ISLANDERS is a minimalist city-building game developed by Grizzly Games. In this game, you will need to build your own city on different islands by strategically placing homes, buildings, farms, resorts, and even towers. This game is available to be played on PCs and gaming consoles. 
 
ISLANDERS is a competitive game, but the competition here is against yourself. You’ll compete with yourself on how much and how long you can build establishments until you paint yourself in the corner. It’s a relaxing strategy game every city-building game fan will surely love. 

Build, build, build 

ISLANDERS is a light and breezy game. The only thing you’ll do is to place the structures that it provides around a colorful island to build your city. Sounds easy, right? However, there is more to the game than a little sandbox experience. It is not just about an endless supply of islands for you to scroll around and craft tiny cities on. There are still rules and goals that you need to meet. 

The game starts with you working on a small island with a small selection of buildings to create. You get corresponding points every time you put down a building. Note that the points depend on how you place your buildings. The closer they are to a complementary structure or certain natural features, the higher the point you get. Also, the more buildings you place, the more types you get to choose from. 

There is a catch, however. Each island in the game has limited space and resources. You need to be very careful where you place your buildings because you cannot access the next island until you reach a certain point threshold. Blow your space and make a disjointed city, and you’ll be stuck on that island forever. Another thing to be wary about is that once you've placed your building, you can no longer move it. 

Repetitive but fun 

Further, it doesn’t offer anything but building a city and it can sure be repetitive, especially early on. But when you manage to get to the bigger islands and unlock badass structures like a gold mine, it can be pretty fun. Not to mention the delight you’ll feel when you drop a 40-point building. Moreover, the longer you play, the easier it gets to turn an empty island into a thriving civilization. 

Additionally, what makes it soothing is that you don’t compete with anybody else. There is a leaderboard that shows how you fare against other players, but the most prominent information focuses on your best scores.  Of course, when you think about what makes the game great, you cannot discount its beautiful design as well. On the other hand, this game also has a sequel titled ISLANDERS: New Shores which you can try too. 

A satisfying game 

Overall, ISLANDERS is a simple and soothing game that will have you enjoying your time playing. There is little stress in it, other than the little tension you will feel when you run out of buildings to place. But it’s a game that lets you play at your own pace. If you enjoy city-building and strategy games but don’t want to pull your hair out, this one is a must-try.