Hello and welcome back to The Backlog, the weekly column where we review video games based on a certain genre each month. This is our final edition for February and concludes our exploration into “cute” video games. As such, it’s only right that we go over the video game with potentially the cutest mascot in the world. That’s right! We’re looking at “Hello Kitty Island Adventure.”
“Hello Kitty Island Adventure” was initially released through Apple Arcade in 2023 but recently released on Nintendo Switch in January and is poised to release on PlayStation 5 later this year. Developer Sunblink Entertainment designed the game as a cozy, slice of life simulator with the titular Sanrio characters.
The game begins with you and various other characters on board an airplane, heading to the Big Adventure Park. After Hello Kitty introduces herself, players can customize their own character and choose from a variety of animals. The animal choices can seem limited, but there’s a good amount of variation with each one. Players can choose to be a bird, cat, dog, bunny, horse or a sheep. You can change your look later so don’t worry about locking in your decision.
You begin by walking around the plane and talking to other NPCs. The plane is full of Sanrio mascots including the sour-faced Badtz-Maru, jolly Tuxedosam and Retsuko, the star of the Netflix show “Aggretsuko.” It’s hard to choose which Sanrio mascot I love the most, but I have a soft spot for Keroppi.
After speaking with other passengers, Hello Kitty goes and tries to use the oven and grab a slice of strawberry cake. Unfortunately, the oven breaks and spews cakes out, causing the plane to malfunction. After a funny “Snakes on a Plane” reference by Badtz-Maru, everyone is forced to jump off the plane while hanging onto balloons.
Luckily everyone lands safely, and you begin your adventure starting at the Resort Plaza. As with other adventure games, you are tasked with finding the rest of the passengers spread throughout the island, giving them gifts to increase your friendship level and solve the mystery of the island and why it’s abandoned.
You can also collect various items and resources throughout the island to use for crafting. It’s actually a fairly large map for a children’s game, but players can follow the guiding light if they’re ever confused or lost.
Essentially, the story involves finding your friends and rebuilding the deserted resort. I am a sucker for cute slice-of-life games. But I find that a lot of players online tend to compare “Hello Kitty Island Adventure” with “Animal Crossing: New Horizons.” I have played “ACNH” and did a review on it last year.
I don’t usually like to compare and contrast two separate titles. They are different games despite what people want to say even though they share similarities. But it’s not a crime to be inspired by something and want to build off it, if it doesn’t plagiarize the original and can maintain its own sense of creativity.
I couldn’t say that “Hello Kitty Island Adventure” is a rip-off of “ACNH” because it does feel like a Hello Kitty game. There are many other Hello Kitty games that have been made previously. One that holds a special place in my heart is “Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams” on the Nintendo DS.
What makes every Hello Kitty game so enjoyable is the calmness, characters and overall aesthetics. Each game relies heavily on its characters and any quests or minigames associated with them. “Hello Kitty Island Adventure” is no exception to this. Each Sanrio character feels unique yet friendly, with each one having their own role at the resort.
Hello Kitty runs a cafe where players can use the oven to bake pastries, and it aligns with her character as she’s a baker at heart with a sweet tooth for Mama’s apple pie. My Melody owns a furniture store and acts as the island’s local carpenter. Even our little nerd Chococat has a role as an inventor.
The main objective in the game is to level up your friendship with various characters, and this can feel a bit repetitive and grindy for some players. I can see how it can get boring. But most games like this fall flat in this department so it’s not unheard of. Also, bear in mind that “Hello Kitty Island Adventure” is a children’s game, meaning the minigames and quests must be simple enough for younger ages and not too intuitive.
I think we should appreciate it when children’s content is made for children, instead of looking for a game-of-the-year experience with experimental gameplay. It’s simple, fun and not to be taken too seriously.
Rating: 4/5