I had been following Amber Isle for MONTHS before it came out on PC because it ticked off all the boxes I personally love in a cozy game: adorable creatures (dinosaurs in this case,) store management, quests, and resource gathering. Also, Ambertail Games was extremely effective with their Instagram posts because it was impossible for me to ignore all the pictures and videos of the cute Paleofolk and their fun, unique personalities. These things led me to pre-order Amber Isle, which is very rare for me. When this game officially dropped on Steam on October 10th last year, I was so happy to find out that Amber Isle absolutely exceeded my expectations. I’m so excited that even more people get to enjoy this single player game as much as I do when it comes out on the Nintendo Switch today!
An unexpected adventure awaits
Amber Isle begins with one of the central ideas that I love about this game: the paleoventure. A paleoventure is a journey that all Paleofolk must take to determine what their calling in life is.
Another idea I really enjoy from Amber Isle is saurnames, which is essentially a last name or surname. While our last names signify the family we were born into, married into, etc., Paleofolk’s saurnames aren’t connected to their families at all. Their saurname is not chosen by anyone else either; the power of that is solely within their own hands (or whatever dino hands are called.) After each Paleofolk sets off on their paleoventure and finds their true calling, they are then able to choose the saurname that they will have for the rest of their life.
While a paleoventure sounds amazing, yours will take an unexpected turn because you’ll get a little too close to the edge of the hot air balloon basket you’re traveling in while surveying the island below and plummet to the ground! Thankfully, a shop right below you manages to soften the fall. Not so thankfully, the mayor of Amber Isle, Mayor Clawsworth, becomes livid and demands that you take the role of interim shopkeeper to pay a whopping fine of 500,000 amber (the in-game currency) due to trespassing and breaking several Amber Isle laws. Despite the fact that this was not what you had planned for your paleoventure, there’s a terrific journey ahead!
Running the best (and only) shop in town
Since you have absolutely no experience running your own shop, you have two wonderfully kind dinos to show you the ropes! Adi and Maple will be your guides throughout not only becoming a shopkeeper for the first time, but also your paleoventure as a whole.
Amber Isle is by far the most in-depth store management game I’ve ever played because being a shopkeeper isn’t just about decorating your store and ensuring that you have items available to sell. You get to set your own prices, barter with customers, take custom orders, recommend items for purchase, and try your best to keep your shop spotless of dino tracks.
If you’re lucky, you can set the price of an item at the highest amount possible and someone could buy it as is. However, you are guaranteed to have at least a few dinos who would like to haggle. The most important thing to determine here is which one is more important to you: your friendship with that customer or your profits from the sale? While a lower price may lead to a friendship boost, I personally opt for profit because as I’ll explain later in this post, building up friendships can be done quick and easy!
An easy way to earn more amber is through custom orders. While you have your store open, customers will come up to you at the front desk and ask you to have a specific item ready for them on a set date. It’s important to note here that if you don’t have their custom order ready on time, it’ll negatively impact your friendship with that customer. I dropped the ball and didn’t fulfill a custom order before because I didn’t have the item they wanted to purchase unlocked for me to craft.. In fact, I didn’t even have access to the materials needed to craft the item because they were located in a different region that I hadn’t unlocked yet! So before you accept a custom order, make sure you have both the crafting recipe and the materials needed.
You can view all crafting recipes that you currently have unlocked under the Item List tab. In order to unlock crafting recipes, you will need to refer to the Goals tab, then select Rewards. You can choose different disciplines on the left hand side such as artisan, carpenter, and chef. These recipes are unlocked using inspiration, which can be earned through various methods:
- Completing quests
- Achieving goals
- Having a successful shop run (you can open the shop multiple times a day)
Spending time with your new dino friends
When recommending items, it definitely helps a ton to know your customer! The best place to learn about a customer is in their profile under the Paleofolk tab. Here you can find information such as a dino’s hatchday and when you can find them out and about. As a shopkeeper, the most important pieces of information here when recommending items are their likes, dislikes, and shop perk.
For example, if Nellie wanted an item that was medium in size, I would first bring out my handy dandy Paleopedia and go to the Craftable Items section. I would select “medium” for the size, “artisan” for the discipline, and “wood” for the material. Nellie requested a medium item, plus she likes both wood and artisan items. In addition, when selling to Nellie, wood gives you a +50% amber shop perk! Following this method will guarantee that your customers will love what you pick out for them.
I didn’t know all of these things about Nellie from the very beginning of the game, I had to get to know her! The best way that I like building friendships is through hanging out with them. This way, you can explore the island and gather resources all while learning more about your dino neighbors. And don’t fret, there’s so many more new friends to make once you unlock all seven regions on Amber Isle!
An island full of discoveries
In Amber Isle, inspiration is used for not only unlocking new crafting recipes, but also unlocking new regions at their respective gates. Unlocking a new region gives you access to new materials, new customizations to decorate your shop, and new Paleofolk! Each region has their own biome too, so you get to explore lands filled with snow, sand, mountains, and so much more.
Despite the fact that each region unlocks several Paleofolk, that doesn’t mean that they’re all inhabitable. Therefore, it’s up to you to bring each region up to tiptop shape! All of the profits from your store is used to give back to the community and rebuild the island. While doing things like fixing a bridge sounds like a chore, the fun begins when you get to decorate the island! You’ll be able to build walking paths, outdoor furniture like picnic tables, and plants just to name a few.
Ready to begin your paleoventure?
Amber Isle is now available on the following platforms as a single player game:
- Steam for $24.99
- Nintendo Switch for $24.99
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