Most of the time, when a running joke runs too far, it becomes deeply unfunny and progressively more grating. Fortunately forHello Kittylovers, this game decided to buck that trend.
Back in 2006, South Park’s now-classicWorld of Warcraftepisode poked fun at Butters. While everyone else was excited about the cool new MMO, Butters preferred to playHello Kitty Island Adventure.
It took 17 years, but the prophecy has finally realized itself.Sunblink first releasedHello Kitty Island Adventurein July 2023, and it was a massive hit for iOS.
A year and a half later, the developer decided to take it to the big leagues, releasing the game for PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch.
So, wearing my Hello Kitty gray sweater and with a deep love for Hello Kitty as a franchise in my heart, I intend to dive in and find out if this running joke actually has any substance.
Chaotic First Impressions
At first glance,Hello Kitty Island Adventurefeels like a mix of popularcozy games. You have a little bit ofAnimal Crossing,Disney Dreamlight Valley, andStardew Valleyin there, served scrambled with some elements of other games.
You start by creating your character, and the first thing that stands out after years of no-lifingAnimal Crossingis that you are not special here. Your island is populated with Hello Kitty animal characters, and you are just another one of them.
Character creation is a big part of slice-of-life games like this, and I was disappointed byHello Kitty Island Adventure’s lack of custom options.
Though you get a few customization options, the combinations are limited, and different picks don’t mesh well.But, critically, you’re able to still put together a cute character, which, in the end, is all you need.
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The beginning of Hello Kitty Island adventure feels oddly similar to the 2000s hit series Lost, except the stewardess is Hello Kitty.
Once you get past the tutorial portions, you enter the relaxing cycle thatAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsperfected. Your first hour or two is spent meeting Sanrio characters, trading gifts, and saying “yes, no problem” to enough quests to keep you busy for a week.
Hello Kitty Island Adventureadds a little more flavor to each NPC, compared to its competitors.Each member of Sanrio’s vast roster has a little something to offer. For example, Badtz-Maru likes to trade comics, while Hello Kitty teaches you about baking, and so on.
Once you get past the game’s initial “hello neighbor” phase,Hello Kitty Island Adventurelets you roam about to find your feet and get those tasks done.
Impeccable Release Timing
If you frequent anyAnimal Crossingspace, you are probably familiar with how many forums and threads turn into echo chambers. “The game is boring; there’s nothing to do, and I wish Nintendo would release something else.”
I don’t agree with this sentiment, considering how many hours I have (and will continue to) put intoAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, but there’sa massive, hungry player base looking for something new.
Hello Kitty Island Adventureplays into that well, not only because of its obvious inspiration fromAnimal Crossing, but also becausethe developers put a lot of thought into keeping the gameplay engaging.
A lot of slow-paced games have a rushed start with a lot of talking and quests to do before fizzling out, butHello Kitty Island Adventurehas characters, quests, and activities that refresh frequently and don’t get stale.
Playing the game has a smooth progression thatunlocks new customizationitems, but getting there does not feel likea major grindand does not funnel you into one progression path or the other. That’s no small feat for something borne out of a mobile game.
A Closer Look At Kitty
The looks could have been one of the selling points ofHello Kitty Island Adventure, but it is not quite as polished and pretty as I’d like. That said, Sunblink hit it out of the park when translating Sanrio’s iconic art style into the 3D world.
The characters look adorable, the details are all there, and none of those who jumped from 2D to 3D for the first time look weird. That takes talent.
The big problem is that Hello Kitty, the star of the show, looks off.It’s as if Kitty was an afterthought in the modeling team, and I cannot fathom why she did not get more attention.
I can’t quite put together what it is, but moving about the island doesn’t exactly feel nice. My best guess would be that the camera and controls are not translating too well to the Switch from the mobile version.
The art direction leans hard on replicatinga cozy atmosphere, but the result feels a little more “modern-dayNeopets” than “Animal Crossing”. That’s not to say it is bad, but it could have benefited from being harder on the ‘cute’ aspect rather than childish.
There are some interface aspects that feel like unintended mobile legacies, like the huge font sizes and buttons, but that works out well enough through the Nintendo Switch Lite’s screen. Smaller fonts with more info on certain menus would have been nice, though not a critical shortcoming.
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For a game where most of your interactions are through dialogue, there’s a bizarre bug where you clip into virtuallyevery NPCunless you go out of your way to start conversations at the maximum distance.
At a glance, this should not be something hard to patch out, but I don’t get why this made it this far into development in the first place.
A Perfect Time-Killer
The game’s childish appearance hides plenty of depth, includingan engaging world and story that makes you want to reach the bottom of it without stressing out about leveling up or grindingunlocks instead of focusing on the game itself.
The pricing is fair within industry standards, though there needs to be a conversation about the pricing of Switch games versus how much enjoyment they bring.
Hello Kitty Island Adventurecosts $39.99, which is considerably better thanPokémontitles going for $59.99 for a pretty short playtime (exceptPokémon Legends: Arceus).
Closing Comments
Hello Kitty Island Adventure
Reviewed on Nintendo Switch
WHERE TO PLAY
If you’re craving a game to play during idle hours, be it a flight or chilling after a long day at work, it does not get much better than Hello Kitty Island Adventure. It’s not good enough to take time away from that shiny new release you’ve waited months for, but it excels at being a constant companion without much pretense.
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