Pine

 Switch
Pine Image
Metascore
48

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 22 Ratings

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  • Summary: Pine is an open-world action adventure simulation game. Take on the role of Hue, a brave young adult who belongs to the last remaining tribe of humans on the island of Albamare. Find your way through an ever-changing world in which all creatures have lives, goals and quests of their own.Pine is an open-world action adventure simulation game. Take on the role of Hue, a brave young adult who belongs to the last remaining tribe of humans on the island of Albamare. Find your way through an ever-changing world in which all creatures have lives, goals and quests of their own. Albamare’s factions trade and fight with each other over food and territory, while Hue learns about ways to influence the ecology, in search for a new home for the humans.… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 6
  3. Negative: 2 out of 6
  1. Gaming Nexus
    Mar 11, 2021
    65
    Pine has a lot of interesting systems and mechanics, but those individual pieces do not add up to a completely satisfying whole. While there is fun to be had with Pine's interesting exploration, many of the mechanics feel disjointed, with too much reliance on the game's collection-based economy. While Pine was clearly made with a lot of love, every good feature in is balanced by a mechanic that doesn't feel so great.
  2. Gaming Age
    Jan 21, 2020
    58
    The execution is as boring as everything else Pine has to offer. It’s a shame that the finished (or, given the technical issues, maybe that should read “mostly finished”) product doesn’t come anywhere close to living up to the incredible potential displayed by the trailer, because that game could have been great. This game, however, is in dire need of improvements, and until it gets those you can skip it pretty safely.
  3. Nintenderos
    Dec 11, 2020
    55
    Pine is a game that we recommend with caution. Even after the 2.0 update, the loading times are still long. Overall performance has improved but needs more updates on Nintendo Switch.
  4. TheGamer
    Dec 12, 2019
    50
    Pine feels like an early proof of concept that misses the mark in all the key components that should otherwise keep players engaged.
  5. Nintendo Life
    Dec 7, 2019
    40
    Pine could have been a lot better. There are genuinely impressive systems at play here – for example, the other creatures inhabiting this world are gathering resources in much the same way as the player, and will even snatch up crops and objects that you were making for. But its smarter touches are totally obfuscated by the shadow of absolute technical unsuitability to the Switch hardware. When you look at ports like Doom and the recent Alien: Isolation, you'll wonder what exactly went wrong for Pine to be so disastrously sub-par in purely technical terms. We can only imagine how cool it looked on the design document; it's just such a shame about almost literally every single aspect of the execution.
  6. Screen Rant
    Nov 26, 2019
    20
    Pine’s interesting diplomacy system can’t save it from its dull combat, repetitive quests, and severe technical problems.
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  1. NintendoWorldReport
    Nov 26, 2019
    Pine is a brilliant idea backed by some truly wonderful systems. Other elements of its gameplay fall short but would ultimately be forgivable if it would just run reliably. No matter how much I wanted to enjoy Pine, I always found myself ending my play session in frustration as a stared down another loading screen, found a key character glitched into an inactive state, or an entire village simply blipping out of existence. Pine feels like a very promising alpha, not a game that should be sold as finished. The presence of Pine on the eShop is baffling. While I earnestly hope it improves, I simply can’t recommend it in its current form.

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 14
  3. Negative: 6 out of 14
  1. zanderlex
    May 30, 2020
    8
    Pine has come a long way from its release late last year. Originally heralded as a wonderful open-world RPG, the game was not well-receivedPine has come a long way from its release late last year. Originally heralded as a wonderful open-world RPG, the game was not well-received upon release. The game's quality left something to be desired in many areas, whether it was poor graphics, incredibly long load times, or a plethora of frame rate and rendering issues.

    The game has since been patched and not only is it playable, it's fairly enjoyable as well. The graphics, while still feeling a bit outdated are much more clear and vibrant, and really add to the exploration aspect. Other aspects, including combat and load times, have also been improved, making Pine more of a fun pick up and play kind of experience

    There are still a handful of issues that begin to take their toll on the overall experience of Pine. Loading screens, while much shorter than before, can still last nearly two minutes at times. While your immediate surroundings may look pretty, looking more than a few feet ahead can get pretty dull. Lastly, there are some bugs that could randomly cause you to start floating or temporarily get stuck somewhere.

    None of the remaining issues are inherently game-breaking and there's another patch expected out soon, so if you can get past these minor annoyances, you may find the game to be pretty enjoyable, especially if you are a fan of games like Breath of the Wild of Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles.    … Expand
  2. Tatted504
    Jan 13, 2021
    8
    Alot Better Game now Then at Release. If you tried it before you should try it again
  4. maisel97
    Jan 20, 2021
    8
    Switch Version 2.01.

    Pine is addicting. The world of Pine is beautiful with varied biomes, plenty of items for crafting, and secrets to find    Switch Version 2.01.


