Glintseeker Island is a singleplayer mining exploration adventure where you descend into mysterious caves filled with treasures and ancient threats.

In Glintseeker Island, you’ll explore caves searching for artifacts and loot to bring safely back to the surface. Sell excavated treasures to the local merchant or upgrade hammers with gemstones at the blacksmith. Be strategic when mining – use hammers carefully to unearth treasures … Read More

When I first played Starsand Island, it was early in development, not all the different types of professions were ready, and the build felt like a work in progress. Now that the game is properly in early access, it feels far more cohesive. Yes, not everything is there yet and I can’t live my virtual life to the fullest. Some balancing definitely needs to be done. But it does feel more pulled together and ready to go than it originally did. 

As a quick refresher, Starsand Island is about moving to a rural community your character is already loosely connected to in order to start a new life. Previously, they’d only visited due to their grandpa living there. Now they inherited the home and, after a friend named Solara helps them settle in, they work on becoming part of the community.

The biggest change I noticed between my initial Starsand Island experience and this return to the early access build is that there’s substantially more here. The Crafting, Exploration, Farming, Fishing, and Ranching professions feel much more fleshed out than before, with especially farming and fishing offering more variety in terms of yields, ranching adding more animal husbandry options, and many more recipes available when it comes to making things. These feel pretty full right now, though admittedly I haven’t completed any of the professions at this point. All of these seem advanced enough that I suspect I wouldn’t miss too much in 1.0 if I try and go ahead and do as much as possible now.  

Some professions did really hook me in now in this build. Especially with the Farming and Ranching lines. It seems very easy to get settled, and the range of crops and animal is great right now. There are hybrids possible, if you spend enough time playing, and greenhouses are already present. Like getting to Expert Rancher and accessing the alpaca and ostrich are helpful for the extra eggs, feathers, and wool, not to mention riding them is quite cute. And the DNA element to it is helpful for breeding purposes, should someone focus on that lifestyle. However, I will note that exploration’s combat does seem to still need work. While bows are present as a weapon, adding a nice ranged option, there’s still not much there. We could use more enemies, as well as mechanics like dodging.

While the profession changes in Starsand Island probably the first and most obvious area to get a glow-up in early access, the relationship element feels pretty good right now too. This applies to both animals and people. The pet system reminds me a bit of Harvest Moon: Animal Parade, in that you aren’t just buying a new buddy. I mean, yes, Woof and Wow Pets does offer them. But we also adopt wild animals by befriending them and reaching basically three hearts. This means you’re going to need to work to get the fox or squirrel to be a friend. 

As for the human relationship element, it does feel pretty fleshed out even now in Starsand Island. There’s a decent number of love interests at 15 total (8 bachelorettes and 7 bachelors). These feature voice acting, though there’s not much yet, and there are more appearances in quests and interactions with folks that made me want to give gifts and check in daily. In some cases though, I felt like some of the folks were just pretty faces. There isn’t enough to them yet to make them lovable. However, it does seem like that could change. The team stated there will be more to the dating system come April 2026. I would like and hope to see marriage and kids in the endgame too. 

However, I will say some stuff doesn’t feel completely balanced or 100% set yet. This is an issue acknowledged on the Steam product page and in the roadmap. I would like a little better performance when really racing through on mounts or on an item like a skateboard. Some character models could be adjusted a little. Getting your house and land built up does take a lot of time, and it doesn’t feel like it’s quite designed for us to get to the point of a massive complex with a home we could have a romance option move into yet. I do wonder if we might see rebalancing progression and development updates, since the crafting part does feel stronger than the pre-launch build I played and the team did mention that’s in the roadmap.

Starsand Island is essentially coming along, with the early access version showing a lot of progress from the initial build I played. There’s a lot more to every profession in the game, though exploration could use a bit more additions and adjusting. Romance is starting to seem more viable, and pet adoption is enjoyable. Some rebalancing would be great, but the foundation for the 1.0 version later this year seems pretty stable.

Starsand Island is in early access on the PC and Xbox Series X on February 11, 2026, and a full launch that also includes Switch 2 and PS5 versions is set for Summer 2026.

The post Preview: Starsand Island Is Built on a Solid Foundation appeared first on Siliconera.

