Into the Emberlands: Cosy Exploration at its Finest

Released into early access on June 19^th 2024, Into the Emberlands promises cosy exploration gameplay with a sticker-like aesthetic that has my inner 90s kid screaming.

Developed by Tiny Roar and published by Daedalic Entertainment, Into the Emberlands is already catching attention in cosy gaming circles. We were lucky enough to get a review copy ahead of the launch and see if it’s worth the attention. Spoiler alert, it is. So, grab your best cosy blanket, a cuppa, and a biscuit or two as we go into the Emberlands!

What Spec Did We Play On?

We played Into the Emberlands on an Acer Predator Helios 300 gaming laptop, with an Intel Core i7-10750H CPU, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU, and 16GB DDR4 RAM.

Component	Details
CPU	Intel Core i7-10750H
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
RAM	16GB DDR4
Storage	SSD and HDD storage

Previous Reviews

Grow with Botany Manor: Immersive Cosy Gaming

Dominate the Entertainment Industry: Arcade Tycoon Game Review

Wholesome Gameplay with A Last Song: Demo Preview

Into the Emberlands Gameplay

At its core, Into the Emberlands has very simple gameplay. You have a list of things to find, and you go out into the wilderness to find them. After the first few tutorial quests, you are left to your own devices. Personally, I love simple gameplay that is quick and easy to master, because it’s much more accessible for my tired brain at the end of the day. Plus, it leaves the game free to capture the imagination in beautiful and quirky ways – like trolls slacking on their chores!

You play as the Lightbearer, a Knack equipped with an Ember Lantern that will grant you safety as you explore the Emberlands. A terrible Miasma has fallen on the land, leaving your fellow Knacks stranded in woods, petal lands, and other far-flung places. The village where you live has been destroyed and needs restoring, but someone needs to bring the Knacks home and gather resources first. This is your job, as the Lightbearer.

Resource Management

Into the Emberlands expertly balances its simplistic gameplay with the right amount of thought and planning to keep you actively engaged. Every step outside of your village costs you an ember. If you run out, you are engulfed by the Miasma cloud and become just another Knack who is lost in the woods. A new Lightbearer is sent out in your stead, with none of the expanded resources you’d previously collected. So, you have to track your steps carefully and be sure to top your embers up using furnaces, ember spots, or even by finding a lost Knack.

On top of this, repairs to your village require resources like stone and wood. The shortest route often requires chopping down trees or mining stone, but your tools have limited use. Depending on their quality, you can use them between one or eight times, so being mindful of where you chop is paramount! Or you might just find yourself boxed in with waning embers! Thankfully, Into the Emberlands is a generous game, with tools scattered across the land – presumably lost by the last Knack to brave the Miasma.

Resources can also be traded with the various creatures you encounter in the Miasma. Trolls, emberclucks, and mugs all request common items with the reward of expanded coins, crystalised embers, or even backpack space. What’s more, there are vending machines scattered throughout the Emberlands where you can trade coins for resources and tools when you’re in a pinch!

Scaling Progression

Each time you successfully venture back from the Emberlands and hand in a quest, your toolset improves. Your ember lantern can hold more light, your backpack inventory space increases, and your coin string gets longer – allowing you to venture deeper and collect more things. Biomes change as you travel further from your village, introducing new resources, tools, and currencies to manage.

These far reaches introduce Metro stations, a quick travel mechanic that gets you home safely when your embers burn low! These also allow you to pick your explorations back up, as the Metro station in your village sends you to the last stop you travelled through. Sadly, every time you level up the village, the Metro stations reset, and you have to go the long way to find them again. But that’s the adventure!

Early Access

Into the Emberlands has launched as an early access title. Developers, Tiny Roar, hope for a six to nine month early access period, where they can gain feedback from the community and implement changes as needed. There are also plans to expand the game with additional biomes, encounters, and upgrades.

Although in early access, the game is stable, and any bugs are likely to be fixed during this period. If you do plan on playing and want to give feedback, there is an active Discord server and threads already on the Steam Community Hub.

Thoughts on Into the Emberlands

If it wasn’t already apparent, I really enjoyed playing Into the Emberlands. It was the perfect balance of calming and mindful gameplay, that I sunk a couple of hours in without even really noticing! Once the village upgrades are done, you get your next list of things to find, and off you go! Delightfully more-ish – similar energy to “just one more day” on Stardew or “oh, just one more chapter” before bed.

Into the Emberlands’ basic gameplay is quick to master, but as you get further into the Miasma, you need adjust your tactics to overcome the new obstacles. Especially if you run out of embers and have to start at square one again! It keeps gameplay fresh and just feeds into the “oh just one more” nature of the game. Plus, there is locked content in the character selection menu – I will keep going until I have a platypus companion!

Now, I have to take a minute to talk art. The opening sequence is done in a pop-up book style with the characters looking like stickers. It was adorable. So, this is my official request to Tiny Roar – if you make Knack stickers, I will buy them. In all honesty, the art style throughout is the perfect level of cute. It’s colourful, quirky, and simple yet effective. Plus, when you get a trail of Knacks going, it’s like you have your own little blue ducklings following you.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for gameplay to unwind to, then Into the Emberlands is an excellent contender. It is the whole cosy package: cute aesthetic, zen music, and mindful gameplay. I’m excited to see where my travels through the Miasma take me and what developments happen throughout the early access period.

What Platform Can I Play Into the Emberlands On?

Into the Emberlands is currently only available on PC, via Steam. It is a singleplayer adventure, but the emberclucks sure would look great on stream!

Into the Emberlands Official Specifications

You’ve got your ember lantern and tools, but is your gaming PC ready to face the Miasma? Here are the official specifications for Into the Emberlands:

Component	Minimum Specs	Recommended Specs
Operating System	Windows 10 64-bit	Windows 10 64-bit
Processor	AMD Ryzen 3 3100 Intel Core i5-1135G7	AMD Ryzen 5 5500U Intel Core i5-9400F
Memory	8GB RAM	16GB RAM
Graphics	AMD Radeon RX 560 NVIDIA GTX 1050	AMD RX Vega 56 NVIDIA GTX 1070
Storage	650MB available space	650MB available space

Best PCs to Play Into the Emberlands

While Into the Emberland requires more than integrated graphics, which is what we commonly see on cosy games, the official specification is entirely accessible. Many gaming PCs could easily handle this spec. But we all know upgrades are better – would you pick a rusty axe over a golden one? At Overclockers UK, we have an extensive collection of gaming PCs and laptops that are perfect for all your cosy gaming needs. We’ve picked out three of our faves here, but you can venture into the Miasma if these won’t upgrade your village.

Shop Gaming PCs

Shop Gaming Laptops