After playing for a few hours, I wanted to share my honest opinion.

This game has a lot of potential, but also plenty of room for improvement. I can definitely see it becoming one of the best cozy games out there if the developers focus on the right areas. But that’s exactly what Early Access is for.

The good parts so far;
The game world is clearly created with a lot of love and attention to detail.
It doesn’t feel like a barren or empty map. Instead, it’s filled with a lively town and lot's NPCs.
However, most of them are just tourists and currently don’t offer any meaningful interactions.
The building system is actually very good, both with mouse and keyboard and with a gamepad.
It offers a lot of creative freedom and feels intuitive overall, even though there are a few small hiccups here and there.
Performance was also great for me, and I didn’t encounter many bugs.

Things that could be improved
(Keep in mind: these are not deal-breakers, just areas the developers should work on.)

Story & characters
The story is almost non-existent at the moment.
There is currently no real reason to care about either the island or the NPCs.
The opening cutscene was a good start, but after that it felt very short and underdeveloped.
I really hope we will get more proper character events similar to games like Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley, where you actually get to know the characters over time. Right now, I don’t really feel motivated to interact with most NPCs. I do like the small “develop the island” aspect a lot, though and I really hope this will continue and be expanded in future updates.

Progression
The progression feels way too fast.
When you can unlock and obtain everything so quickly, there isn’t much left to work toward.
Slowing this down would make upgrades, buildings, and progression systems feel much more rewarding in the long run.

Dungeons & combat
The dungeon is cutely designed, but it’s far too short and doesn’t really give you a reason to upgrade your character. I’m not expecting combat on the level of Dark Souls, of course but it would be nice if the game actually encouraged you to make use of upgrades.
At the moment, it feels like you unlock upgrades very quickly, but not because you need them to progress, only because the progression itself is so fast.
Having encounters or mechanics that truly require upgrades would make the system feel much more meaningful.


Final verdict on Starsand Island
I do like the game but I don't think I can recommend it yet.
In its current state, it still feels quite incomplete and clearly needs more development, especially when it comes to the story and character content.

That said, the world itself is very cutely designed, and you can really feel that a lot of care went into creating it. Because of that, I genuinely hope this will turn into a very nice and memorable game once it’s finished.

For now, though, I wouldn’t recommend paying full price. In its current state, it’s simply not worth it yet.

After playing for a few hours, I wanted to share my honest opinion. This game has a lot of potential, but also plenty of room for improvement. I can definitely see it becoming one of the best cozy games out there if the developers focus on the right areas. But that’s exactly what Early Access is for. The good parts so far; The game world is clearly created with a lot of love and attention to detail. It doesn’t feel like a barren or empty map. Instead, it’s filled with a lively town and lot's NPCs. However, most of them are just tourists and currently don’t offer any meaningful interactions. The building system is actually very good, both with mouse and keyboard and with a gamepad. It offers a lot of creative freedom and feels intuitive overall, even though there are a few small hiccups here and there. Performance was also great for me, and I didn’t encounter many bugs. Things that could be improved (Keep in mind: these are not deal-breakers, just areas the developers should work on.) Story & characters The story is almost non-existent at the moment. There is currently no real reason to care about either the island or the NPCs. The opening cutscene was a good start, but after that it felt very short and underdeveloped. I really hope we will get more proper character events similar to games like Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley, where you actually get to know the characters over time. Right now, I don’t really feel motivated to interact with most NPCs. I do like the small “develop the island” aspect a lot, though and I really hope this will continue and be expanded in future updates. Progression The progression feels way too fast. When you can unlock and obtain everything so quickly, there isn’t much left to work toward. Slowing this down would make upgrades, buildings, and progression systems feel much more rewarding in the long run. Dungeons & combat The dungeon is cutely designed, but it’s far too short and doesn’t really give you a reason to upgrade your character. I’m not expecting combat on the level of Dark Souls, of course but it would be nice if the game actually encouraged you to make use of upgrades. At the moment, it feels like you unlock upgrades very quickly, but not because you need them to progress, only because the progression itself is so fast. Having encounters or mechanics that truly require upgrades would make the system feel much more meaningful. Final verdict on Starsand Island I do like the game but I don't think I can recommend it yet. In its current state, it still feels quite incomplete and clearly needs more development, especially when it comes to the story and character content. That said, the world itself is very cutely designed, and you can really feel that a lot of care went into creating it. Because of that, I genuinely hope this will turn into a very nice and memorable game once it’s finished. For now, though, I wouldn’t recommend paying full price. In its current state, it’s simply not worth it yet.