This is probably a sentence that could be said literally any day of the week, but a new cosy farming sim is on the block, this time taking the form of Starsand Island. The flavour on this occasion is of the anime variety, with some slightly goofier farming mechanics (i.e. turning your watermelon patch into one singular, 10 foot tall watermelon), some very Pokemon Legends: Arceus looking combat, and some appropriately cute animals to hang out with. And there's skateboarding! But never do launches go all that smoothly, as developer Seed Sparkle Lab have had to do a dash of damage control regarding some concerns over the game.

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Andrew Alty, a business owner from Manchester, England, recently found himself staring down a colossal $55,000 phone bill, all because his daughter was watching TikTok while they were traveling. The good news is, after a bit of a battle, that massive charge has now been completely waived.

According to Dailymail, this eye-watering sum wasn’t from a shopping spree on TikTok Shop, which, let’s be honest, can be tempting enough. Instead, it was purely from data usage. Alty’s daughter, an avid TikTok user, was simply scrolling through videos on the popular platform while the family was vacationing in Morocco. It really shows you just how quickly data can add up, especially when you’re venturing outside your usual service area. This is better than some bad vacations we’ve heard of, but still bad overall.

Alty, who runs a curtains business, made the shocking discovery when he and his family returned home. He was hit with two separate and exorbitant phone bills that totaled around £42,000, which converts to approximately $56,000. Imagine his sheer panic and disbelief. He naturally assumed there had to be some kind of huge mistake.

This was not the stress-free vacation they had bargained for

“I was on my way to the desert,” Alty explained, recounting his attempts to address the issue. “I made multiple attempts to call O2, but there wasn’t much I could do. I could only assume there had been a glitch, or the account had been hacked.” It turns out his daughter had been engrossed in TikTok for about eight hours, on and off, during their trip. That means each hour of scrolling was costing him a mind-boggling £5,000. 

The reason for these astronomical costs boiled down to a specific, and frankly, quite scary, clause in Alty’s phone contract. It allowed for uncapped data roaming whenever he was outside of Europe. So, unfortunately for him, the charges were technically permissible under the terms of his agreement. 

Luckily for Alty, there was a happy ending to this data drama. After an investigation into the case, the phone provider eventually decided to waive the entire bill. 

Alty didn’t hold back his frustration with the situation. “They (the phone provider) made no effort to inform us, and just allowed the charges to accrue,” he stated. “I don’t understand how they expect any small business to pay that sort of bill.”

Hank: Drowning On Dry Land just wants to capture a brief moment and solidify some vibes in a short amount of time.

The post Review | Hank: Drowning On Dry Land (PC) appeared first on 8Bit/Digi.

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Starsand Island is a cozy farming and life sim built around rebuilding your home, exploring the Moonlit Forest, and forming bonds with island residents. With vehicles, mounts, combat, and seasonal farming systems, it’s natural to ask whether you can experience it with friends.

If you’re searching for Starsand Island multiplayer support,  including co-op or crossplay,  here’s what is currently available, what is confirmed for the future, and what the official roadmap says.

The Escapist recaps

• Starsand Island is currently a single-player game.
• There is no co-op or crossplay support in the live Early Access build.
• Multiplayer is listed on the official roadmap for June 2026.
• The developer has stated they are exploring multiplayer during Early Access.

Is Starsand Island multiplayer right now?

No, Starsand Island does not currently support multiplayer.

Both the Steam and Xbox store listings identify the game as single-player, and there is no active co-op mode in the Early Access version. You cannot invite friends, join shared worlds, or visit other players’ islands at this time.

All farming, building, quest progression, and exploration systems are designed for solo play in the current build.

Is co-op coming to Starsand Island?

What’s great is that even though there is no multiplayer right now, co-op is officially planned for a future update.

According to the Early Access roadmap published on Steam, multiplayer gameplay is scheduled for June 2026, with the roadmap specifically mentioning cooperative play with friends and island visits.

Because the game is still in Early Access, this is a development plan rather than a guaranteed release date, so do keep that in mind. 

Will Starsand Island have crossplay?

While the roadmap mentions multiplayer and cooperative island visits, there is no official confirmation that cross-platform play will be supported between Steam and Xbox.

Starsand Island is available on PC (Steam) and Xbox Series X|S, but until multiplayer launches,  and unless crossplay is explicitly confirmed, you should not expect cross-platform support.

