Hello Kitty Island Adventure

Title: Hello Kitty Island Adventure
Publisher: Sunblink
Developer: Sunblink
Release Date: July 28, 2023
Genres: Open World, Puzzle
Platform: iOS, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PlayStation 5, Steam
Where to Buy: Amazon, Steam
Rating:

Embark on a cozy, open-world adventure with Hello Kitty and Friends. Befriend beloved characters as you explore and restore a mysterious island, solve ancient puzzles, cook delicious dishes, customize yourself and your cabins, and so much more.

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Review

I’m in the midst of a Sanrio revival after getting into card collecting, and I decided to finally pick up Hello Kitty Island Adventure. I’ll admit, when I first heard about this game I couldn’t help but laugh. A long running South Park joke was becoming a reality? Then when I saw the game, I wrote it off as a simple Animal Crossing: New Horizons copy cat.

I was wrong! I repent! I was a non-believer and I apologize to our Lord and savior Hello Kitty! All jokes aside, after playing the game for the last month and sinking around 60 hours playing daily, I can say with complete honesty that I love this game. Hello Kitty Island Adventure now sits at the top of my list of favorite cozy games, and it will easily be one of the top games I’ve played all year.

The concept is simple, you create your own Sanrio-style mascot and go on vacation with Sanrio’s most beloved characters (and a few surprise obscure characters). Right away the customization options are nice, and the game does not lock you in with your initial choice. You are able to freely edit your character’s appearance and outfit whenever you wish.

The game is open world and all about exploration, and I was impressed with just how massive it is. There are quite a lot of zones to explore with plenty of little treasures to find, mini games to play, and puzzles to conquer. There are tons of things to collect and exploration felt rewarding, even in areas that are out of the way and hard to get to. Building friendships with the island inhabitants are essential to unlocking quests, character color palettes, item schematics, and furniture sets.

The best part is that even with the large amount of content the game never felt overwhelming. The game is of course kid friendly and easy to get the hang of. While many of the mechanics are simple, there is some challenge in later pats of the game.

Like Animal Crossing this is the type of game that is meant to be played daily for a little bit at a time with a daily reset each morning. You get daily rewards and there are seasonal events throughout the year. The game isn’t stingy and you’re able to obtain event items missed from previous years. There are story quests and some of the chained quests occur over several days. While some might bemoan that they can’t grind everything out all at once, I actually liked that the game was paced in a way that it would not be too demanding of my time. I found the steady discovery and development of my island over several weeks to be a joy.

All this is to say, this game is fun and full of charm. If you love cozy games, whether you know a thing about Sanrio or not, this game is worth your time.

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