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0 What better way to keep the chill of winter at bay than to set off on a cosy tropical adventure? Xelo Games, the Bali-based studio behind Escape from Naraka, goes from brutal action platforming to adorable relaxing exploration with the long-awaited Petit Island.
Making and Reawakening Memories
Protagonist Lily has grown up on her beloved Grandpaw’s stories of his adventurous youth on Petit Island. But his memories are beginning to fade and his stories are being lost, save for the bits and pieces of his old journal. With this journal as her guide, Lily sets out to Petit Island to recapture her Grandpaw’s lost memories and make a few of her own.
Gameplay
As soon as she leaves the airport, Lily’s adventure begins. While her poster image depicts her as a calico, you can customise her with a variety of different fur colours, dresses and backpacks to choose from. Purr-fect in any game, says I! Having accidentally left her phone inside, bank cards and all, she has to do things “the old-fashioned way” as she puts it. You guide her around the island, talking to the locals and undertaking quests to earn money. Then each chapter begins with seeking out a figure from Grandpaw’s past and getting to know his relationship with them through tasks and interactions related to their professions. Each interaction is enjoyable to explore and paint a picture of a youth well spent. Seeing Lily make her parallel memories by joining the local scouts and finding secret hideouts is heartwarming. The MuskCATeers—three hilarious kittens in a trenchcoat—and their quest hands down stole the show!
Completing these interactions will give Lily tools to help her complete quests. A shovel to dig, a parasol to glide across distances etc. But her signature tool is her trusty camera. Taking pictures of the island and the friends she makes along the way is a key mechanic to help bring back Grandpaw’s memories. Whether behind the lens or in front of it for a sensational selfie, it’s a lot of fun taking snaps and capturing the little charming aspects of Petit Island. Seeing the unique poses of each character when you take their picture is also stupidly entertaining. My album ended up being full to bursting with shots like these!
Ride Like The Wind!
As befits a cosy title, there are opportunities to gather collectables through activities like fishing and bug catching. While only limited to a select number of fish and bugs to collect, both are satisfying to undertake with your gathered tools and suitably precious. Naturally, you’ll need to scour the island to find these prized specimens. As much as Lily’s running animation gives me all the squees, she’s only got little legs, bless her. That’s where the mounts come in.
Different mounts are available for purchase from a vendor early on, lack of funds notwithstanding. All have the same movement speed and make getting around the island much easier, so it’s simply a case of aesthetic preferences. Are you a llama or a buffalo person? Both are fun to try and the Berryllama has a camera glitch that is hilarious and unnerving in equal measure if you have it face towards you! But my vote goes to the OG you get for free: the Bananallama! Trotting across the landscape on a llama in the plumpest little banana costume just fills me with unbridled joy!
All Thumbs
Even the cosiest adventures have some bumps along the way, and Petit Island is no different. Though the various tools are implemented well, equipping them is cumbersome as there are no dedicated keys to cycle through them. Having to go into the inventory, manually select the tool and back out again every time becomes grating after a while. Especially since there’s only a handful of tools to collect and choose from. And though Lily’s parasol is just the cutest, gliding with it can also be a niggle. Rather than activating immediately when you press the jump button in mid-air, Lily has to fall a certain distance before the parasol will open. This can cause it to fail if a jump is slightly askew, and sometimes be completely unresponsive. Thankfully platforming sections are few and far between and gliding is not always necessary.
No Time For Tea
Understandably in a game like this, Lily’s interactions with the island inhabitants take centre stage. And it’s true, a little goes a long way with game mechanics. Still, in places, a little could do with a little more. Certain elements feel a little underdeveloped and could be explored much further, in frequency and execution. Making tea is a prime example. Nothing cosier than a good brew, am I right? However, after sourcing ingredients and bringing them to a certain NPC, the process ends then and there. Not being involved in preparing or mixing the ingredients, even through a heavily simplified interface, feels slightly impersonal and detached from the cosiness the process can generate. Also, with the game being on the short side at just over 3 hours, a little extension of playtime would be welcome.
Graphics and Audio
It’s safe to say from the moment I saw the promo image, I knew the visuals would be just lovely. And gosh darn they didn’t disappoint! A low-poly feast of bright colours and bold shapes, the combined richness and simplicity give the feel of a toybox come to life – the island adventures you had as a child that felt so vivid. The characters have a Sylvanian Families style to them that’s so endearing. Lily’s running and riding animations conjure the image of a little young hand guiding her motion as she frolics through the grass or rides a bananallama across the beach. The UI and map too are perfectly suited, mimicking the stickers, patches and tabs you would find in a young person’s scrapbook.
Of course, the soundtrack is also right on the money. Getting the balance right between ambient and whimsical, the varying combinations of percussion, piano and strings radiate warmth – guaranteed to bring a smile to your face! Dynamically changing when in different areas of the island gives it that little extra layer of playfulness. A perfect backdrop for both relaxing and adventuring!
Final Thoughts
Petit Island is a short but heartfelt little adventure that emphasises the power of memories and how the simplest things can inspire so much joy. It has its share of flaws and some areas could use more depth, but you’ll still walk away from it feeling pepped up and fuzzy inside. And hey, sometimes that’s all you need!
A Thumb Culture Silver Award goes to this paw-sitively idyllic little getaway!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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