Why doesn’t Starsand Island have multiplayer yet?

The developer has stated that Early Access is being used to refine core systems like farming, building, quests, vehicles, and save stability before expanding features.

Recent updates have focused heavily on bug fixes, performance improvements, and save protection systems. Multiplayer is listed as a later-stage addition on the roadmap rather than a launch feature.

When is multiplayer expected to release?

The current roadmap lists multiplayer for June 2026.

That timing comes from the official Early Access development plan. However, roadmap items can shift depending on development progress and player feedback. There is no confirmed release date beyond the roadmap window.

Until that update arrives, Starsand Island remains a single-player experience.

Ask The Escapist

Other Starsand Island pages you may like:

• How to get iron ore
• Navigating the Starsand Island save system is key, and here’s how it works
• The curious case of reverse review bombing on Starsand Island, and have Steam reviews had their day?

The post Does Starsand Island have multiplayer? Here’s what we know appeared first on The Escapist.

The name makes this sound like something that’s either a mobile strategy game with deeply misleading Facebook ads, or something for the ‘Oceans are now battlefields’ crowd to play while they all wait and hope for Total War to go back to its historical roots. Lucky for me, you and all of us, Master of Command is the latter.

It’s a roguelike Total War game (bear with me!) set in 18th-century Europe during the Seven Years’ War, and puts you in command of an army that has to roam the countryside attracting new recruits, scavenging for supplies and upgrading your gear. Which sounds slightly mad given the historical context–I’m a general in the British Army, surely I have maps and supply chains, why am I wandering around fields looking for boxes of apples and hiring French regiments–but the narrative justification for all this meandering makes enough sense that I stopped questioning it pretty quickly and just rolled with it.

It’s not like the idea of coats-and-muskets armies being multinational forces was an alien one; the British army regularly included German troops, and Napoleon’s Grand Armee featured everyone from Poles to Austrians to the Irish. And living off the land was also a legitimate tactic; Napoleon himself relied on it all the time, which is one of the biggest contributors to his disastrous retreat in Russia, whose winter left nothing for him to scavenge. Putting a roguelike slant on all this is close enough to the time period’s reality for it to make sense. 

And in this context it’s maybe the most interesting thing about Master of Command. We’ve played tactics games and shooters and card games with roguelike tendencies, but Total War’s enormous real-time battles are something new, and as a huge fan of that series I’ve been really impressed with Master of Command’s attempts at replicating Creative Assembly’s formula. And I do mean replicate: from the main menu down to the in-battle interface, Master of Command isn’t so much looking over Total War’s shoulders as it’s just tracing right over its lines. 

Which is fine, because aside from cavalry being kinda broken and OP, and there being a few less tactical options for your units, for the most part Master of Command plays exactly like a battle in Empire or Napoleon Total War. In some ways it’s even better, like the way units will break much more easily here, resulting in lower and more realistic casualty counts, while some nice battlefield additions like a musket reloading progress bar over your units helps you better plan your tactics. 

There’s a campaign and a loose act-based structure here, where you have to complete sidequests before tackling an end-of-level army, but the basic loop throughout remains the same. You fight real-time battles, you wander around reinforcing, having random encounters and messing with your army, then you get back on the battlefield and do it all again, juggling your resources and keeping an eye on your objectives the whole time. 

I really like it. The battles are snappy enough that I never feel too bogged down playing so many of them in quick succession, and the roguelike structure makes me very invested in keeping as many of my guys alive as possible. I’d also like to take this opportunity to apologize to both the game and its art; I was recommended this game by many, many people last year and noped out immediately because the art shown in the game’s trailer looked so bad. On the screen, though? It’s fine! Many of the loading screens are better than fine, they look great!

Even if you’re not a huge muskets and horses person, the roguelike implementation here is still really interesting. Seeing these trappings added to an existing genre is something we all encounter at every waking moment of our lives these days, but the way it’s done here, and how it slides so seamlessly into your feeling of investment and control over your army, is fantastic. If this had just been a tactical RTS I’d be nowhere near as into it as I am, knowing how much it costs to replace every casualty I suffer and every musket ball I expend.

Starsand Island has plenty of achievements to chase if you're a completionist, and it's a true challenge.

