Paleo Pines

Last updated

Paleo Pines
Paleo Pines.png
Developer(s) Italic Pig
Publisher(s) Modus Games
Platform(s)
Release
  • WW: 26 September 2023
Genre(s) Farm life sim
Mode(s) Single-player

Paleo Pines, also known as Paleo Pines: The Dino Valley, is an independent life simulation game developed by Italic Pig and published by Modus Games. It was released for Linux, Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on 26 September 2023. Players take the role of a rancher working in a dinosaur sanctuary while befriending townsfolk and the creatures they care for.

Contents

Gameplay and setting

Paleo Pines is a 3D single-player farm life sim taking place on an island where humans and dinosaurs live together. The player takes control of a rancher tasked with collecting, cataloging, and caring for the various dinosaur species who inhabit the area along with their Parasaurolophus companion Lucky. Townsfolk and dinosaurs alike can be befriended and aid the player with specific skills needed to advance the story. [1]

Development

Paleo Pines was announced on 23 April, 2023 by publisher Modus Games accompanied by a reveal trailer. [2] The title was developed by Northern Ireland-based independent game studio Italic Pig, whose team is composed of members active in the UK animation and game industry. [3] In August 2023, Paleo Pines made an appearance at that year's Gamescom convention in Cologne, [4] as well as the MIX Next Showcase which revealed its release date the following September for all platforms. [5]

In October 2024, Italic Pig revealed that they had been able to support the game over its first year on a "shoestring budget", but that support for a planned follow-up would depend on finding investors and publishers willing to back the project. [6]

Reception

Paleo Pines received an average critic score of 65 out of 100 from Metacritic, equating to "mixed or average reviews". [7] Ryan Thompson-Bamsey of TheGamer called the game "a largely successful execution of standard farming sim formulas," adding that the dinosaur collecting and caring mechanic was the "most compelling" part of the game. [8] Screen Rant's Deven McClure felt that it "has all the right ingredients for a cozy game," but that the sometimes "uninviting" character designs and "shallow" features may put off some players. [9]

Gareth Newnham of Impulse Gamer remarked that "though not as sprawling or intense as something like Stardew Valley, [it's] still a great way to while away a few hours," calling it a good entry point to newcomers of the genre. [10] Violet Plata of GameGrin similarly commented that "if you're looking for a life simulation with cute dinosaurs — kind of like Stardew Valley with reptiles — this is not it," adding that its gameplay was more focused on collecting and exploring. [11]

Related Research Articles

Story of Seasons, known in Japan as Bokujō Monogatari and formerly known as Harvest Moon, is an agricultural farming life simulation video game series created by Yasuhiro Wada and developed by Victor Interactive Software. Story of Seasons was the first game to be released under the new international series title of the same name.

In tabletop games and video games, game mechanics specify how a game works for the players. Game mechanics include the rules or ludemes that govern and guide player actions, as well as the game's response to them. A rule is an instruction on how to play, while a ludeme is an element of play, such as the L-shaped move of the knight in chess. The interplay of various mechanics determines the game's complexity and how the players interact with the game. All games use game mechanics; however, different theories disagree about their degree of importance to a game. The process and study of game design includes efforts to develop game mechanics that engage players.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yahtzee Croshaw</span> British video game journalist and author (born 1983)

Benjamin Richard "Yahtzee" Croshaw is a British journalist, video game critic, author, comedian, humourist, video game developer, and audiobook narrator. He is best known for his video game review series Zero Punctuation, which he produced for The Escapist from 2007 to 2023, and its spiritual successor Fully Ramblomatic, which he releases through Second Wind.

Social simulation games are a subgenre of life simulation game that explore social interactions between multiple artificial lives. Some examples include The Sims and Animal Crossing series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gamescom</span> Trade fair for video games

Gamescom is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Gamescom is the world's largest gaming event, with 370,000 visitors and 1,037 exhibitors from 56 countries attending the event in 2018. The event is used by many video game developers to exhibit upcoming games and game-related hardware. The “gamescom - Opening Night Live” (ONL) show takes place every year on the evening before the opening. The show presents the latest trailers and announcements from the international games industry and is hosted by Geoff Keighley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sickhead Games</span> American video game company

Sickhead Games, LLC is an American independent game development studio founded in 2002. It is best known for its multiplatform turn-based strategy game ARMED!, its involvement with the MonoGame framework and Torque series of game engines, and the development of several PlayStation 4/5, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch ports of indie games including TowerFall Ascension, Stardew Valley, Darkest Dungeon, Octodad: Dadliest Catch, Slay the Spire, and Axiom Verge. The studio has updated classic console and PC games from the late 1990s and early 2000s, including ExZeus, Enclave, and Grandia, to run on modern gaming systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chucklefish</span> British video game company

Chucklefish Limited is a British video game developer and publisher based in London. Founded in 2011 by Finn Brice, the company specialises in retro-styled games. Chucklefish is best known for developing Starbound and Wargroove, as well being the former publishers of Risk of Rain and Stardew Valley.

<i>Stardew Valley</i> 2016 video game

Stardew Valley is a 2016 farm life simulation role-playing video game developed by Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone. Players take the role of a character who inherits their deceased grandfather's dilapidated farm in a place known as "Stardew Valley". The game was originally released for Windows in February 2016 before being ported to other platforms. Stardew Valley is an open-ended game, allowing players to grow crops, raise livestock, fish, cook, mine, forage, and socialize with the townspeople, including the ability to marry and have children. It allows up to eight players to play online together.

