Video Game Mini-Review: Sugardew Island

Developer & Publisher: Rokaplay

Genre: Simulation

Reviewed For Nintendo Switch

Also Available On: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Steam

Sugardew Island is another game in the now too-crowded cozy farming sim genre. I don’t mean to sound grouchy, as I do love this genre. I get excited by every new promising game in the genre – It’s why I’m reviewing this. Unfortunately, though, there are just too many mediocre or worse games coming out, and while I’m not expecting another Stardew Valley–quality game, I just want to see promising a stress-free experience where players can farm, raise animals, and actually have fun for a long time. Technical issues, clunky controls, and frustrating mechanics prevent Sugardew Island from being worth the price of admission.

The game follows a familiar premise: the player washes ashore on Sugardew Island after a shipwreck and is tasked with restoring harmony to the land. The Harmony Tree has been overtaken by thorny vines due to human greed. Players must complete quests, sell goods, and bring the island’s wildlife back while also uncovering an underdeveloped plot. The narrative doesn’t offer much worth and mostly serves as a backdrop for farming and shopkeeping.

At its core, Sugardew Island follows a familiar farming sim loop: grow crops, take care of animals, and sell products in a shop to earn currency and progress quests. The best part of the game is the shopkeeping mechanic, where players directly interact with customers and manage pricing. Still, the gameplay quickly becomes repetitive, as there isn’t much to break up the routine. Worse yet, the stamina system is frustratingly restrictive, depleting quickly even for basic tasks like watering crops or running the store. Technical issues such as significant bugs further disrupt the experience, making progression feel more like a chore than a rewarding journey.

Visually, Sugardew Island is bright, colorful, and undeniably cute, with an art style reminiscent of the GameCube era of Harvest Moon. The world feels inviting, and the character designs are charming especially the adorable livestock and forest spirits. Like the rest of the game though, the visuals lack polish, with occasional graphical glitches, awkward facial animations, and inconsistent dialogue. The soundtrack is serviceable but largely forgettable. While the aesthetics create a cozy atmosphere, the presentation doesn’t elevate the experience beyond its genre peers.

While Sugardew Island has the foundation of a relaxing farming sim, its lack of depth, frustrating stamina system, and numerous bugs make it difficult to enjoy. The shopkeeping mechanic is a nice touch, but with limited activities and repetitive gameplay, the experience quickly becomes monotonous. It’s a charming but unpolished game that might appeal to newcomers to the genre, but experienced farming sim fans will likely find it lacking.