Smalland: Survive the Wilds

Overall a game of exploration and survival, sprinkled with combat and wonderful landscapes. Play this game if: - You love insects/arachnids - You would enjoy exploring (including flying) as a tiny person in a huge map - You enjoy survival and crafting in games - You want a huge amount of freedom - You enjoy admiring pretty scenery Probably avoid this game if: - You love well-developed lore and storylines at the core of a game - You enjoy combat more than anything else - You’re arachnophobic - You have an adversion to killing bugs (it was difficult for me to get through the early game) Overall recommended, despite a little bit of jankiness in the gameplay.

This game gives you a sense of nostalgia, but for what I am not sure. It's whimsical, charming and pulls you in. It does have flaws. but I really hope it gets lots of love as this is a brilliant game! The game is a blend of RPG and survival craft. It has quests, mostly in the go here and do x thing style but it also has statuses, hunger, weather effects, building, taming and exploration. The gameplay loop (so far) seems to be moving into areas to craft different sets of tools and armors. But it's not as aggressive as something like valheim or enshrouded presents this idea. The world itself is really not grounded in any reality here, but isn't high fantasy either. It works really well and alongside the music it really makes you feel like you've been put into some kind of animated movie from the 90's. It has a lot of whimsical charm in this way. When I saw the graphics and the gameplay on the storefront, I wasn't sure but it really works. The graphics remind me a little bit of guildwars 2 but without all the sparkle and shimmer. The game makes you move around the map in a non tedious way, which not many survival games pull off well. There are lots of quality of life features that this game has that other survival games have in part. Automatic pulling from chests, with the ability to prevent this when crafting is one. The base system is great, mostly you will want to build in a 'great tree' which are trees with jumping puzzles around them. When you get to the top, you can use the flat area and surrounding branches to build in. If you are moving to another area of the map you can simply get to the top of the local great tree and claim it. Your base transfers, exactly as it was. Genius. You can also claim areas in the wilds, to make stationary outposts too. The taming is interesting. There are two ways to do it, so far, with one being battling the creature and getting it to a taming trap and the other being lucky enough to get an egg drop. When you hatch the egg a mini tower defense game is played, where winning allows you to collect your new companion. Companions have their own stats and traits and can level up. You can take a party out with you, which really makes exploration easier and more engaging. There are some downsides to the game though. The building isn't fantastic. Its snap points, which work for the most part but to build anything not blocky (at this early stage at least) is hard. Building rooftops in this game makes me want to commit crimes. There's decor but sometimes the collision on the items stops you from decorating easily. You can however, have anything you take down refunded in materials, which is nice. The tames could be better in terms of how you interact with them, it feels a bit clunky and menu based, they lack a little personality at times. I've not discovered any huge amount of glitches in the game though, so that's good. I just think it needs more love to have it reach its full potential. More quests and greater variety of creatures as well as improvements to the building side of the game and I think this would be a big seller. I think games recently have been very focused on the monetisation side of things, this game really gives me the sense of an old game that I used to cherish. I'd really recommend the game to anyone who enjoys survival crafters, its full of nostalgia, whimsy and exploration. I bought this for 11 quid on sale and it was certainly worth more than that!

