Islanders: New Shores – A Comprehensive Review

Oh man, so, ISLANDERS: New Shores—you ever dive into something thinking it’ll be a quick dip but then you’re, like, fully submerged? Yeah, that’s this game. It’s got that whole vibe where you build stuff on islands, and somehow it’s all relaxed yet just enough to keep you hooked, right? Buildings like cities and lighthouses (and shaman huts, which—yeah, those are a thing) pop up as you chase points to hop islands. Thankfully, no one’s rushing you with a timer, so you can chill and get those structures just… right. It’s this mix of calm tunes and minimalistic style that makes it a no-brainer when you want something light but satisfying.

So, here’s the deal. New Shores kicks off with an intro island—it’s straightforward, like “here’s how you do the thing,” but they leave the subtle stuff to you. Basically, you drop buildings on the island, trying to rack up points by placing them near related ones. You start with these card packs—like, maybe you get a Brickmaker or Seaweed Farm—and each island tosses in a unique twist. You’re just chasing points to level up and grab new packs. There are even these boons thrown in that give you bonuses, like extra points or letting you clone a building (at a price, kinda like a trade-off). Once you’ve squeezed all the points you can out of an island, you get to decide—move on or stay and max out that score.

Switching islands, your score gets totaled up, with bonuses for boons and using minimal undos. And then, bam, you’re picking your next two islands with their quirks. That’s just the High Score Mode, though. They’ve got a Sandbox Mode if you’re feeling extra creative—you choose everything from climate to island size, and have access to all structures.

Played it on the Switch 2 (yeah, I know, fancy), and it was mostly smooth sailing. Except sometimes, moving buildings feels a bit sticky — like, “come on, just move already!” — which is kinda annoying when every point matters. The game’d probably mesh well with the Switch 2’s mouse mode—if that was a thing, but nope, still considered a Switch 1 release.

The menus and buildings in New Shores? They look a notch more appealing than the original, got me hooked deeper this time. Keeping your score running from island to island for the online leaderboard is a neat touch, really feeds into chasing that “just one more run” feeling. With its simple gameplay and the rush you get from seeing those numbers climb, it’s probably not leaving my home screen soon. Perfect for winding down at night. Anyone who loved the original will dig this, and new folks will get sucked right in.