An early access demo key was kindly provided by Modus Games on behalf of Italic Pig. We thank them for being able to cover something they’ve worked so hard on.

I got the chance to check out the demo for Paleo Pines, a cute, colorful, and cozy dinosaur farming game with a planned release in late September. Platforms will include PS4/5, Xbox One|Series X, PC, and of course, Nintendo Switch.

I primarily game on handheld consoles, but I was excited to experience some of the game before its release. So I got out my PC and got ready to make some “Paleo Pals.” I tried using the keyboard controls, but wasn’t very good at moving around with the W/A/S/D keys. It doesn’t appear to allow remapping from what I can tell, so I managed to connect my Joy-Cons to my PC, which went much smoother for me. The game recognized that I was using a Switch controller and changed the buttons accordingly on the display.

Starting up the game, you get to customize some of your character’s features. Choose your skin color, eye color, hair color and style, and some starting options for clothing. (You can purchase new clothes later on.)

After completing your character design, you will ride into Paleo Pines on Lucky the Parasaurolophus. The farm is a bit run down, and you’ll have to remove a ton of debris before you can start to plant crops. With you riding her, Lucky will clear away the rocks and wood littering the ground on the farm.

The next day, two neighbors come to meet you, and they’re surprised to see that Lucky is a Parasaurolophus because they apparently don’t show up very often. You’re given a journal to help document information; you can access the calendar, quest log, summary of your dinosaurs, and information about your new human friends in the journal.

I then went to the plaza in town, where I met additional characters. The plaza has a quest board, a seed shop, a carpenter, dinosaur food sellers, and a seamstress. You can buy and sell goods at some of the vendors here. I loved the dinosaur fountain in the center of the plaza.

Back at the farm, I had Lucky continue destroying debris, which reduces her stamina. She’ll level up after a certain amount of removals – leveling up seems to increase stamina, but I’m not sure if it eventually increases her strength for getting rid of larger rocks and logs. You then have a separate stamina meter for tilling the land, planting seeds, and watering crops. I’m uncertain as to whether we’ll be able to restore stamina or not.

Unfortunately, running costs stamina for both you and Lucky, which reduces the amount you can use on fixing up the farm that day. Running around the valley is a pleasant experience other than that though, with lovely environments and charmingly chill music. You’ll see dinosaurs grazing on grass as you explore, and you can befriend them!

The way you befriend dinosaurs is by playing the flute to mimic that dinosaur’s “Friend Call.” You can also ask them to stay or follow you by playing certain notes together. Once you’ve convinced them you’re friendly, you can give the wild dino foods they like to help seal the deal.

From what I can tell so far, different dinosaurs serve different roles on the farm. The one I befriended in the tutorial, the Gallimimus, helps you by taking in water then releasing it on your crops. Building an environment where they’re happy is necessary to get them to do any work.

There’s already a pen on the farm when you get there, and that’s where you’ll place troughs to feed your dinosaurs. You can befriend herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. Newly befriended dinosaurs won’t work for you at first, as you need to build up trust with them. Do this by feeding them, petting them, giving them treats, and keeping their pen in good condition. Then you can put a saddle on them and start leveling them up too.

After playing for a few hours, I did have a couple of thoughts/questions about the gameplay:

• How do we tell what time it is/how much time is left in the day?
  • It was kind of hard to see right in front of you at night.
• They show where you and your human friends are on the map, but quest markers would also be appreciated. Plus location names being labeled.
• After the dinosaur-befriending tutorial, I couldn’t seem to befriend any more afterwards. I tried watching them and using the calls they were sending out, but it wouldn’t work.
• Will we be able to go inside our house and decorate?
• I wish that the tool inventory was separate from the backpack, which has limited space.

Other than those questions, I thought everything ran pretty smoothly and I had a good time with the Paleo Pines demo. I’m looking forward to gathering even more dinosaurs on my farm in September!