Smalland: Survive the Wilds is a survival adventure game that captures a sense of wonder by shrinking the player down to the scale of an insect in a massive, untamed world. As one of the Smallfolk, you explore dense forests, towering grasslands, and forgotten ruins that loom large from your miniature perspective. The feeling of venturing beneath giant mushrooms or climbing the roots of immense trees creates a unique atmosphere that sets it apart from other survival games. The visual style, paired with ambient sounds and shifting weather, makes every journey through the wild feel both enchanting and dangerous. Survival in Smalland revolves around familiar mechanics like resource gathering, crafting, building shelters, and fighting hostile creatures, but it adds some creative twists. Players can tame and ride bugs like grasshoppers or fly on damselflies, which opens up exploration in meaningful ways and gives a refreshing spin on mounts in survival games. Combat, however, is one of the weaker points. It feels clunky at times, with inconsistent hit detection and sluggish dodge mechanics, making battles feel more like an obstacle than an engaging part of the gameplay. Tamed creatures can help in combat, but their usefulness is hit-or-miss, often leaving you to rely more on your own gear than your insect companions. One of the standout features is the base-building system. Players can claim Great Trees and construct elaborate treetop homes that can be moved between different areas of the map. This mobile base system is smartly designed and avoids the frustration of starting over with each relocation. Building tools are flexible and forgiving, with options for rotation, scaling, and re-editing without penalty. The crafting system is extensive, though not overly complex, offering a satisfying progression as you gather rare materials to upgrade armor, tools, and structures. Still, the absence of features like detailed character customization or voice-acted dialogue does make the world feel a little less personal. Exploration is rewarding, though not always straightforward. The game avoids cluttering the map with markers, encouraging you to find NPCs and quests through environmental cues and stone owl effigies. This design promotes discovery and immersion, though it can lead to moments of confusion if you're unsure where to go next. Environmental threats like storms, seasonal weather changes, and temperature shifts—especially during harsh winters—add layers to the survival experience. You're forced to adapt, find shelter, and craft the right gear to stay alive, keeping the game world dynamic and reactive. Multiplayer is supported for up to ten players, and exploring with friends adds a new layer of fun to the experience. Enemy strength scales with group size, which keeps the challenge balanced. However, progression is server-based, so your personal equipment and mounts don’t always carry over if you’re joining another host’s world. This can be frustrating for players who prefer to develop characters across different sessions or playgroups. The lack of grief prevention tools and limited coordination systems in multiplayer also makes teamwork more cumbersome than it should be. Despite its rough edges, Smalland has a lot of potential. The grind to gather certain materials or level up factions can be time-consuming, and some gameplay systems—like taming or inventory management—feel like they need more polish. Yet the developers have laid out an ambitious roadmap that includes better taming systems, new biomes, and quality-of-life improvements. Performance is mostly stable, but the game still has some bugs and mechanical awkwardness that occasionally disrupt the flow. In its current form, Smalland: Survive the Wilds offers an imaginative and relaxing take on survival gameplay. It thrives in its ability to create a world that feels both massive and intimate, with a strong emphasis on exploration and base-building. While the combat and systems could benefit from refinement, the core experience is enjoyable and full of charm. For players looking for something different from the typical survival formula, or those who enjoy co-op building and exploration in a fantastical setting, Smalland provides a refreshing and worthwhile adventure. Rating: 8/10

Honestly, what is keeping this from being a good game is the weird mechanics and small things that for the life of me i can't figure out the thought process behind them. No swimming in a survival sandbox? Like you literally just sink to the bottom and die. The companion controlling mechanic is abysmal. You have to craft specific whistles that command specific actions that you don't have immediate access to. Soooooo many bugs you can tame but not ride. The little flies and ladybugs i understand, but there are several that are easily big enough to ride that you just can't. Getting to places starts to get really tedious early and it became something i dreaded alot. Most of these complaints are just weird mechanics, but if there was anything i would really like to see added, even more than swimming, is wall crawling. Even if its just while riding your bugs. im a tiny man on a spider. why can't i climb walls? Just copy Dune or Peak mechanics for that. Traversing this landscape (while it is truly beautiful) becomes a nightmare of weird collisions and falling down a slight slope and suddenly having to take the most obscure route to get where you originally were. LET ME CLIMB WALLS WITH BUGS Ultimately everything needed to make the game truly good is basically all in the kit. I tried to adjust map and server settings to try and compensate and keep me playing, but eventually i ran out of ways to stomach the annoyances and had to uninstall. Not a terrible game, and honestly i enjoyed it more and played longer than Grounded (gameplay loop a little too boring and not enough fun mechanics like flying or riding bugs or w/e), but i'm reviewing it based off the default price and it's not worth it imo. The sale i bought it during brought it down to $14 and I can't say i regret the purchase at that price.

Amazing graphics, fun story-line, and just when you think you're OP there's a new section with even more difficult enemies. So much to explore. Loving it so far!

