Nintendo Switch Critic Reviews

Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition is a charming experience, at least at the beginning. It is relaxing and immersive for a while, until you hit some structural flaws in its gathering and progression system, but overall it remains an enjoyable game.

My time within this universe was enjoyable, eventually. It was gratifying to see that there was more of the game to experience beyond the initial limitations I had to work through, but the general lack of a tutorial and plodding pacing at the beginning almost turned me off for good. But if you get past that and into the meat of the title, you’ll sink your teeth into something truly satisfying.

Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition has a lovely, relaxing vibe, and some pleasant, very recognizable farming mechanics. But some quest problems lead to frustration – and worse, hours of bewildered wandering. When progression grinds to a halt and there is nothing to do but grow endless crops, Deiland starts to feel less pleasant, and more like a purgatory.

Compared to animal crossing and other farming sims it is relatively basic. There isn’t that much to do and I found myself spending a lot of time waiting… I love the graphics and soundtrack and I really did enjoy playing Deiland. But felt it was more appropriate as a pick up and put down type of game rather than one that involves longer gaming sessions.

Deiland Pocket Planet Edition is a shallow farming sim that provides you with very base-level quests that don’t really amount to anything memorable. The monotony of completing the quests and watching over crops never becomes more complex or challenging, weighing on the adventure’s lasting factor. There’s little here to experience after a few hours of gameplay, but it’s still a charming indie offering that doesn’t grow into the rose that I had hoped for.

But if you can deal with that, Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition is a fun little farm sim, one that lacks depth but makes up for in charm and the uniqueness of its setting. Put your favourite comfort show on TV and play this while you’re half-watching, and you’ve got a nice way to unwind and turn your mind off for a spell.

At the end of the day, if you’re a genre fan, Deiland will provide you with enough bang for your buck that you won’t feel your time was wasted. But it’s kind of a lightweight thing, and between the short duration and the lack of long-term hooks it’s more a case of genre fans wanting more than it is of a new game to really sink your teeth into. That doesn’t make it bad or disappointing, just perhaps a bit more slight than you’d hope.

Deiland: Pocket Planet is a game and concept with a lot of heart and potential, but a few issues bring the experience down. A patch or two this could easily turn into a brilliant short story for any indie gamer, but for now it's an interesting tale that needs a little more time on it.

With its unique premise and enjoyable art style, Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition could have the potential to be your next fave farm sim. Unfortunately, its clunky structure transforms part of the experience into an aimless chore.

Deiland: Pocket Planet is a perfectly fine farming sim with the novelty of eking out existence on little planets. However, the lean towards busy work means that only fans of the survival genre will get the most out of it.