Unlike other video games, Starsand Island doesn't tell you what you need to do to complete an achievement. The description presents a clue that you have to decode. This guide will help you out by decoding all the hints for every achievement.

How to complete all achievements in Starsand Island

Before we deep dive into the achievements, some of the challenges can't be completed as of writing. This is primarily due to Starsand Island being in early access. The required task or area you need to access might be locked now, but it will become available later. However, the condition for completing it should remain the same (unless changed by the developers).

The post All achievements in Starsand Island and how to complete them appeared first on Destructoid.

There are different activities to keep yourself engaged in Starsand Island, and fishing is perhaps my favorite one.

You can find fish in almost any water body inside the game. While fishing is inherently easy, there are multiple factors at play. All species have specific locations, bait, and spawn times. This guide will provide you with all the information required for you to become an ace angler.

All fish locations in Starsand Island

The tables below cover important information related to all species of fish you'll find in Starsand Island.

Lake

River and River Lake

Ocean

Coral

Celestwave

Luminwave

Moonlit Forest

How to catch fish in Starsand Island

To catch fish, you'll need to get a permit. To get the permit, speak with the Fishing Mentor at the AquaBlue Outpost. Then meet Marston at the broken port and help rebuild it. This completes the Starsand Port Construction quest.

Next, take a yacht on rent and find a water body. Once you reach the ripple, tap and hold the fishing rod icon to aim. The line gets cast once you let go of the button. Now, wait for the fish to take a bite. The minigame is simple: reel in when it turns white and let go when it turns red. Keep doing so until the fish is caught.

The post All fish in Starsand Island and how to catch them appeared first on Destructoid.

Though it may seem like we just had a big life sim release in Heartopia, 2026 actually has more than one highly-anticipated release in that particular subgenre of cozy game. The next big one on the horizon is Starsand Island, the life and farming sim from Seed Sparkle Lab.

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To make a name for yourself as the newest local on Starsand Island, there are multiple professions you can try out, some of which involve making use of the land around your homestead. Depending on how you want to approach them, those professions can lead to a very profitable future on the island.

There are plenty of crafting materials for you to track down in Starsand Island, with each one requiring you to use specific tools or go to a specific location to get them. For instance, Carbon Line requires the use of multiple materials and a specific crafting table.

Hear ye, hear ye, another extraction shooter is almost upon us, this time the smaller but still quite bold in scope Sand: Raiders of Sophie. Last time I personally heard of this game it was just called Sand, which doesn't sound great for that whole search engine thing, though I'm not entirely convinced by the subtitle. Anyway, this extraction shooter is set in an alternate 1910 where you get to roam the desert in a steampunky fortress with legs, and it's got a release month!

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As UNILAD reported, Vice President JD Vance delivered a pointed warning to European leaders over Greenland, suggesting the United States may act if security concerns are not addressed. The comments were made during a White House briefing.

Vance said European governments should take President Donald Trump’s long-standing interest in Greenland seriously, dismissing claims that the administration’s position has been overstated. His remarks align with broader signals from the White House that traditional diplomatic norms are no longer being treated as fixed, a shift previously highlighted in reporting on how the president has ripped up decades of foreign policy toward China and Taiwan.

The vice president emphasized that the administration expects Europe to increase its focus on the autonomous Danish territory. Further warning that inaction could force the United States to step in.

The warning was direct and left little room for interpretation

Vance said Greenland is strategically critical, describing it as essential to both the US and global missile defense. He added that hostile foreign actors have shown growing interest in the region, increasing the need for heightened security.

He then warned that if European leaders fail to take responsibility for Greenland’s defense, the United States may intervene. Vance did not specify what form that intervention could take, saying any decision would ultimately rest with the president as diplomatic engagement continues.

Greenland’s leadership has pushed back strongly against the rhetoric. Premier Jens Frederik Nielsen said threats or talk of annexation are unacceptable between allies and do not reflect how Greenland expects to be treated.

Public opposition within Greenland has also been clear, with residents reiterating that the territory is not something that can be bought or traded. The comments have reinforced longstanding concerns over sovereignty and self-determination.

The United States has expressed interest in Greenland before. During World War II, US forces occupied the territory after Germany took control of Denmark, and the US later offered to purchase Greenland in 1947.

