ability existing moments away.
Your approach presents itself with thought ,skill and design ...offering unintentional entertainment for compassion while seemingly deflecting blows that commonly strike so many ,oh what a supplement to my patience , a welcomed distraction from and with , the very issues at hand, an unexpected delight .

[ALEX]

Hello Struggler, what you write about suffering, fear, horror, threat, despair and chaos about The Isle has made my mouse pointer move more and more in the direction of the buy button. Basically, you describe nothing other than evolution in such beautiful images, lived through by you.

Mother Nature is cruel. Mother Nature is not a pretty woman with long, silky hair. Mother Nature is an old, ugly, hunchbacked teacher with a long wooden ruler ready to beat you up with it at any time. The only thing that kept me from buying it was the eternally long Early Access development time of 9 years.

Now I'll see if I'm ready for the cruelty of nature and if I really want to put myself through it. But basically you've done the game a favor. I haven't read a better advertisement for The Isle anywhere and have now bought this game.

[jdpvagabond]

Postat inițial de ALEX:

Mother Nature is cruel. Mother Nature is not a pretty woman with long, silky hair. Mother Nature is an old, ugly, hunchbacked teacher with a long wooden ruler ready to beat you up with it at any time. The only thing that kept me from buying it was the eternally long Early Access development time of 9 years.

That's what all of us naively thought when we first got this - oh good, a game that emulates the cruelty of mother nature!

Then you waste hours of your life only to realize the OP was 100% on the money and watch as someone else like you foolishly thinks these are all good things and goes to waste his time and money as we did.

[ALEX]

Postat inițial de jdpvagabond:

Then you waste hours of your life only to realize the OP was 100% on the money and watch as someone else like you foolishly thinks these are all good things and goes to waste his time and money as we did.

I'd rather form my own opinion than just listen to the reviews or the eternally dissatisfied ones on the Steam forums. That's not a bad thing, is it? And if it really is that terrible, then I'll get over it.

[Steele]

Postat inițial de ALEX:

Hello Struggler, what you write about suffering, fear, horror, threat, despair and chaos about The Isle has made my mouse pointer move more and more in the direction of the buy button. Basically, you describe nothing other than evolution in such beautiful images, lived through by you.

Mother Nature is cruel. Mother Nature is not a pretty woman with long, silky hair. Mother Nature is an old, ugly, hunchbacked teacher with a long wooden ruler ready to beat you up with it at any time. The only thing that kept me from buying it was the eternally long Early Access development time of 9 years.

Now I'll see if I'm ready for the cruelty of nature and if I really want to put myself through it. But basically you've done the game a favor. I haven't read a better advertisement for The Isle anywhere and have now bought this game.

Hello Alex.
You speak of readiness for cruelty, of embracing evolution's harsh lessons, but let me warn you now, what awaits you in The Isle is not just the cruelty of nature. It is the malevolence of a world designed to break you. You will step into this realm full of courage and resolve like the rest, but that resolve will wither under the weight of how broken this game is.

You think you're prepared? No one is. You will curse the day you read my post, the day your mouse betrayed you and clicked "Buy." For this game will consume you, and you'll waste hours of your life you'll never get back. It will gnaw at your patience, feast on your hope, and leave you a hollow shell.

Remember my words when you find yourself huddled in the dark, starving, parched, and trembling as the thundering footsteps of your predator draw near. When betrayal stings deeper than any claw or tooth. When you stare into the void of that respawn screen realizing you spent hours growing a dinosaur, only for it to be lost to BS.

Try to enjoy your purchase, my friend. You’ll need every ounce of sanity you think you have and more. You'll miss how life was before playing The Isle. That said, welcome to the struggle.

[ALEX]

Hello Struggler, The Isle is going very badly for me. I have tried Evrima and Legacy. With Evrima I can't even access the servers and my screen is just black. Same with Legacy, except that after I restarted the game four times, I was able to access a server once. No running animations were displayed. The graphics settings were on Epic (suggested by the game). My system consists of Windows 11 (current version), Sapphire NITRO+ AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT Vapor-X 20GB, 2 x SSD ADATA XPG Gammix S11 Pro 2 TB M2, AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and 64GB RAM. So far, everything has been very smooth. But to be honest, I don't feel like troubleshooting anymore. Is it the driver? Is it the GPU's resizable bar? Is it my LAN? Anyway, I refunded the Isle.

[jdpvagabond]

Postat inițial de ALEX:

I'd rather form my own opinion than just listen to the reviews or the eternally dissatisfied ones on the Steam forums. That's not a bad thing, is it? And if it really is that terrible, then I'll get over it.

We tried to warn you. At least you refunded before it was too late.

[ALEX]

Postat inițial de jdpvagabond:

We tried to warn you. At least you refunded before it was too late.

You warned about the game mechanics, not the technical problems. ;)
I wasn't even able to “experience” the cruelty of nature.

[jdpvagabond]

Postat inițial de ALEX:

Postat inițial de jdpvagabond:

We tried to warn you. At least you refunded before it was too late.

You warned about the game mechanics, not the technical problems. ;)
I wasn't even able to “experience” the cruelty of nature.

The technical problems ARE part of the game mechanics we were warning you about. Doesn't matter though, you got out in time.

[Khanivore]

Postat inițial de ALEX:

Hello Struggler, The Isle is going very badly for me. I have tried Evrima and Legacy. With Evrima I can't even access the servers and my screen is just black. Same with Legacy, except that after I restarted the game four times, I was able to access a server once. No running animations were displayed. The graphics settings were on Epic (suggested by the game). My system consists of Windows 11 (current version), Sapphire NITRO+ AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT Vapor-X 20GB, 2 x SSD ADATA XPG Gammix S11 Pro 2 TB M2, AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and 64GB RAM. So far, everything has been very smooth. But to be honest, I don't feel like troubleshooting anymore. Is it the driver? Is it the GPU's resizable bar? Is it my LAN? Anyway, I refunded the Isle.

That's truly bad luck, your system is similar to mine in performance and would have played Evrima in all it's glory

I often trouble shoot for others here, but to have serious boot issues with both Legacy and Evrima with such a powerful PC isn't something I've come across before to be honest

It's too late to try anything now, or go over what you have already tried, still doesn't mean I could of helped, sorry it went that way, I think you would have enjoyed the struggle the game play has to offer

[Steele]

Postat inițial de ALEX:

Postat inițial de jdpvagabond:

We tried to warn you. At least you refunded before it was too late.

You warned about the game mechanics, not the technical problems. ;)
I wasn't even able to “experience” the cruelty of nature.

When we warned you, we tried warning about every aspect of the game. On the bright side, you got to refund the game. Few get to say that.