Relaxing, cozy atmosphere
Mentioned in ~3 in 5 positive reviews
“So chill. So Zen. No fights, no trying to beat the clock, just making pretty things and listening to pretty music.”
Steam review · 16.8 h played ↗
ISLANDERS
Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.
Very Positive · 94%Very Positive · 94%Coatsink, GrizzlyGames, Stage Clear Studios2019City Builder · Strategy · Puzzle
$4.99
Open on Steam ↗US Steam price, checked 3 h ago · Lowest we’ve seen since Oct 21, 2026: $1.49
The verdict
A cheap, polished, relaxing building-placement puzzle with a roguelike score loop. Skip it if you want a true city builder or lots of depth, or if you hunt achievements.
Great for
Players who want a calm, short-session puzzle to unwind with and who like optimizing placement for high scores
Main risk
It's a repetitive score puzzle, not a city builder, and gets boring within a few hours
What players love
Satisfying synergy and high-score optimization
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 positive reviews
“ISLANDERS is basically that idea boiled down to its core, which I ended up liking a lot.”
Steam review · 13 h played ↗
Lovely art style and music
Mentioned in ~1 in 7 positive reviews
“I just love the sounds of the game so much.”
Steam review · 13.4 h played ↗
Simple to learn, deeper puzzle than it looks
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 positive reviews
“First hour : Yes, it's a simple builder game where You just place the building and facility Many hour later : No, its not a simple builder game, the simplicity is the trap”
Steam review · 4.5 h played ↗
Great value for the price
Mentioned in ~1 in 9 positive reviews
“It's a steal at $5, so if you like the genre, give it a look!”
Steam review · 5.6 h played ↗
Sandbox mode and replayable islands
Mentioned in ~1 in 11 positive reviews
“sandbox removes clipping and lets you decorate an island to your hearts content”
Steam review · 10.5 h played ↗
What players complain about
Repetitive and boring quickly
Mentioned in ~2 in 5 negative reviews
“You can see everything this game has to offer in under 2 hours.”
Steam review · 3.5 h played ↗
Not a real city builder, just a puzzle
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 negative reviews
“It's a game which looks like a city builder, but actually isn't.”
Steam review · 4 h played ↗
Heavy RNG in islands and building packs
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 negative reviews
“I don't like to spend hours on a run only to end up on a very small island with almost no platforms to build on.”
Steam review · 28.3 h played ↗
Near-impossible late-island achievements
Mentioned in ~1 in 11 negative reviews
“The achievement is nearly impossible without save scumming or getting extremely lucky.”
Steam review · 40.7 h played ↗
Fiddly pixel-precise placement and unclear rules
Mentioned in ~1 in 12 negative reviews
“As the islands are small we have to choose the spot where to place your buildings with surgical precision. It does not work.”
Steam review · 1.2 h played ↗
Linux/Mac dropped and UI update disliked
Mentioned in ~1 in 25 negative reviews
“with the latest updates they have completely dropped Linux and Mac support”
Steam review · 73.4 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: Playable200 MB
Minimum
OSWindows 7, 8 or 10
ProcessorIntel Core i3 2.00 GHz or AMD equivalent
Memory2 GB RAM
GraphicsNvidia GeForce GTX950 or higher
Storage200 MB available space
Recommended
OSWindows 10
ProcessorIntel Core i5 3.00GHz or AMD equivalent
Memory4 GB RAM
GraphicsNvidia GeForce GTX970
OSWindows 7, 8 or 10
ProcessorIntel Core i3 2.00 GHz or AMD equivalent
Memory2 GB RAM
GraphicsNvidia GeForce GTX950 or higher
Storage200 MB available space
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