Playing Way Too Much Dinkum

So… I’ve put in over 150 hours into Dinkum, a “Life Simulator Town Building” game that’s still in Early Access, being developed by a single person, James Bendon. It definitely wears its inspirations on its sleeves yet I keep coming back to it more often than when I played Animal Crossing: New Horizons. So why is that? Let me talk to you about it.

The set-up is that you live in South City, a boring place where the only colour is grey and the best food you can get is cooked Blobfish. However, an old lady named Fletch has given you an opportunity to escape the humdrum life of South City and head off back to her place of birth and revitalise into a proper town. Thing is, her place of birth (which you can name) is completely wild with Crocos to bite your feet off, Bush Devils to set you on fire, and Frillies to shock you. But hey, building a town is a lot more exciting than eating Blobfish. There may also have been some sort of apocalypse but who cares about that? Let’s go catch bugs and fish!

Dinkum definitely feels like Animal Crossing: New Horizons if it had a lot more fighting and killing, as the wildlife will attack you, provoked or otherwise. Still, there’s plenty to do to make life a lot more enjoyable on your island. Meet new friends that visit and raise their friendship so that they’ll move in, earn Dinks and Permit Points to afford upgrades to your town and items, craft tools and furniture, and collect creatures to fill out your Pedia. All pretty familiar mechanics, right? Well, I think what it does with those mechanics is what makes it special. It doesn’t have some of the features that freak me out in life simulators while also making it more fun in my eyes. It’s peaceful enough that it can be a nice cosy game to play after a hard day, but has enough going on that I don’t run out of things to do after only an hour.

Being born and raised in Australia, you really do appreciate all the references to its history and culture. For example, Ted Selly the hunter is based on Ned Kelly, a real person who became Australia's Robin Hood. Some of the references even affect gameplay, like the fact that almost everything you do, from farming to buying tools from the shops, requires a very specific licence. I actually do like I’m not overwhelmed by so many activities at once, as you’re slowly introduced to those mechanics and encouraged to try them out once you get the licence for them.

While (Insert Island Name Here) is dangerous enough, there are other places you can explore that are significantly more deadly (yes, that is possible) like the Deep Mines, a randomly generated underground zone full of ore and treasure to find but also tons of enemies to fight. In contrast, there’s the much more peaceful Island Reef, full of exotic flora and fauna and rare items to collect. Don’t stay in those places too late though, as… Well, the game will make sure you leave when the timer hits midnight.

The health and stamina systems did get a massive overhaul in the Breezy Autumn update, emphasising eating good food for the best buffs, which can make the early game a lot more difficult. That being said, I really do like it better than how it was done before. You aren’t forced to end the day once you’re out of stamina and you can do more things more often. I use a hang glider a lot to get around, so getting access to quick recharging stamina is a great boon. I wish there were better healing items though…

And that’s all I have to say about Dinkum right now. I do actually recommend getting the game as there’s already plenty to chew on, with more available coming as it reaches its 1.0 update. It does feel like a full game already with how much you can do… but it is also very apparent it’s in Early Access at the same time, because so many townsfolk say “Need Text” when I talk to them. I’m still playing despite basically having the best town possible currently. There’s still so much I can do, like getting myself a… Star Sabre, which totally isn’t the Dark Saber from Star Wars. It’s a very fun time by yourself, which makes its co-op all the more better! You can play this game with friends and it's amazing. Really, give it a shot. It might get people who are unprepared for its challenges riled up, but it’s definitely worth your time.

Just make sure to clean up after all the animals. There is a lot of poo that gets dropped.