President Trump has repeatedly raised the idea of acquiring Greenland in recent years, describing it as a strategic priority. Reports have indicated the administration has paired diplomatic discussions with firm pressure.

A shooting involving federal agents in Portland, Oregon, left two people injured, immediately following a similar deadly incident in Minneapolis and prompting local officials to demand a halt to all federal immigration operations, as per ABC News. The chaotic incident involved agents from Customs and Border Protection who were reportedly conducting a targeted stop in the city.

Federal officials were quick to release their version of events. The Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, confirmed the agents were part of an operation dubbed “Operation Oregon.” They were targeting a vehicle carrying two individuals allegedly affiliated with the Tren de Aragua gang, specifically naming the passenger as the primary target. According to the DHS statement, when agents identified themselves, the driver “weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents.”

This is a seriously concerning escalation. The driver, who was not the initial target of the operation, was driving a red Toyota when they allegedly tried to flee the scene. After the shooting occurred, the two people who were shot drove themselves about three miles from the initial location, near Southeast Main Street, to an apartment complex before calling for help.

This Portland shooting comes just after an ICE officer allegedly shot and killed a woman in her car in Minneapolis the previous day

Just like how Minneapolis mayor slammed the official narrative of the fatal shooting, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson did not mince words when addressing the situation, making it crystal clear that local government is highly skeptical of the federal narrative. “We know what the federal government says happened here,” Mayor Wilson told reporters. “There was a time when we could take them at their word. That time is long past.”

He immediately called for a pause on all immigration enforcement operations in the city, stating, “We are calling on ICE to halt all operations in Portland until a full and independent investigation can take place. Our community deserves answers.”

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek echoed that demand for immediate federal cooperation and transparency. She emphasized that the state’s priority is a complete investigation, not more detentions. “My message to the federal government is this: We demand transparency,” Governor Kotek said. “We demand your cooperation with Portland Police and the Multnomah County DA, because we need to investigate this incident efficiently and effectively so we can rebuild trust with our nation’s government.”

Adding to the official pushback, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield announced that his office was opening an investigation. The Oregon Department of Justice investigation will specifically look at whether any federal officers acted outside the scope of their lawful authority during the encounter, including reviewing video evidence and witness interviews.

Mayor Wilson called the incident “deeply troubling” and urged residents to respond with calm, not violence. “Portland does not respond to violence with violence,” he reminded the community. “We respond with clarity, unity, and a commitment to justice. We must stand together to protect Portland.”

Around May last year, the one and only Ron Gilbert of Monkey Island fame announced an RPG that was meant to be some kind of mix between classic Zelda, and Diablo, and Thimbleweed Park, that last one being another of the game designer's notable works. It never got a full reveal, or even a name, and unfortunately it seems it never will, as it's essentially been canned.

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Crikey, it's been a long time coming, but it looks like The Long Dark is finally coming to a close… next year. Up until earlier this week, the fifth and final episode of The Long Dark's Wintermute DLC was due to be released by the end of the year. As you've probably gathered, the end of the year is very close now, so as a result, episode five has been delayed, but it is a delay that at least comes with a concrete release date.

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Sanrio and Thirdverse are preparing a Hello Kitty Skyland VR game for Meta Quest 2, 3, and 3S headsets. Rather than a 1.0 launch on December 22, 2025, it will debut in early access. Additional elements will be added to it as time go by. The product page isn’t live as of time of writing, but will be available to wishlist. It will be free-to-play.

At launch, only a handful of elements from the full Hello Kitty VR game will be present. There will be one minigame to play, which is called Sky Dash. That will feature picking Sanrio mascots and running through what looks like an obstacle course in the sky. A lobby will also be available to explore. Players will get to make avatars and customize them, with costumes based on the company’s icons available. This will be a game with in-app purchases, but Sanrio and Thirdverse didn’t note if costumes and other elements will be among the add-ons we can buy. 

Here’s the first Hello Kitty Skyland trailer, which focuses on the hub area, Sky Dash, and avatar customization on a Meta Quest 2 or 3.

There are also a handful of initial screenshots, which show avatars interacting and the Sky Dash course. 

Hello Kitt Sky Dash will be available in early access on the Meta Quest 2 and 3 starting on December 22, 2025. 

The post Hello Kitty Skyland VR Game Heading to Meta Quest Headsets appeared first on Siliconera.