Dinkum is a blend of exploration, survival, and town-building with various mechanics that can be challenging for beginners to the genre.

Dinkum is a new survival town-building game taking the gaming world by storm. Despite being in early access, the game combines elements from other popular games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons that create a perfect blend of exploration, settlement, and a unique environment in the Australian outback.

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New players will take the shoes of an eager explorer looking to leave their city home, and help an older friend named Fletch to turn an untouched wilderness into the perfect hometown. Taking charge of everything from where buildings go to gathering materials and convincing new residents to stay, players will find no shortage of things to do right from the beginning, but there are a few things they can do to make things easier for themselves.

The world of Dinkum is vast, and the amount of things players can discover on the island even more so. While it can be somewhat nerve-wracking to wander far from one’s settlement, especially early on when supplies and tools are low, players shouldn’t be afraid to wander all around the island.

Plenty of ores, wood, fish, and bugs are unique to specific biomes, and the more the player explores, the more they’ll be rewarded, especially early on. So long as the player stays alert (and even if they don’t), the reward far outweighs the risk.

Wildlife in Dinkum can be found everywhere players turn. Whether they’re diggos, jackaroos, or crocos, every creature in Dinkum has something to offer, and ways they’ll interact with other animals around them. The behavior of carnivores in particular will prove indispensable to early-game players who are lacking proper weapons.

Should a player need meat during their exploration, following a pack of diggos is bound to lead them to some leftover meat from their jackaroo hunts, which players can take without needing to enter combat at all.

Early in Dinkum, the most reliable ways to progress are through earning Dinks, which can be used to pay off debts and buy tools, and Permit Points, which pay for deeds and licenses. In both cases, the best way to earn them, especially early on, is by collecting anything and everything players can get their hands on.

Not only can players earn Dinks by selling what they collect to John, but the act of collecting, gathering, and selling items will progress players’ milestone goals, earning them a lot of Permit Points as well.

One thing players need to keep an eye on as they explore is their stamina bar. Stamina is needed for most things players can do during the day, including mining, combat, swimming, and catching things. Should the player start to tire out, eating food is a quick way to regain some energy.

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However, players should still pace themselves, and they can only eat three things at a time before they’ll have to wait until they’re hungry again. Luckily, players can regain energy simply by taking a break and waiting for the bar to refill.

Residents provide more to the player than what’s in their job descriptions. Every day, players can chat to learn more about the characters’ lives and what brought them to the island, as well as offer to help them out with whatever they need.

Every resident will usually have a request the player can fulfill by the end of the day, after which they’ll be rewarded with Dinks, items, or even blueprints. For players just starting their town, the recipes and resources they exchange with residents goes a long way into developing their new home, as well as building relationships with their neighbors.

It should come as no surprise that the world of Dinkum is a wild one. Whether players are exploring the mines, traversing the land, or swimming through the rivers of their island, they’re bound to encounter danger on their adventures. As a result, acquiring a hunting license early on goes a long way into keeping players safe.

Beyond just that, however, is the rewards that each creature has to offer when they’re bested in combat. The more dangerous the animal, the better the rewards compared to less deadly animals like diggos and jackaroos, and players can reap the rewards of better food and crafting materials.

Selling as many resources as possible early on is not only easy, but provides an immediate reward in the form of Dinks for the player. However, as soon as the player has the means to create crates, they should start saving resources as well, even (and especially) if their use isn’t readily apparent.

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Things like woods, ores, and even the strange metal scraps players find from oil drums can turn out to be vital for later crafting recipes and objectives. When in doubt, holding onto even a handful of mystery items can pay off later, whether it’s for construction, crafting, or even cooking.

Bug catching and fishing are going to be one of the most reliable and consistent moneymakers players can turn to in Dinkum. In addition to an easy source of Permit Points as players catch whichever bugs and fish they come across, they also sell surprisingly high at the general store.

Moreover, the different types of fish and bugs spawn in different areas, and learning these early on will prove helpful when the time comes to catch specific bugs and fish for the museum later, which rewards players with Permit Points for every new donation.

The sun sets early and quickly in Dinkum, and players will have to plan their days around it. For the most part, the night is harmless. Players can navigate the dark or carry a torch, find and catch night-specific creatures like fireflies, and talk to their neighbors as they wrap up the day.

However, if players are wandering far from their town, they should keep an eye out, as some nocturnal creatures are more dangerous than others. If players don’t have a means of protection, they should be ready to run should they encounter any bush devils while they’re out exploring.

Gathering resources early on is a good idea anyway, especially with so many things to craft and build to establish the town. However, logging and mining in particular are important skills to level up early on, as reaching level 10 will unlock a newer license that lets players craft new and improved tools.

Not only will these new tools last longer and save players time and money early on, but they will also allow players to gather resources the beginner tools couldn’t break, which will be required for other skills, licenses, and crafting recipes.

Dinkum is available now for PC.

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Rowan is a budding writer and recent graduate from Sarah Lawrence College based in Hartford, Connecticut. When he isn't writing freelance work, Rowan spends his time playing and reviewing varieties of games while seeing how communities react to them. Rowan also enjoys fiction writing in his free time and painting characters or scenes from his work.