    Pine is addicting. The world of Pine is beautiful with varied biomes, plenty of items for crafting, and secrets to find everywhere. It is quite impressive that this 6 person team was capable of creating such a lived in world despite working with a limited engine.
    _______

    Story

    The main plot of the game is that you are a human that is part of a village on top of a small mountain that is slowly falling apart. The village elders refuse to leave, believing the outside world is too dangerous for them. With a tragic event unfolding, you takes the matter into your own hands and proceeds to leave the village and look for a new home for the people to live. A solid premise that gives the player drive.

    You then must go to any of the animal races and ask for help. They will be hesitant to do so, as they have their own villages to take care of. They will only help you as long as you help them. Thus the game is essentially you donating, trading, or teaming up with various factions to find your people a land of their own.

    This leads to you trying to learn the history of the island, and how ancient humans must have survived in order to save humanity. It is enough to keep me invested, and makes the in game lore intriguing in its own right.

    Overall its compelling in the way classic adventure games have been, making me give it an 8/10
    _______

    Gameplay

    The core gameplay loop is pretty much that of a living breathing world. Each race has its own desires and needs, and will send out traders, gatherers, and warriors to ensure they can expand their control of the island to the best of their ability. This makes the world quite dynamic, as you will see different races interacting with each other in the fields and terrain outside of villages. You will also find them taking over different settlements throughout the game.

    You will have to work with multiple factions to help your own people. I have noticed many people criticizing this system in that you cannot stick with a single faction, and must constantly switch who you are allied with. I personally think this was a logical choice, on the dev's part, as it encourages you to learn each race's perspective in the world and do more than the generic grind of leveling up a single village until you finish the game.

    I would have definitely liked if there was more variations in NPC dialogue however. It would have been nice to see more side quests that provide materials or perhaps even some added lore. Outside from a few island stories I have played through, you will mostly be playing through multiple main story quests that you can do in any order you wish.

    Outside of that however, you will also go through 3 Zelda like dungeons called "Vaults" and solve puzzles in the overworld. These dungeons have been mixed, with the first time you entering a vault not really explaining what to do. Once you figure out the first puzzle though, the remainder of the dungeon become solid challenges.

    Combat can be improved, but is still good enough.

    Just fix the crashing. 7/10.

    8/10 with fixes.
    _______

    Visuals

    The graphical art style of this game is beautiful, and very reminiscent of Fable. Sunsets, and shadows from the moonlight give the world a serene look. Character designs amongst the factions is also well done, with plenty of detail. 9/10
    _______

    Sound

    I cannot stress just how amazing the soundtrack of Pine is. It is a perfect 10 in my book, and deserves the utmost praise. Sound effects are also surprisingly high quality. 10/10

    Replay Ability
    _______

    The world is interesting to experiment with, but aside from that the world could have a few more side quests. 7/10
    _______

    Verdict
    Overall Pine is fantastic despite some flaws in the code. 8/10    … Expand
  5. bancandrei
    May 21, 2020
    5
    Looks good, but gets boring way too quickly. Could barely remember the title, to give this rating. Wanted an alternative to breath of theLooks good, but gets boring way too quickly. Could barely remember the title, to give this rating. Wanted an alternative to breath of the wild, but better just play that one some more… Expand
  6. evgenijblja
    Nov 28, 2019
    4
    After patch 1.0.4 this game is playable, but performance is awful.
    Hope they will finish, seems to be a good game.
  7. qaezec
    Nov 26, 2019
    1
    I have been looking forward to the release of this game since it was announced in a Nindies Direct. While I was disappointed that Pine wasI have been looking forward to the release of this game since it was announced in a Nindies Direct. While I was disappointed that Pine was delayed 3 times, I was hoping it would be worth the wait. It wasn't. The game is buggy, has 3 minute load times, and the graphics are way inferior to the PC release even though the Switch can certainly run a game like that in it's full resolution. I do hope they fix these problems in the next couple of months, but until they do, I suggest staying away.… Expand
  8. swampthings
    Dec 30, 2020
    0
    This game is unplayable on Switch, after the first level. The loading times are seriously about 10 minutes. And then I die quickly. And thenThis game is unplayable on Switch, after the first level. The loading times are seriously about 10 minutes. And then I die quickly. And then it has to load again. So, if I play for an hour, then it will be about 50 minutes of loading time and 10 minutes of play time. I'm sure there are some people a lot better than me that won't die so much, but I can't picture anyone stomaching the load times enough to actually play through it on Switch.

    I'll probably try it again after they release 3.0 or 4.0. It's probably good on Windows with a super fast machine, but it's really bad on Nintendo Switch.

    I was really frustrated, because this game had a lot of promise. The first level and the story. It's basically a breath of the wild clone.    … Expand

See all 14 User Reviews

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