Thank you Pathea Games for sending us a review code!

My Time at Sandrock takes place in a post-apocalyptic world that experienced a great calamity three-hundred years prior. Resources are scarce and the church of light monitors water usage and forbids the chopping down of living trees. Recycling is essential and you’ll find yourself scavenging and repurposing metal, wood, and plastic scrap. There are references to Portia and partnering with them is essential to Sandrock’s survival as they are on the brink of economic collapse. Sandrock’s primary builder is retiring and the game begins with your character responding to their Help Wanted ad.

After designing your character’s appearance, you’ll find them riding a train to Sandrock. Builders are responsible for making improvements and repairs throughout the town. The town and residents will post commissions/requests in the commerce guild. Requests are first come first serve, and you’re not the only builder in town. With each completed commission, you’ll earn experience, gols/money, increased relationship points with the requester and reputation points for your business. If you’re not finding enough work to do through the commission board, you can try placing an ad in the local newspaper.

Your axe and pickaxe are essential tools for gathering materials in the harsh environment. It’s also wise to carry a weapon and you can specialize in guns, swords/shields, and daggers. Gathering materials is half of the battle. Once you have the items, chances are high that you’ll have to recycle or refine them to put them to use. The machinery needed to process items will have to be researched by the town’s scientist and he’ll provide with you with necessary diagrams to build them. Researching costs data discs and you’ll need even more of them if you need the diagram in a hurry. Many commissions have a deadline so make sure that you have everything necessary to complete an order before accepting it. Failure to complete an order on time or canceling it will subtract relationship and workshop reputation points.

Several townsfolk are married and they’re off limits when it comes to dating. The adults who are not married are eligible to be romanced and there are no restrictions when it comes to same-sex relationships. When dating you can hug and eventually kiss, but nothing more than that is shown.

Establishing relationships is done by talking with people, completing their commission requests, giving them a gift (one per day limit), and asking them to hang out. The town of Sandrock also has animals wandering around that can eventually become your friend if you talk with them and offer them lots of treats for days on end. A recent Monster Whisperer DLC pack allows you to catch enemies Pokemon style and they can become your pets much faster than the town counterparts. Some of the enemies are cute like the dog/penguin hybrid.

You can dispatch your pets to explore and gather ore, water, artifacts, and other helpful items on a daily basis. In fact, you’ll raise your relationship with them by putting them to work. Spouses often have perks as well. I married the Saloon owner, Owen, and he gave me five meals a day!

Aside from building and talking to the townsfolk, there are many ruins to explore and they have items needed to complete many commissions and storyline quests. If it’s just parts you’re after, you can commission the Civil Corps to explore on your behalf and deliver the loot to your residence.

There are many threats to Sandrock including bandits and a gang of giant reptilian cowboys. You’ll find yourself going above and beyond the role of a builder in order to keep Sandrock safe. In town, there’s a temple that praises the light and offers sermons on persevering though hardships. Without going into spoiler territory, religion isn’t shown in a positive light. (Pun intended.)

Violence is cartoon like and there is no blood shown despite characters getting shot at. Most of the enemies you’ll encounter are robotic in nature, but there are some animal and human adversaries as well. For the most part, this game is pretty family-friendly but I did hear one instance of d*mn in the dialogue.

The graphics are colorful and look pretty good on my gaming PC. Though this game is available on the Switch, many people are having performance issues so I would avoid that platform if possible. The online multiplayer is cross platform so that increases the chances of finding people to play online with significantly. Unfortunately, when the multiplayer mode is under maintenance, it can be down for days.

Stability wise, there are some potential glitches so I recommend saving often and utilizing multiple save files. I once had an issue with friendly fire around Owen when we were dating. As a result he would say “Hey! Be careful!” and would act scared. Even after days would pass he would react the same. I ultimately had to load up a prior save to restore the relationship to it’s pre-tarnished sate. I had another instance where a townsperson’s quest glitched and they kept following my character around for the rest of the day despite completing the assignment. Thankfully, they went back to their normal routine the following day.

Despite the hiccups, I enjoyed My Time at Sandrock and look forward to future entries in the series. If you don’t mind the mild language and same-sex relationship potential, it’s a pretty family-friendly game. The single-player campaign is a lot of fun and there’s plenty to do after the main storyline concludes. I can definitely see why people spend hundreds of hours playing this game.