Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition (Nintendo Switch) Review

Living on one planet doesn't mean that life is dull. At least in Deiland: Pocket Planet, Arco has a lot to learn about how to take care of his planet, but the simple tutorial explains all that using quests to learn how to farm crops, grow trees, fish and more a step at a time so it's not at all overwhelming. Those who have played the larger game Summer in Mara will be familiar with the style of graphics, and will even recognise a couple of characters; it is interesting to see them off Mara and to learn more about them and see how they interact with Arco. A significant amount of time is spent creating and tending the farm which can be organised in any fashion. It is advisable not to plant too many trees close to the pond because it can make fishing hard - sadly it is not the best fishing system and fishing is needed for a few quests, but can be mostly avoided if it is not enjoyable. At the start of the game there are few water sources, so farming space tends to have to be close to the preliminary well, but later in the game, when materials are more plentiful and wells can be created, it is possible to relocate crop growing areas.

Life is far from peaceful: visitors come whenever they feel like it so when waiting to complete a quest with a specific person sometimes the day cycles seem to pass slowly until they choose to visit. Alongside growing plants and animal husbandry, which was a fun surprise, there are literal alien invasions who can kill Arco but there is no penalty for dying. It is bad enough that enemies appear, but they can destroy crops which is frustrating. Fences can help protect crops from them if placed correctly, or employing a method of killing the attacking forces as quickly as possible with learned magic and bashing them with weapons can help. Sometimes running away from the alien is needed especially if health is low and time is needed to get a space to use a healing item. The enemies get stronger over time, and look different too. When the farm is more established, anger towards the invaders when they destroy things can be motivating to eradicate them.

Quest completion unlocks weapon upgrades, and levelling up happens through experience gained by collecting materials, farming, and mining. Running out of energy is possible, food can help restore it but mostly sleeping restores it completely. It is necessary to go to bed to level up, and upon doing so two options are given with only one being able to be selected for an upgrade, allowing for slight customisation to suit the preferred play style, and utterly delightful pictures for levelling up. If players are prone to motion sickness they may be affected by the small size of the planet, the way it rotates to travel on it and also having to rotate when meteorites threaten the planet and they need to be directed away from crops as they could kill them.