My Time at Sandrock

My Time at Sandrock is a 2023 farm life sim developed by Pathea Games and published by PM Studios and Focus Entertainment. It is the sequel of My Time at Portia.

Gameplay
Players control a new resident in a desert town. The setting, like My Time at Portia, is after an event that has destroyed previous civilizations and people have rebuilt society. My Time at Sandrock combines elements of farm life sims and role-playing games. Players build up the town, farm, gather resources, craft items, perform side quests, and explore both dungeons and the ruins of the old world cities. Combat is like My Time at Portia and uses hack and slash mechanics. Players can also make aimed shots with gun sights. Twenty-one characters are romanceable. The Windows version has cooperative multiplayer.

Development
The sequel for My Time at Portia was announced in October 2020 and was initially slated for release in early access in March 2021 followed by full release in summer 2022. However, after the announcement on March 2021, the early access plan was delayed due to the fact it needed "to get a local rating certification" for online publishing. After a long delay, the game finally released into early access on May 26, 2022 by PM Studios for Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. The game was then fully released on November 2, 2023, having been delayed from September 26, 2023 to ensure the game meets the players' standards and expectations.

Unlike My Time at Portia (which never planned to introduce multiplayer), the Windows version has co-operative multiplayer, allowing family and friends to play together. There are plans for Sandrock to support PlayStation 4 at a later date as well as to release downloadable content packs in 2024. Cross-platform play is planned to be available circa June 2024. This will allow players from different platforms to play together.

Early access
Rock Paper Shotgun review of the early access released in 2022 described it as "a compelling and lusciously detailed life simulator" and praised the gameplay loop.

Release
On Metacritic, My Time at Sandrock received positive reviews for Windows and PlayStation 5, and the Switch version received mixed reviews. Despite some technical issues, IGN called it "a joy" and better in almost every way than My Time at Portia. They found the dungeons and combat a bit basic but said the rest of the game makes up for them. Nintendo Life called it "reasonably enjoyable" but criticized the graphics, performance issues on the Switch, software bugs, and what they felt was "a lack of a distinct identity". However, they said patches had fixed some of the technical issues since the launch. Nintendo World Report also experienced performance issues on the Switch but recommended it on the strength of its gameplay loop and enjoyable world. VG247 said it combines the best parts of Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley. Although they felt the concept is not new, they praised the characters, story, and gameplay.