Smalland is probably one of the best Open World Survival games in the genre!
I personally put it above "Grounded (2022)" despite being less popular.
Made by British independent/AA developers "Merge Games" (now re-branded as Silver Lining).
Their original vision can be felt in 99% of the game that follows a roadmap of sorts, yet the latest Wyrdweaver update was more disjointed as if it was made by the publishers rather than the developers, at least feels that way..
BTW, the recently announced Smalland 2 isn't made by the same devs but by the publisher "Maximum Entertainment", I got a bad feeling about it...
"Smalland 1" is not perfect, I'd put "Subnautica" and "No Man's Sky" above it, they both have their charms but are also more concise and long-lasting.
I wish Smalland was longer, had more to offer and not as finite feeling.
Another game comes to mind "Palworld", where pets can be made part of the base and work for you. If only Smalland had implemented a similar function, for example ladybugs could be milked like cows.
All we can use companions for is either combat, mobility or extra inventory.
Also early game insects fall-off really hard, when scorpions have 5000 health and your little ants or bees have only around 12-50 health. One gust of wind in their general direction and they are gone!
The game also implemented unnecessary limitations in my opinion. You can either have only 4 active companions or their total points can't exceed 100? Why? Just choose one system. With 100 points, I'd at least could build a small army of weak insects. The 4 active pets means nothing if you get two large companions that each eats up around 50 points, meaning you can only have 2 at all times. Both systems contradict and cannibalize each other!
If the insects would have been integrated more fluently, it would have elevated the experience.
"Grounded" felt more like an action adventure than a survival/craft, what didn't help was that it promised co-op multiplayer yet even playing on local network for just 2 players was such a laggy and buggy mess.
"Smalland" on the other hand ran flawlessly, my PC was purring and not once did it crash, even when playing local network coop. It's also amazing how it allows 10 players to play together than just 4 like in Grounded.
(who thought themselves an authority and decided that ALL co-op need to be 4 players, not 3 or 5, but strictly FOUR?!? Who was that genius? Sure it makes sense in L4D or DRG, but open world survival games??? Nah)
What differentiates Smalland greatly from Grounded is that you are not grounded to the floor but can actually fly, which opens new dimensions and makes travelling a breeze.
The spider sling is VERY cool but has like 15-20 uses before it breaks.. kinda annoying tbh.
The armors in the game are beautiful and cool, much better than Grounded.
Yet late game gear like the mouse or crystalized are paced way too late, by that point the game is already over and the grind is just too bad. Once again the issue of the barely existent after-story content given in Wyrdweaver update. Same as the magic system and wyrd staff...
The game has very few NPCs, one might think that would mean they'd have voice acting but unfortunately no.
No voice acting at all.. In fact the few NPCs are more like quest givers than actual parts of the world.
The hidden city of your smallfolk is inaccessible and you only get to glimpse at it once in the entire game, what a blue-balling tease!
The soundtrack, atmosphere, vibe and beautiful setting is what makes this game stand out.
It's like the perfect game made for that fantasy movie "EPIC (2013)"!
I really loved "A Bug's Life (1998)" and "Antz (1998)" movies, exploring the world from below and experiencing a tinykin civilization and technology was just fascinating. That's why I like both Smalland/Grounded.
Truly fun game, wish it was longer, I really wanted to stay longer in this world and have more to do.
So much untapped potential. I blame the publishers, that's why I don't have much faith in the announced sequel..
Smalland is quite cheap on sale, unlike Grounded. Very much worth a try.
