I loved My Time at Portia and this is definitely an improvement on the mechanics. I really dig the characters, story, and world-building. It really nails that Western aesthetic.

Okay so imagine if Stardew Valley, The Sims, Coral Island, and a Saturday morning cartoon all got thrown into a blender with a bunch of glitter and cactus juice. That’s My Time at Sandrock. It’s cute. Like aggressively cute. The graphics are so charming and cozy I wanted to live in them. Yeah, there’s some glitching here and there (looking at you, Burgess breakdancing through walls), but it never really ruined the vibe. In fact, it kinda added to the charm. Like hey, this town’s alive and occasionally possessed. Love that.

The main story actually pulled me in hard. I wasn’t expecting to care this much about sand-based politics but here we are. I got so into it that I forgot to check on my machines half the time. Also, there are a million things to do, which is great unless you like free time. The world always felt busy in a good way. Stuff happening, people running around, events popping off. Felt like I was part of something instead of just the local craft goblin.

Romance-wise... listen. Some of the options are solid. Mature. Interesting. Would kiss again. Logan, Owen, Heidi, Justice, Catori? Absolute icons. But then there are others and I don’t know how to say this nicely... they feel like kids playing house. Burgess? Why do you talk like a Sunday school teacher? Elsie? Chaotic sibling energy. Arvio, Unsuur, even Fang (im so sorry, it was more like i needed to protect him than make him love me) I love them, but not sure about romance options. Not in a “let’s raise children together” way. More like a “you need a nap and a sandwich” way.

I went for Logan and holy wow did that take forever. He’s not easy to win over but it was worth it. By the time we had kids I’d basically unlocked the secrets of the universe. But I loved that the kids actually grow up. No creepy eternally-cribbed babies here. They walk around town, grab food at Owen’s, and act like little humans. One time I bumped into mine and was like oh hey bestie didn’t see you there. Surreal. 10/10 parenting moment.

Now. Achievements. I’m a gremlin for 100% so naturally I maxed them. The knowledge point one? Took me until hour 172. No I’m not exaggerating. Look up tips. Take photos. Scream into the void. You’ll get there. The museum though... kinda let me down. Like it exists, but the rewards are meh and there’s no achievement for filling it up. I tossed a bunch of outfits in there for the 40 item thing and dipped. Felt like they forgot about it halfway through development.

Combat? Weirdly fun. Daggers and laser sword all day pls. Partner and pet DLC? Incredible. Running into battle with your romanced boo and your chaos dog is a peak gaming experience. Like yeah babe let’s take out this sand snake together and then go get noodles. Romance DLC is 100% worth it. Clothes DLC? Only if you wanna throw some coins at the devs like I did. They earned it.

Dates were cute. Morning visits from friends? Loved it. Seasonal events? Banger after banger. Even when I skipped one and the whole town got sad about it, I felt bad. Like dang I ghosted the entire festival. Sorry guys. I was busy planting sandrice or something.

In conclusion:
This game has heart. Like real, genuine heart. The town feels like home. The characters feel like friends. The story's fun, the vibes are cozy, and the experience is just plain lovely.

10/10 would start a new save just to pretend Zeke is romancable. Don’t test me. See you in Evershine.

Great sequel to Portia, they improved a lot of things that I didn't care for in the first one, (ie. you can save at any time of day, relationships are easier to build, etc.) and made it different enough that it didn't just feel like a clone of mechanics (the pick-ax, not being able to cut down trees, recycling).
There were some... questionable decisions made about some of the characters (the one Native American coded woman being in charge of a 'casino', sorry 'game center', for example) that made the game not a perfect game for me personally.

All in all a good play, can sink a decent chunk of time into, and the achievements were easier to obtain
8/10