Or to give the game it's full title "Craftlands Workshoppe - The Funny Indie Capitalist RPG Trading Adventure Game".
Craftlands is the latest installment of the "Shoppe" games created and developed by Arvydas Žemaitis and published by Excalibur Games.
Excalibur were kind enough to send a copy for preview, so please keep in mind things may have changed by the time it releases into early access on 14th October via Steam .
In Craftlands you have just accepted the role of apprentice, to a master craftsman called "Allcraft". Your base of operations is in the clouds, where you cater to a bizarre and celestial set of clients.
You arrive at work to find a hastily written note on the door, Allcraft has done one, gone off exploring and basically left you the workshop.
This is where you begin, your first choice is to decide in which profession you are going to specialize, Cooking, Blacksmithing or Alchemy?
Obviously each craft is very different but the basic premise is the same.
Craft Stuff -> Level up -> Unlock Recipes -> Upgrade Workshop-> Craft better stuff.
It's a simple gameplay loop, but incredibly effective in creating an addictive and fun experience. There's that, almost nagging urge, to just play a bit longer to get "..one more upgrade".
This simple gameplay loop is both it's blessing and curse, as after a few hours of playing Craftlands, I did start to get a little bored. It is quite repetitive and could use more quest elements tied to workshop upgrades or staff hires.
As well as the core gameplay loop, there is a basic story quest running through the game and this is a welcome addition. Hopefully more elements such as this will be added going into and during Early Access.
Graphically the game is quite simple, with bold, colourful "Minecraft" like characters and environments. Clean, functional and cartoonlike.
The UI is easy to navigate and well set out and it's a very accessible game overall, no steep learning curve or excessive micromanagement.
At the time of writing this preview the Steam Game Festival is in full swing and you can download a free demo of Craftlands Workshoppe to try it out for yourselves.
It's a great little time killer, both relaxing and fun to play for a couple of hours at a time, but its definitely not a game I could binge in its current iteration. That being said it's definitely one to keep an eye on to see what's going to be added and improved upon during it's Early Access period.
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