SMALLAND

I don’t especially mind being a normal sized human all that much. Add on top of it that I’m pretty much average size in height and weight too and, well, I’m pretty comfortable in my skin overall. I have to admit, though, that watching Ant Man a few years ago began to give me some ideas about shrinking to such small proportions (which were solidified during the second installment). Unfortunately, I had to come to terms with the fact that that could never be. Then along comes SMALLAND, an ambitious looking title that seems like it could be the answer to my desires.

Although its got a small scope, it has big shoes to fill in the open world survival genre that could be tough to match. However, given what I’ve seen so far, it looks incredibly promising and even a bit terrifying in some regards. At this moment, the game is in early access, unreleased, and does not have an exact release date. From Merge Games’ website, it would seem the intended release window will be sometime in 2021 or 2022, depending on several factors.

Grasshoppers, Rats, and Squirrels

SMALLAND sets you in the shoes of an inhabitant of the Land of the Small, a time in history before the domination of the giants that we know today. Generally speaking, there’s little that’s known of the lore, story, and characters of this game (using characters may be a strong word in a survival title, but its still a possibility). Regardless, the current builds look like it is a charming experience that I can’t wait to play through. The idea comes straight out of the playbook of the movie Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and appears to pull off the aesthetic well.

What has me somewhat concerned is that this is an idea that has been attempted before with minimal notoriety and success. The dedication from the developers tells me that this may quickly become a nonissue once the game releases in early access. Additionally, it seems to be taking a little something from several great games and putting a unique, miniature spin on them to create something new.

Craft, Survive, and Build like an Ant

The gameplay currently appears to have a focus on survival, crafting, and player progression through armor/weapon upgrades, quite standard for the genre. The developers also note that it has similar mechanics to many games, including Valheim, No Man's Sky, and Subnautica in addition to various factions. There’s also huge potential for a minor horror theme being present in the same way that horror is present in Subnautica – its not outright scary, but the fear of the unknown (and gargantuan predators, of course) will be a major driver of this aspect.

Only time will tell with these ideas. For now, it seems like it will have all the bells and whistles of an open world survival title while attaching its own twists.