[Review] Of Mice and Sand: Revised – Nintendo Switch

Of Mice and Sand: Revised
Nintendo Switch

Developer: ??
Publisher: Arc System Works Co.
Category: Simulation, Strategy, Adventure
Release Date: 01.11.2018

On a desert planet in the farthest reaches of space, mice await your command!

Direct their mobile fortress, and seek the legendary city of Gold!

Of Mice and Sand: Revised may not seem like much at first glance, but don’t let looks fool you. This game is a casual, yet addictive game. Take Sim Tower, Fallout Shelter, and The Sims and you’ve basically got Of Mice and Sand: Revised.

The game opens with an old mouse speaking to you (you as in the younger population of mice). The Desert Dweller has reduced their home (desert ship) to desert scrap. The elders have gathered up enough pieces of scrap to rebuild a small ship, but they are too old to continue exploring the desert. Calling to the youngsters, the elder mouse requests that they take up the search for “El Dorado” – the legendary City of Gold.

You begin the game with a small ship and two mice. Through the tutorial you will quickly build a cargo hold to store your items, a sleeping quarters for the mice to rest off their fatigue, an engine and bridge to direct the ship, and a workshop to turn the scrap in to usable items.

You’re set up and set off towards your first outpost fairly quickly. As you travel, you will come across [Lo-Fi] and [Hi-Fi] Scrap which you will be able to turn in to items such as sheet metal, bolts, and metal polls. Upgrading your workshop will allow you to make new items from the scrap you find (being able to create materials from Hi-Fi scrap will become available after the first update).

Outposts have several options. Refuel your ship or buy cheese and water from the Market. Complete Quests in return for fuel, money, or cheese. An, at times most importantly, listen to rumors of new locations or tips to help you along in the game.

As you traverse the desert terrain of this planet, you will encounter desert bugs whom will attack your ship. Make sure to build turrets and an infirmary as soon as the game allows you to. Remember, also, to produce plenty of repair kits…you will need them to repair your ship after an attack from a deadly desert bug.

The graphic style really takes me back to playing the old Sim Tower (which I was overly obsessed with at the time), and really adds a unique flair to the game. While looking retro, the sound effects and screen displays gives the game a feel of being set in a distant, high tech future…however miniature it may be since Mice run the place. The background music is soothing, yet can become quite repetitive so while I didn’t turn the music off, I definitely turned it down.

The game can be played with touch controls or with the Joy Con buttons; I actually preferred playing with the buttons as opposed to touch screen or the joy stick. For me, it gave the game a more retro feel. While the pixel graphics may seem “old school”, it doesn’t take away from the game at all. In fact, it adds to the casual and fun nature of the game.

The repetitiveness of the game may come as a no-go for some players, but for me it helped give me that sense of task and accomplishment while I lounge on the couch and want to play something that isn’t super hard core. For the $9.99 price tag, the game is well worth your money.