Wow! This game must have been overshadowed by Grounded. I had not even heard of it until recently. Its a fantastic little survival game. Pun intended! There is a lot of content here. I put in around 60 hours. It has everything that Grounded should have, creatures you can ride, a decent glide system and fully movable bases with one click. This is a gem of a game. I hope the devs of this game don't get discouraged from working on this or a sequel.

Does a really poor job of on-boarding, and the first 30 minutes is just 'run here, talk to this guy, run there, read this.' Joining friends doesn't join friends. Mechanics aren't consistent, there's fall damage sometimes but not others. You spawn with half health. You can't respawn at guild buildings by default. I spent almost an hour just wasting time and being aware that it was a waste of my time. Bought at 60% off and still refunded. Play Grounded instead. That game is a masterclass for Merge how to do all this right.

10/10 I highly recommend this game! I'm an open world survival fanatic and have played similar games to this! Just beat the game. First play thru. I took my time and enjoyed the game, 60 hours over 5 days. Its addicting, but in a good way! Its what I wish Grounded was like. Going to restart now that I know the game and do another play thru!!! Pros: Its a Grind, keeps your attention and lots of farming and leveling. (if that's your thing, like me). Nice quest line, keep you focused moving forward thru the story (LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!) A nice assortment of companions with different qualities and attacks. Even at end game, you still have things to do; lvling, perfecting gear & camp reputations. Cons: Map needs some work, while its a blank canvas, there is no label for the zones you are in. No mods for the game, which is sad....well, very few, very minor mods that haven't been updated. Creature control could be better with more functionality. Armor & weapon stats kinda blah, they are all the same with a few exceptions. Missing and incomplete codex info; some things can't be unlocked or just not found with no data or info online to help you find the things you are missing. Food recipes could be switched up, so much different food to craft and almost all do the same thing, be nice if food gave buffs to player and/or creature stats. Camp Reputations and frequency of events SUCKS. You get so little points and the frequency of the events is terrible! I wish there was a setting or mod to change the interval of this but sadly there isn't. While all the cons are more than the pros, I still like the game and will be playing it again. I look forward to future updates and hopefully more content?

Buy it!!!! It took me 50 hours to beat it. Hit Max level right before Boss. I would say its on par with grounded, just not the story. I'm just sad its over... I would Buy a #2 in a heart beat!!!!

Its almost definitely not the game you think its gonna be, but I like the taming system, imo the player bases are super gimmicky with being up in the trees. overall a really cool game tho

played this game over 2 years ago before they had all the new updates and it was fun. now that they have end game content and more bosses this was another great playthrough. I started fresh playing with my son and we both really enjoy all the new things you could do in this game. the revive a guild mate still does not work, but that really didnt matter, we just tried everything new that was out. the larger pets do make it annoying when walking up stairs and narrow pathways because they will spawn on you and knock you off most times, but other than that really great game and i hope they continue to update and add more

I'm not sure how to describe this game but it scratches a particular itch. It kinda has an MMO feel to it without the MMO aspect and worry of end of service, servers closing. Mostly due to random world events happening and the factions you can align yourself with as well as the usual RPG aspects. Also bugs are cool. Bug team friends are cooler.

A nice looking game that plays well and is nearly bug free (lots of "bugs" in the game though). I bought this game when it was reasonably new. I played the heck out of it, so cool, one of the best looking games I have seen in a big minute. After some time I stopped playing, but returned months later. OMG the updates! Now I have to play through again just to see the new things -very excited. So whats good other than almost everything. Graphics - as above, nice! Glitches and bugs - cannot really think of one Story and arc - not overwhelming to the almost sandbox feel Customization of play - Almost every aspect can be tweaked from creature and resource spawn, damage, all the way to peaceful mode. You can play in peaceful utopia or hellish chaos. One minor fix wish- The first play through I missed the attribute upgrade for leveling up until I had several levels. Maybe a first level cut away - you have leveled up select your attributes! Congratulations to the team for a game that should be sought after by all hack and craft lovers!

