The Truth About CRAFTOPIA In 3 Minutes

I’ve been playing a bunch of Conan Exiles, but I needed a decent single-player Experience, Enter Craftopia. Currently in Early Access/Preview. Craftopia puts you in the shoes of a man/woman who ended the world by pressing a magical red button. You are given a second chance by the Gods to help build a new world. And crafting, no surprise is the aim of the game. Developed and published by Pocketpair.

What is Craftopia?

You begin on the beginner Island, learning the basics. Gathering resources first by punching rocks and trees. Then crafting tools to make the process easier. This is a tried and tested formula that Minecraft and various others have followed. Even so,I found Craftopia far more rewarding even in its current state.

What sets Craftopia apart from other crafting games is the civilization progress element. When you start you are tasked with building a civilization monument. This monument can be used to progress you to the next age as long as you have the required components. The first age requires wood, but the next few require different and harder to obtain components. What new ages bring are more objects that you can craft. This gives you the drive to progress and builds new things constantly. Unlike Minecraft, which never provides any drive to progress.

Craftopia-mon?

One element that has is present but has not received much development yet is the capturing mechanic. You can craft Poke-Balls, sorry I mean Monster Prisms that you can use to capture animals or monsters. And very much like Pokémon, you have to weaken them beforehand. Unlike Pokémon, you can put the animals to work but they can’t return to their prison. This is a great addition since unlike Minecraft animals have a greater impact on the game play. Such as generating electricity via a generator. Normally, you would have to run in the human-sized hamster wheel. But the animals can run in your stead. It’s a great addition to the crafting genre, and can’t wait to see how the developers implement this feature in future.

The only bone I have to pick with this element is the process of capturing. Throwing the Prism doesn’t feel predictable and can be difficult to aim at the target. Especially when the target is running away from you. It can be near frustrating, and if they escape from the prism it adds to it. What’s worse is that you can recover the items you throw, but while doing so you will probably lose your weakened target. Hopefully, they improve the aiming so it’s more predictable.

Craftopia’s Presentation

The graphics of Craftopia feel very much like The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild. Cartoony but still very beautiful. Which allows it to run very well regardless of what platform you play it on. The creatures are well designed and very detailed. As well as varied. Since this is an Early Access title I didn’t expect much, so the only letdown is the dungeons as they all look very the same. But I’m sure this will change in the final release.

Is it Worth Re-Playing?

In its current state, there isn’t yet an end game. The main quest is not yet included. As such you are only completing the side quest of improving your civilization rating. Once there is an end game and the game goes live I will write about whether it’s worth playing.

Final Verdict

I’m already hooked and Craftopia isn’t even in its final form yet. I have enjoyed every minute of it and cannot wait for the full game’s release. It guides you into improving your civilization level. This could be my game of the year, though it has a lot of competition. It receives an easy 4/5 and if I play nothing else potentially my game of 2021. Go out and play it right now! If you have Game Pass, it’s available on there for free.