I love it when a game subverts your expectations. Most of the time they hit the same beats.

You are a hero, you do hero things, and overcoming everything in your way is totally fine no matter what you do. A game like Spec Ops The Line was an early example where you thought you were in for a dumb generic shooter but that ending changed your whole experience. Spoiler, you were not a good guy. Minute of Islands was not what I expected.

The first thing you will notice is the absolutely cracking art style and animation. It has that weird Adventure Time design style but with a totally unique looking world. It’s familiar, but not so much in games. This immediately led me into thinking the game would be a nice chill adventure. I was wrong.

Minute of Islands has Mo waking and going up to the surface on her island to find the place is filled with a toxin as the island decays. It turns out giants usually make the air filters work on the island but they have mysteriously stopped doing their job. Mo then journeys out to get these air purifiers working again to save her island. You know, classic hero stuff.

I won’t go into spoilers too much as the narrative is pretty key to what the game has to offer, but basically Mo’s role as a hero is a lonely one. We get a lot of flashbacks and narrative moments that give us insight into her dark life. There were times where the story dragged on a bit in between game-play moments. It certainly needs the time, but doesn’t always feel like it is earned.

The main issue is the beautiful aesthetic. The game looks bloody gorgeous, but because you play on a 2D plane it becomes ridiculously hard to figure out the difference between what you can and can’t touch. I regularly had to mash buttons hoping to find an object I could interact with or try everything to see what I could walk on or climb. This is because the foreground, background, and interactive objects all blend together. Again, super beautiful, pain in the hole to play.

The gameplay is good enough. It is super basic, and the puzzles generally don’t get hard. Fortunately the game doesn’t last too long but even I wasn’t caring for the gameplay by the end. That’s kinda the issue with those long dialogue moments, they aren’t a reward after a lot of great gameplay.

Minute of Islands is a pretty good game. It looks amazing and has a story that is well worth experiencing. You’ll be in for some basic gameplay that works well, but is basic. That plus trying to figure out what you can touch and what you can look at.

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Publisher Mixtvision has announced that their title Minute of Islands by Studio Fizbin – one of Germany’s most distinctive indie developers is out now.

The narrative puzzle-platform adventure has been nominated for multiple awards at international game events and festivals and earned a devoted following due to its highly distinctive visuals and intriguing storyline.

Minute of Islands places players on a strange and beautiful archipelago.

Polluted by dangerous spores, the only thing that keeps the islands safe are ancient antennas built by Giants when they lived alongside people.

Now, these ancient machines are failing, and it is left to plucky young engineer Mo to repair them using her versatile Omni Switch tool. Driven to protect her family and friends, Mo sets out on her incredible quest to repair the machines and save the islands, but soon discovers that not everything is as it seems with the damage running farther and deeper than her worst fears.

It’s a thoughtful tale designed to make players examine their priorities through Mo, as she faces her subconscious and finds that her drive and ambition are not the assets she believes them to be. 

Minute of Islands has a bold art style that sees each frame individually handcrafted by Studio Fizbin’s team of artists and illustrators.

Every island is painstakingly drawn, filling the world with details that beg to be explored as they invite players to discover the island inhabitants’ hidden stories.

This illustrative style combines with a nuanced tale filled with reflection and an atmospheric soundtrack to create a world that feels both alive but abandoned at the same time.

Players can prepare to lose themselves in the islands’ mystery as they shine a light on the harsh realities of the surface and delve into the dark secrets that reside below.

Minute of Islands has released on Steam, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. The game will release on Xbox One on June 15th 2021.

Minute of Islands is also compatible with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles.

The post Minute of Islands is Now appeared first on Shane the Gamer.