While I enjoyed the game and finished it 100%, I felt like it missed some parts to keep it fun till the end. Me and 2 friends played it together, we got stuck on some bits like between rocks or parts that have no way back up. (PLEASE add a way up when you fall to the floor on the last part of the radio tower). Pet control within a guild was annoying. I don't understand why we had to each own a tree so we can put our pets away to heal or call them out. Just let everyone in the guild use the same homes. We can just build more if it is needed. The ending was boring, final boss wasn't exciting. The weapon you get is weaker than the one you make end game. The world was beautiful, but having to go through the tunnel every time to get past the guardian to the other side was annoying. So we would just die and respawn on the other side, get what we wanted and then go back. No way we are farming 1500 coins so we can have a bird each just to get ignored by the guardian. It was a fun game, but not something I would replay for the fun of it. You will laugh with your friends here and there. (the lizard is a goofy fun pet to have, scorpion is the strongest)

Lots of fun to play and interesting to see how they have created the creatures.

I love this game! It is better than other games similar to this one. Very easy to use and very fun!

A heck of a lot of fun. I particularly like it that it kept expanding and expanding into new areas. At first it felt like just a Grounded clone, but I loved discovering the new areas and unlocking new things to make and do. Would recommend

If you like insects you will love it. Good game right now, but there is potential to make it even better (tidal system, more seasonal influence, more different insects...) - hope they keep on working on it.

Love The Building aspects in the game and every update puts something new into the game to explore overall 10 / 9 , i would say i recommend the game to everyone solo or with friends you will definitely love it.

its a nice game to pass the time but the devs really need to brush up on the combat commands/ prompts, when I face of against an elite guard, the block command is delivered so late that the guard hit me before my character has even blocked the attack so I'm unable to counter at all.

Interesting story. Running around seems a bit tedious at first but gets better as you progress.

Good game with tons of stuff to do, different tamable creatures, and challenging boss fights. I've been playing since release and am very happy with the amount/various types of updates they put out. The world is constantly expanding and getting new and exciting things added to it.

Fun game, more so if you are into insects. Music is nice, can be calming when you're just farming around. I like the new addition where all trees connect from the top branches. Only thing is that online activity seems to be decaying as most servers are kind of empty, so it's hard to find a good server to play in.

Unfortunately not a game for players who may have photophobia or difficulties with rapid movement and motion sickness. Seems like an interesting world to wander around in but it just makes me so sick to my stomach.

This game is absolute trash. Don't waste your money. it says it's crossplay, it's not. you can supposedly "create a server" for you and your friends except every time you try it fails. Tried on my Xbox series and on my PC and both failed. The friend i was trying to play with tried on her PS5 and same thing cant create a server. Looked all over online to see if there was a solution and aside from going into your router settings and changing something, which im not doing, theres nothing. Don't waste your time or money on this game. i wish i could refund it on y Xbox but unfortunately i cant so a steam refund is as good as i'll get.

Boring. basically, the pace of the game was fast so the devs waste your time by making is a shit version of Dark Souls with bugs. Literally bugs like having to leave your tree and going back to the tree to summon my pet. Tried to be like Valheim but isn't. too much clicking, frame drops just generally annoying and other games exist.

I wanted to love the game, but...it got boring really fast. The building mechanics reminds me of Valheim, which I really liked, simple but satisfying. Mainly the reason of why I decided to buy this game. But everything else just wore me down. Every enemy feels the same after a while and they respawn in the same spot over and over. After a while you just decide to ignore them completely. It's supposed to be an open world game with a descent exploration. I didn't see it to be honest. There was really no point for me to play just for me to discover the same stuff again and again. Personally I think its a great concept, just not enough to keep me hooked.

This game wasn't that cool as it seemed. The intro in the game is really bad, you go to this guy, and then go talk to this guy, it removes the fun parts of what other survival games have, for example 7 days to die, and valheim put you into this world where it doesn't handhold you, and given freedom to do whatever you want.

Better than Grounded and Valheim together. I love the realistic look of the insects and surrounding. Building can be a bit fiddly. I set the crafting timer to 0.

It's... meh. The idea seems cool but the grind is kinda terrible. The map is also horrendous. I got bored quite quickly.

"slightly" like Grounded only way different...Grounded gives me honey I shrunk the kids 80's vibes while this has more of a solar opposite's people in the wall feel...personally I liked grounded way better.

