My Time at Sandrock is the second game, following My Time at Portia. In this guide I will go over the differences between the games, and which is better.
As the sequel to My Time at Portia, My Time at Sandrock works on what the original game offered and builds on it.
Understandably there are fans for both games, and both sides feel that either of these games is better than the other, but in my eyes, the sequel My Time at Sandrock is better than the original.
Though I will go into detail later on, it needs to be said that My Time at Portia has the first-game syndrome. It created a base for the sequel to build upon and runs with it.
If you want to look more into the game, check out our guide on how to romance all bachelors in My Time at Sandrock because finding romance is among the most important things a player can do while playing.
MTaS vs MTaP Main Differences
When looking at the two games, there are many similarities as well as differences.
When looking at both of them from an objective point of view, it is clear that the sequel took what the original game did and built upon it.
Except for fishing as many fans have pointed out, but what are these differences?
Visual Aspects
The main difference from a visual perspective you will notice immediately is that the new town of Sandrock is a rough desert environment with scarce resources compared to the lush world of Portia.
Despite your ability to affect the environment around you as you play, through building, material gathering, and farming, the desert will pose different challenges compared to the prosperous Portia.
Though the maps of Portia and Sandrock are of the same size (two kilometers square), My Time at Sandrock will feature a 40% bigger map due to not having the Western Sea taking up a large chunk of the available area, like in Portia.
Inventory Differences
Compared to the original, My Time at Sandrock offers a more complex inventory system.
In the original game, there was only one quality for items to make. Nothing changed between them.
In the sequel, there are different qualities indicated by colors. Grey, Green, Blue, and Purple. These colors affect the item’s stats, and what you get from it when it comes to buffs.
These buffs also differ from item to item, in the same quality group as well. This means that if you craft a green stone dagger you don’t like, not every dagger you make after that will feel the same. This allows for a wider variety of experiences.
Knowledge Tree
In Portia each time you gained a level you would get a skill point, and then use it any way you wanted.
In My Time at Sandrock though, players have four unique knowledge trees.
- Gathering
- Workshop
- Combat
- Social
As you do things within those Knowledge Trees, then you get skill points you can allocate within them. You can increase the things you want your player to do better, and if you want to focus only on one thing you will get rewarded.
Research
Research thankfully has been streamlined compared to My Time in Portia. In the original what you got was random, and could even be completely useless to what you were focusing on at the time.
The sequel leaves players to choose what their research path will be, and this freedom allows players to choose what they want to research, and in what order.
If you want to focus on one aspect of the game for a while you can, and you will be rewarded for it. The randomness will not stir your adventure anymore.
My Time at Sandrock vs My Time at Portia – Which One is Better?
For a new player of the My Time series of games, it is not even a question about which game is better.
My Time at Sandrock is an amazing game that builds upon what the first game introduced. This doesn’t mean that the first game is bad, but the sequel is just such an improvement.
It introduces mechanics that skew away from randomness and give agency to players’ needs.
It makes combat smoother, and interactions with other characters are much more meaningful. Despite the fewer characters, it’s the perfect case of less means more. You get to care about the characters you meet, and not just talk to your favorites.
The biggest, and best addition to the sequel, are the multiplayer aspects. My Time at Sandrock will feature both single-player and multiplayer game modes.
These game modes will be separate experiences, and the multiplayer mode is not required for enjoying the single-player mode.
I would only suggest players try out the first game if they want to experience the series to the fullest.
Final Thoughts
My Time at Sandrock is a proud sequel and shows what passion, and hard work can do for a series.
If you are having trouble while playing the game, check out our guide on how to fix Crashes, Freezes, Screen Tearing, and more in My Time at Sandrock.
With the question of whether My Time at Sandrock or My Time at Portia is better answered, you will be able to make a purchase that satisfies your sandbox farming sim needs. Let us know in the comments which game you enjoy more.
With thousands of hours played on Nintendo systems since the original Gameboy, Nikiforos is happy to share his endless passion for Nintendo franchises and everything he can get his hands on.
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