Highlights

  • Fans of cozy life-sims have plenty of new titles to look forward to, including Amber Isle, a dinosaur-themed shop management game.
  • Amber Isle stands out for its focus on shop management gameplay, where players must run a successful store in a dinosaur-filled town.
  • With in-depth character customization and a charming cast of characters, Amber Isle offers a relaxing experience for players of all ages.

Cozy life-sims are having a moment right now. Witchbrook, Fields of Mistria, and The Ranchers are all hotly anticipated, and even The Lord of the Rings is getting in on the action—Tales of the Shire, set to release later this year, is a cozy life-sim that will allow players to live the relaxed, carefree life of a shirebound Hobbit. In this sea of games, another promising title is on the way: Amber Isle. Created by Ambertail Games, Amber Isle is a dinosaur-themed shop management life-sim that’s equal parts Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, and Recettear.

First announced way back in 2020, Amber Isle is a relaxed Animal Crossing inspired game set on a dinosaur-filled island, where players open their own store in order to become the idyllic dino-town’s very own Tom Nook. Tasked with running an item shop, cleaning up the town, and making friends with villagers, fans of life-sims should feel right at home amongst Amber Isle’s Paleofolk. With a casual, family-friendly approach, Amber Isle’s low-stakes shop management gameplay is a relaxing slice of life for young and old alike.

Amber Isle has in-depth character customization options , including a wide range of clothing items. With a huge selection of dinosaur components to choose from, and the ability to tweak each component’s colors and patterns, Amber Isle will let players create the anthropomorphic dinosaur of their dreams.

animal crossing inspired indie
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Exploring Amber Isle’s Prehistoric Economy

While there are a number of small elements that help the game stand out, what really sets Amber Isle apart from other life-sims is its shop management component. While the game doesn’t neglect social interactions with other dinosaurs on the island, the core of the game revolves around selling things to the island's numerous inhabitants. Only by running a fair, reliable, and economical store can the player gradually work toward becoming a respected pillar of Amber Isle’s dinosaur community.

Reminiscent of Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale, players split their time between running their shop and exploring the world beyond. Restocking the store requires players to craft items from components gathered from the overworld, meaning players will have to venture out ever further from home as the game progresses, in order to make increasingly complex items.

Once a healthy selection of items has been crafted and the shelves are fully stocked, players can open up shop, stand behind the counter, and serve Amber Isle’s colorful collection of Cretaceous customers. Haggling, making suggestions, and taking orders give players a surprisingly diverse range of tasks to take on while shopkeeping.

While the shop is Amber Isle’s most standout feature, it wouldn’t be a life-sim without a cast of villagers to interact with, hang out with, and solve problems for. Luckily, Amber Isle presents a varied and loveable cast of characters. From the island’s curmudgeonly mayor, Clawsworth, to Maple, the town’s peppy courier, players setting up shop on Amber Isle will likely have no shortage of scaly, fanged friends.

Amber Isle will give every character a chance to shine through engaging conversations!

And, because the game has a more linear narrative than many titles in its genre, each character gets a real chance to shine. From the footage released so far, Amber Isle looks to have a number of well-written, engaging conversations between the characters, with players given the chance to respond to questions with either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ at various points. At times, the game’s approach to storytelling can make Amber Isle look more like a family-friendly Persona game than anything in the life-sim genre.

Amber Isle is Just Over the Horizon

While Amber Isle doesn’t yet have a release date, the recent news that Ambertail Games is collaborating with Team17 to release the game suggests an announcement isn’t too far off. Gamers interested in Amber Isle are encouraged to wishlist the game on Steam to keep up to date with the game's release schedule.