2 days ago
Hello Kitty Island Adventure (PS5) Review
Two years in the cycle of gaming trends can feel like a very long time, and it's hard to believe it's been that long since Hello Kitty Island Adventure parachuted onto Apple Arcade.
At that time, Sunblink's cozy take on Sanrio's most beloved (and marketable) characters was a novelty on a couple of levels—for existing at all, for being a decent run at Animal Crossing's life sim crown, and for being an exclusive for Apple Arcade. iOS' platform still has few true exclusives or console-quality games to call its own (and even fewer now), and Hello Kitty Island Adventure offered something substantial to a wide audience.
Two years later, all the bright colours and whimsy are headed to PlayStation 5. I revisited Sunblink's island getaway on console and found that all the charm is still intact—but making it more universally accessible is both a good and a bad thing.
On Apple Arcade, Hello Kitty Island Adventure was a big fish in a small pond. The mobile platform had no real competitors in terms of scope or genre, and it was worth subscribing to the service just to check it out. On PS5 (and Nintendo Switch, for that matter), it's more of a medium fish in a much larger pond—and the water isn't quite the right temperature.
'Starting fresh on the island two years later, I was struck again by the variety of gameplay in Hello Kitty Island Adventure.'
For the average cozy game fan, there are now plenty of other options with more recognizable or content-rich properties behind them. That said, despite the wider variety of cozy games on Switch, Hello Kitty Island Adventure still feels like a perfect tonal fit for the platform—especially thanks to its portability.
That being said, as one might imply from the license alone, this island expedition is a dash of much-needed kid-friendly content for PlayStation. It's not a 'kids' game,' but it is accessible for all ages. Though there are plenty of life sims and cozy games in the PlayStation library, Sony's shores have been lacking in this Animal Crossing level of welcoming gameplay—simple enough for young kids, but not so unstimulating that adults can't engage.
Starting fresh on the island two years later, I was struck again by the variety of gameplay in Hello Kitty Island Adventure. The standard genre conventions are all here, introduced gradually through a series of tutorial quests. Before long, you're foraging, cooking, fishing and catching critters—either to expand your collection or hand out to villagers. These elements are familiar and well-executed, but they don't aim for mechanical innovation.
Every so often, though, the game introduces something a little different—like puzzles in a hidden temple or even a haunted house. From a surprisingly early point, you can craft a snorkel and dive freely into a fully realized underwater layer. It's a refreshing change from the usual cozy game routine, and a clever way to ease younger players into more complex gameplay.
It's not a perfect balance, and there were times I found myself frustrated with the game's tendency to time-gate progress. For example, Hello Kitty only hands out one recipe per day. Gifting limits, while arguably necessary, also slow things down—especially since many key unlocks depend on levelling up multiple characters. Still, this kind of pacing is par for the course in a genre that encourages players to slow down and savour the mundane.
Hello Kitty Island Adventure benefits greatly in the move from mobile to home consoles. If you weren't already using a proper controller or gaming grip to play it on iOS (and why wouldn't you?), the jump from touchscreen controls to a full-fledged controller is a huge improvement. The PS5's hardware also brings this edition a notch up the ladder from the Switch edition, rendering all the vibrant colours in a noticeably better resolution. It's a decent tradeoff from having the game available portably.
This time around, I also had the added benefit of starting Hello Kitty Island Adventure with a more robust lineup of unlockables and rotating content, thanks to two years of post-launch support. That's set to expand even further later this year with the game's first DLC, Wheatflour Wonderland.
If you're looking for an Animal Crossing-style fix on PlayStation, Hello Kitty Island Adventure is an easy recommendation. You don't need to know anything about Hello Kitty or Sanrio's roster, and it's one of the coziest games in the 'cozy' genre. Much like Disney Illusion Island, it's great to see another audience get the chance to explore this colourful little world.
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