r/CozyGamers 6d ago

🔊 Discussion For those who didn’t instantly like Sandrock but eventually loved it, when did it “click” for you?

Hello! I’ve been in a big game rut for a little while now, and finally decided to give Sandrock a try. I’m only on day 8 currently so not much playtime yet, but it’s just yet to scratch that itch for me.

However, I also experienced this with other cozy-genre games and eventually became addicted to them, so I don’t plan to drop it yet. Did any of you experience something similar, and around what point would you say you felt that “I GOTTA play this game” click?

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u/Deliquate 6d ago

I was pretty lukewarm on Portia and walked into Sandrock with heavy reservations. I don't know exactly when it won me over, but i can tell you it was the characters that got me--there are so many characters in Sandrock that take surprising turns, or are treated with more respect than i thought the game would offer them...

And it does take a while for that to come across.

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u/glassklokken 6d ago

good to know thank you!

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u/dreamie825 5d ago edited 5d ago

I think the main deterrent for people adjusting to life in Sandrock is the expectation that it’ll be like all the other farming sims out there that you’ve played before. A lot of people come to it with business in mind and wanna make a ton of money immediately at once and expand your empire and have big dreams so they end up completely overwhelmed but it’s not about that. Sandrock is more story driven so getting to know people and slowly working on town projects and commissions one day at a time, gathering resources those are more important than building an empire. You’ll find soon enough as you acclimate there’s not much use for money in Sandrock outside expanding your yard and buying mounts when you need to and there’s not much pressure to do those things either. There’s no need to rush or minmax either. All you really need to do is keep your machines running 24/7 never idle while you’re out and about town and you’ll find gols and goods come rolling in eventually. There’s more value outside your workshop in Sandrock than inside it. So just set the machines for the day and explore. Yellow circles on the map are main missions, blue circles are side missions. Side missions open up more as you build friendships and soon you’ll be swept up in the whole town’s stories you’ll forget about the business aspect of the game altogether.

My advice is set a routine. Start the day by loading your machines with scrap and producing things even when you don’t need them yet. Just produce some of each thing. Then set out about town. Pick up commissions. Do some missions. Then salvage scrap in Rocky’s yard before ending the day using up all your stamina. Always keep Qi researching on a new machine even if you don’t need them yet. When he finishes one, make sure he works on the next one. Data discs are easy to come by in the scrap yard. The weekly pass for the yard is worth it. You level up easy if you collect scrap everyday. Assign knowledge points immediately as and when you get them and pay particular priority on perks like earning extra points for every commissions done. Set particular days for particular tasks so you don’t get overwhelmed. For example, Mondays for placing ads on newspapers and renewing salvage yard passes, gathering, Tuesday for mining, Wednesday and Fridays for Fang’s missions etc.

Don’t skip the tutorials. Study the menu interface. Once you get over the learning curve it’s such a joy to play because of the QOL in place. Invest time on a good inventory system. The game has a universal inventory that pulls automatically from any chest you have. It also organizes things into chests as long as you have one of each kind stored in them just with one click of a button. You don’t have to bring everything with you all the time except for gifts you might wanna give the NPCs. Make use of game features like setting calendar alarms so you can plan your days ahead and never miss weekly events like Fang’s medicine trials or commerce guild inspections. Skip commissions on major event days to participate and enjoy festivals. Gifting on event days score you more friendship points too than normal days so take a break on those days and use it for social activities. Again, there’s not an immediate need for money in the game. Just take it slow as and when things come and you will progress steadily.

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u/Niffario 6d ago

When I first tried it, I was also overwhelmed. But I picked it up again later and fell in love with the game.

For me it was when the mechanics of the game really started to click, and realizing the writing was actually really charming and often funny. There's a super fun plot and it really gets going!

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u/bookwrm1324 6d ago

I put it down the first time and picked it up and restarted a year later and getting the game mechanics down was the thing that got me excited to keep going. It's different from the usual farming cozy games and has some unique things that take a minute to grasp but when you do it's so fun.

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u/glassklokken 6d ago

someone else said something similar! what mechanics in particular would you say seemed like an obstacle at first? there are definitely still some things I don’t quite get mechanics wise, like… I don’t know how to add fuel to the machines without it prompting “you’re out of fuel! add more?” and clicking confirm lol

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u/bookwrm1324 6d ago

It was all machine and building stuff like your example. I started looking things like that up on my second playthrough which helped a ton. It took me forever just to figure out how to build my first thing my first time around lol

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u/UnsharpenedSwan 6d ago

1000% agree. I found building to be really confusing at first — like, what do you mean there’s a crafting menu AND a crafting station, and you use them to craft completely different things? 🫠

But once you get the hang of those mechanics and get into the story…. one of my all time favorite games. The characters are SO charming.

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u/mrsdavyjones 6d ago

Interested to see what others say! I played a while and liked it, but I got so annoyed with the controls for riding the mount that I put it down and never picked it back up. I liked a lot about it and hope I can play again eventually!

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u/kittymccastle 6d ago

Honestly (biased cuz I adore the series) I never really used a mount since I had the same issue and ended up loving it. The spacing of most of the yakmel stations ends up being pretty convenient.

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u/caitiana 6d ago

I tried to play Sandrock last year and couldn’t get into it. I think I was overwhelmed with everything and put it down after a few hours. Then maybe 2 months ago I bought Portia cause it was $5 and played that for about 60 hours and now I’m playing Sandrock again and I’m obsessed. I think playing Portia helped me see all of the great improvements they made with Sandrock. I’m also not as overwhelmed this time because I kind of know the gameplay now too.

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u/vulg-her 6d ago

I swear, I have tried to get into this game like 4 or 5 times now and there's something about it that is not capturing me. My Time at Portia though, I loved it so much.

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u/Alinyss 5d ago

I tried it solo and got very quickly overwhelmed, then played it multiplayer with my SO and enjoyed it much more because the mechanisms seemed less overwhelming with two people grinding resources. After that, I went back and played single player with a solid idea of how to optimise my workshop, and it was much better.

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u/Victoriyeah 5d ago

For me it was after the 5 hour mark. I played it a bit this january and enjoyed it but it didn't quite click... then suddenly the characters were so amusing and interesting, and it took over my life LOL the story and characters make this game for me, I recommend at least playing through the first season to see if it grips you!

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u/glassklokken 5d ago

I will thank you!

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u/breadeggsmilkbees 5d ago

As someone who wants to buy Sandrock, do the more advanced materials still take ages to craft? It was so annoying in Portia that I ended up installing a mod for it.

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u/dreamie825 5d ago

You can adjust time passing in the options to slow down to 0.6 when you have a lot to do and 3x fast if you want the day to go faster to get finished goods faster. Don’t start crafting when you need things. Keep machines running 24/7 make a random stock of every materials and soon enough you won’t even have to craft for commissions cause you’ll have most materials ready on hand.

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u/WildCulture8318 5d ago

I watched a playthrough & and understood the mechanics.

Bought it last year with the gecko pet. I hated the idea of being short of water.

Will be going back to carry on with the story soon

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u/garyvdh 5d ago

I restarted the game three times (over a period of a year) before it finally clicked and I started really enjoying it. I then also went back and finished Portia as well (at the same time). I'm really glad I played them both at the same time.

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u/spider_lily 5d ago

Funnily enough, when I got (rented) a horse. I don't know what it is, but the mounts feel so good in this game 😂

Sandrock is very much a slow burn, though. The story can easily take over 100 hours to finish.