EMBU GAMES | Photo Courtesy
“SMALLAND,” developed and published by Embu Games, is coming out sometime this month. It is a survival game where you have been shrunk down. What would have been a small piece of land is now a huge expanse of unexplored territory and challenges.
Being on the shorter spectrum of height can be very challenging for some people. You must ask taller people to help you reach things or maybe jumping to touch the ceiling with your fingertips is nigh impossible. What about being the size of a small rock and having to fight to survive in inhospitable environments?
“SMALLAND” is currently only in the early access stage of its development, but it still seems to have quite a bit going for it. There are some cool features being implemented into the game that I think are worthy of being in this article.
Strong ecosystem
Just like you, the animals in “SMALLAND” must eat, sleep and have shelter to survive. This means that animals will kill and eat other animals to attain these three objectives. They will even interact with you, but not always with your best intentions in mind. The “SMALLAND” game website admits, “Ants can steal your items, you can be a meal for rabbits.”
The developers say they are not yet done implementing all the desired details for the ecosystem, but it will be one of the most worked on parts of their game.
Highly detailed weather system
The weather in this game, just like your height, is drastically altered to cause you a great deal of strife. One example given by Embu Games is that as weather changes it will cause animals and plants to behave differently. You must be prepared to deal with these occurrences as they happen. Weather does not just have to be large events. Even a slight breeze could destroy your home or carry off supplies.
Flood system
Along with the weather system is a flood system that will force you to build in the right spot. Otherwise, your belongings, or even you yourself, will be swept away. On their website, Embu Games says the feature is not yet implemented and will be difficult to complete, but is one of their higher priorities.
Along with these features will be a 32-player multiplayer experience. This larger multiplayer mode will be added to the game, but it will not be for a while after release. When the game releases, it will just have a two-player co-op mode available so you and a friend can survive together.
From the little I have seen of this game (solely the announcement trailer on Steam and YouTube), it seems to have a very nice graphical style that is quite pleasing. The water is especially well done and the wildlife flitting about makes the game feel very alive.
“SMALLAND” comes out later this month and based on my current impressions, it will be a well-done and unique survival game.