Garbage! Cameras always glitching between first person and zoomed in so close to your char that you cant see anything especially when on a flying mount. Worlds not as big as they make it out to be looking at the map. Invisible walls prevent you from getting anywhere near the map edge. Cold protection from armor doesnt even do anything. Respawns randomly dont spawn you where it should example if you have a tree base it might not show you even have a tree base and force you to spawn at the pond. Entire game feels unfinished, unpolished, and rough. Combat is terrible and clunky almost like an old playstation 2 game. You may appear to be close enough for a melee attack but youre still a few steps too far but this is prob due to the terrible third person perspective. Minions just randomly die for no reason while following you and if you dont notice then you have to go find them to revive them. DONT RECOMMEND UNTIL ITS MUCH MORE REFINED.

This could have been great. However they've piggy-backed on the curtails of too many other's accomplishments, and did it halfheartedly so at that. Sadly, I should have put this down prior to the 2hour mark to assure a prompt refund. But alas, there are things in life - when time gets away from us. So, i'll eat this bullet. But not play this product. There are too many other titles out there to list, that are FAR superior to this one - in every way.

branches have collision, leaves do not, and there was water underneath, which you cannot swim in just play Grounded

Super fun. If you like Grounded you will like this. I've had it since EA and am about to dive back in to the updated game.

Dedicated servers are a mess. Ran Windows dedicated server installed through steamcmd normally, opened firewalls, port forwarded on router. Doesn't show up in the server browser. Logs don't show any errors on the server. Clients randomly can't find any servers. This is while on discord with said people and a super reliable enterprise fiber connection. Internet was fine the entire time. There are no direct connect to IP options to circumvent their bad server browser. Waited 20 mins to see if the servers on their end had a delay listing the server, nothing. Restarted all devices to make sure all firewall rules and port forwarding properly took. Didn't fix it. 2 hours into this game and we haven't loaded it yet. There's a lot of other settings based problems, like when you host a game locally instead of dedicated (because you have to, the dedicated server simply doesn't work well), it doesn't retain your settings on load. You have to check the "online" box, uncheck the "crossplay" box, and enter a password every single time you play. And you can't enable online play while in game, you have to exit and reload if you forgot any of these steps when a player wants to join your game. Little things like this become big things for the players that utilize this stuff. You really need to put good documentation in the dedicated server folder, and have the dedicated server send probes to ensure that it is actually online and able to pass traffic AND LOG ERRORS so that your community can help you find bugs and problems. Holy hell my guys. This is version 1.9.1?

I've revisited the game both solo and with a friend. The first couple / few hours feels like a slog. It felt like I was forcing myself to play until around 2+ hours in. It's run here and talk to person, then rinse and repeat until you get to a split in where to go. If you pick the "wrong" direction you're stuck without an important tool to allow you to effectively progress. This isn't a major problem as you can just go the other direction after realizing your mistake, but will absolutely extend the period of not being able to make upgrades n such. The hook (for me) comes several upgrades in, along with taming companions. Once you get to that point the game really opens up and feels more fun vs feeling like just doing chores. I'm not a big fan of the way co-op treats base building. Essentially 1 person owns the base, other guild members can be allowed to use chests and stations but cannot store companions in a shared stable. It's not made clear (that we found) on how co-op will operate and you're more/less left to just figure it out. Not necessarily a bad thing, but when you've dedicated a fair amount of resources into 1 base you're not left with much to build a 2nd, 3rd, etc., so each member can store companions or have their own base for if / when the person who "owns" the main base isn't online. The game gives several options for customizing the server to allow you to tweak the game play to your liking. This comes in handy for things like decreasing fall damage, crafting times, or increasing creature damage / health for a tougher experience. This is a pretty decent recommend, especially if you can get it on sale. This isn't my favorite open world survival game out there, but it's priced fairly and its got a unique vibe that really starts to take flight after a few hours in.