<i>Ary and the Secret of Seasons</i> 2020 video game

Ary and the Secret of Seasons is an action-adventure game developed by Belgian indie studio Exiin, ported on consoles by Fishing Cactus and published by Modus Games. The game was released on Microsoft Windows via Steam, and Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on September 1, 2020, and Stadia on November 5, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Barone</span> American video game designer (born 1987)

Eric Lorenz Barone, known professionally as ConcernedApe, is an American video game designer and musician. He is best known for creating the 2016 video game Stardew Valley.

<i>Disney Dreamlight Valley</i> 2023 life simulation video game

Disney Dreamlight Valley is a 2023 life simulation adventure game developed by Gameloft Montreal and published by Gameloft. The game has players tend to a magical valley populated by various Disney and Pixar characters who previously underwent a curse that caused them to lose their memories of their lives in the valley.

<i>Haunted Chocolatier</i> Upcoming video game

Haunted Chocolatier is an upcoming chocolatier simulation game by ConcernedApe, the developer of Stardew Valley. It has no set release date.

<i>Roots of Pacha</i> 2023 video game

Roots of Pacha is a 2023 farm life sim indie video game set in the Stone Age developed and published by Soda Den, funded as a Kickstarter campaign. It allows up to four players to play online together.

Farm life sims are a subgenre of life simulation games which fuse social simulation, dating sim and farm simulation elements. The games generally feature a protagonist going out to a rural setting and taking upon a farm, oftentimes because of an inheritance from a deceased relative, or because of urban boredom. The player-character grows crops and raises livestock to make money, and can interact with a wide cast of characters who are inhabitants of the town, and work toward the main plot's objective, if one exists. The game plots often featured dying ghost towns that must be revitalized by the player's actions. The games tend to feature simplified and less realistic farming as opposed to a simulation, such as Farming Simulator.

<i>Coral Island</i> (video game) 2023 video game

Coral Island is a 2023 farm life sim developed by Stairway Games and published by Humble Games. Its gameplay takes place on a tropical island and contains features similar to other farm sims such as Stardew Valley. The game was a huge success on Kickstarter, reaching its initial goal within 36 hours. The game entered early access in October 2022 before fully releasing November the next year.

<i>Amber Isle</i> 2024 video game

Amber Isle is an independent social simulation game developed by Ambertail Games and published by Team17. It was released for Windows on 10 October 2024 while a Nintendo Switch version is planned for February 2025.

<i>Just Dance 2025 Edition</i> 2024 video game

Just Dance 2025 Edition is a dance rhythm game developed and published by Ubisoft. It was unveiled on June 18, 2024, during the Nintendo Direct June 2024 presentation as the sixteenth installment in the series, and the third annual song pack after its predecessors Just Dance 2023 Edition and 2024 Edition, in celebration of the series' fifteenth anniversary. The game was released on October 15, 2024 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

<i>Fields of Mistria</i> Upcoming video game

Fields of Mistria is an upcoming farm life simulation role-playing video game developed and published by NPC Studio. It was released in early access on Windows on August 5, 2024. In the indie game, the player resides in the fictional town of Mistria, which is recovering from an earthquake and socializes with its villagers of diverse backgrounds. The game features conventional aspects of farm life games as well as combat and magic.

<i>Sun Haven</i> (video game) 2023 video game

Sun Haven is a 2023 farm life sim action role-playing game developed and published by American indie studio Pixel Sprout Studios. The video game was released on March 11, 2023 for Windows. The game was also ported to the Nintendo Switch in North and South America on November 29, 2024 and in Europe on December 16, 2024. It has often been compared with similar games such as Stardew Valley and Dungeons & Dragons.

References

  1. ↑ Johnson, Gemma (23 September 2023). "Paleo Pines Dev Talks About the Dinosaur Companion Named Lucky, NPC Townsfolk". GameRant. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  2. ↑ "Paleo Pines is Coming to PC & Consoles This Fall from Modus Games". Maximum Entertainment. 23 April 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  3. ↑ "Who We Are - Italic Pig". Italic Pig. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  4. ↑ Dicere, Dan (31 August 2023). "Gamescom 2023 – Paleo Pines is way too adorable and I need it in my life right now!". Indiecator. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  5. ↑ Bankhurst, Adam (31 August 2023). "The 10 Coolest Games We Saw During the MIX Next Showcase 2023". IGN. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  6. ↑ Serin, Kaan (9 October 2024). ""The sad truth is, the future is uncertain": Indie dev asks community for help after supporting its dinosaur Stardew Valley on a "shoestring budget"". GamesRadar. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Paleo Pines Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  8. ↑ Thompson-Bamsey, Ryan (26 September 2023). "Paleo Pines Review - Stardew Valley Meets Jurassic Park". TheGamer. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  9. ↑ McClure, Deven (26 September 2023). "Paleo Pines Review: Imperfect But Inspired Dinosaur Fun". Screen Rant . Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  10. ↑ Newnham, Gareth (9 January 2024). "Paleo Pines Review (PC)". Impulse Gamer. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  11. ↑ Plata, Violet (26 September 2023). "Paleo Pines Review". GameGrin. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.