Those looking to tap into their creative side while gaming will have a chance to do so by playing Bohemia Interactive’s newest sandbox title, Ylands. Ylands allows players to create expansive levels and environments with many different adventures and scenarios to play through alone or with others.
Everyone in Ylands gets a clean slate, starting on a deserted yland where they must explore and gather resources to start building. Players will have to do all the hard work of chopping down trees for wood, gathering stone materials, and figuring out how to piece things together so structures stay in tact and look nice. While gathering materials, players may encounter various animals that help or hinder their progress; bears in the forest may attack players while they cut down trees while horses can be tamed and used for travelling across far distances if they’re fed enough.
Construction on the yland can start with anything such as a small and cozy cabins and beach houses to massive catapults and mansions. All terrain can also be modified and resources in the terrain “will fully reflect its climate zone.” Those who would rather build and travel have the option to construct ships which they steer out on the waves or dock near the shores.
If starting from scratch seems too daunting of a task, players can choose to edit pre-existing games even if the game is in progress. Games can be tested alone or with friends before they go live, to ensure all features work before launch. Bohemia Interactive has even set up separate ‘workshop’ section of their website where players can upload their creations for others to see for inspiration. Creations are rated by the community out of five stars, with some of the currently highest rated works featuring racetracks, a wild west themed yland, and a secret evil compound yland. The Steam release trailer teases the option of creating other theme-based ylands through brief showings of knight and captain characters in the field and on ships.
Ylands is currently available for early access on Steam for $15.00.