A Tiny World with Big Fun… Until It Runs Out Smalland was an unexpectedly satisfying survival game. Shrunk down to bug-size in a giant world, the novelty alone was enough to hook us. The building mechanics were smooth, creative, and honestly better than a lot of bigger-budget survival titles. And playing in co-op? An absolute blast. Running around leaf villages and building elevated bug forts with friends made for some genuinely great memories. But once the excitement of exploring wore off and we reached the end of most of the available content, things started to feel a bit… empty. The story is serviceable but not particularly gripping, and progression kind of flatlines after a while. It felt like we were just ticking off boxes rather than continuing an adventure. That said, we still enjoyed it quite a bit, especially in those early and mid-game moments where discovery and base-building were at their peak. I’m sure by now there have been a few updates and maybe even some expanded areas (which is great), but for us — after finishing most of what there was to explore — the magic wore off. In short: Smalland is a charming survival game with solid mechanics, great co-op play, and a unique world that’s genuinely fun to explore. Just don’t expect it to hold your attention forever — unless future updates bring some serious depth, it’s a game best enjoyed in short, sweet bursts.

I would rate this game positive. They are still updating it, and it does need some improvements, but is quite enjoyable already. The more fantasy setting compared to similar games is also a positive for me. Some things needs to be updated because they are quite grindy like reputation with some NPCs in exchange for unlocks, the farming of the points to unlock everything would take way to much time, but you don't need it to complete and enjoy the game. Visually, really pleasing, good story.

This game ended up being more fun then i was expecting. The story progression is very simple and the base building is really great with all the options.

I've been wanting a game like this for years! Grounded was cool, but I love the idea of Fae folk more. Really love this game.

If you enjoy games like Grounded, Enshrouded, Valheim, etc., you'll probably enjoy Smalland. The closest comparison is Grounded, but there are still distinct differences. I enjoyed the story in Grounded better and the overall combat as well, but I've still found Smalland to be interesting, engaging and really fun. Smalland looks great and has run very well on my GTX 1650 (it's crashed a couple times but that's maybe server side and I'm back in within a couple minutes). The menu's and UI comes with a learning curve (especially connecting to a friends server the first time). I've found the combat to be very melee heavy (which is fine with me). Using bows just feels clunky and inaccurate, and it would be nice if bows felt like a viable option. It's fun learning the parry window for various attacks and dodging is a valid combat skill as well. I wish you could lock onto a specific target, but the combat is still fun without it. I feel like resources are abundant once you know where to find them. One of the worst feelings in games like these is when you run out of a resource and it's a chore to get more, but in Smalland it feels easy enough to restock on any one resource without much trouble or grinding. Traversal around the map really opens up with wings. Soaring around the treetops is fun and being able to glide to the ground instead of plummet to your death is nice. I'd imagine the flying mounts are also great, but I haven't gotten to that point yet. Speaking of mounts, the bug/creature companions you can get, while fun, can turn the game into easy mode. When I play with my family and we all have 3 companions, the other bugs/creatures (even bosses) don't stand a chance. It causes for a chaotic fight when there are 3 characters and 9 companions all trying to swipe at a single bull ant. But the mounts/companions are an overall positive experience. Progression through the game (and various weapons/tool/armor tiers) has felt quick. My family/friends and I haven't hit any hurdles or road blocks where we feel we have to hunker down and grind out some levels or better equipment to get past. Our server settings certainly contribute to that (companions can't die and we keep inventory on death), but losing all inventory on death (except what is literally in your hands) was really rough during early game because we hadn't built up the gear to have backups or resources to craft more. The risk of dying and struggling to get back to your dropped items felt more frustrating than it did exciting, so we changed our settings. I prefer the system in Grounded where you'd drop your resources on death, but kept equipment like weapons, tools, and armor. Now that we have wings and decent companions, I feel I could function better with losing all items on death and companions dying (but it would still be nice to have the Grounded death equivalence of only dropping some items). Overall, I've really enjoyed Smalland and see myself putting a few dozen more hours into it. I'm hoping they keep supporting the game with updates and additional content.

Didn't think I would like this due to the bugs but I put several hours into this with no regret.

You're small and stuff is big whoa

Smallland its one of the best survival flying game :D

quite a fun game <3 would recommend!

great team game

neat game

it fun

Not worth my time