Ourlands Review: Island Paradise | The Gamerheads Podcast

When life gets stressful, I turn to video games to help me unwind. And there’s nothing better than a cozy game that has no goals except to enjoy being creative. That’s exactly what Ourlands delivers.

Ourlands is an island builder with no goals. I’m allowed to create an island to my heart’s content. I can shape the land by raising or lowering the terrain. Once it’s in place, I can start developing my island, placing homes, trees, flowers, dog houses, and animals wherever I see fit. The game is all about leaning into my creativity.

I said there are no goals, but the game does have hidden achievements, which is a nice touch. For example, the first time I interacted with the grass, I unlocked an achievement titled "Touch Grass." There are thirteen achievements in total, and the game encourages me to explore and find them all.

Ourlands also features locked objects, and the way to unlock them is by interacting with the environment. Some are fairly straightforward. For example, there's an outline of a shark fin, which immediately made me think I needed to do something with the water. Others are a bit trickier to uncover, and I found myself using the interaction tool all over the island to see what hidden objects and achievements I could discover.

The first thing that caught my attention in Ourlands was the art. Think of it like stickers in a sticker book. In fact, after talking with Graham, the developer, he mentioned that he considered calling the game Stickerland. Each asset is hand-drawn, and the art is so clean and modern-looking that it adds a sharp visual style to the game's overall aesthetic.

The music is the next thing that I noticed. It creates a chill vibe and has a bit of an island feel to it, which works well with the game. After a few hours playing Ourlands, I found myself humming the tune. It’s catchy.

After I create my perfect island (or not-so-perfect island, that's okay too), I can create a postcard and share it on social media. It's a brilliant way to not only show off my creation, but also a unique way for the developer to market the game.

My only complaint is that I wish there were more objects to place in the game. After talking with Graham, I know he has a roadmap with some really cool updates planned, and I can't wait to explore them when they release.

Final Grade: B+

Ourlands achieves exactly what it sets out to do: deliver a cozy experience where players can flex their creativity by building their own piece of paradise. And in a world where everything is happening so rapidly, it's nice to take a moment to breathe and enjoy creating simply for the sake of creating.

Review code provided by GrahamOfLegend