Developer: MegaWobble
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Genre: Action, Adventure
Publisher: Playtonic Games
Lil Gator is a cosy action-adventure game with a heartwarming storyline. This game was developed by MegaWobble and published by Playtonic Games. Games similar to Lil Gator Game would be Pine Hearts and A Short Hike. This review was done for the PC, but the game is also available for the Switch, PS5, Xbox, and macOS.
Lil Gator Game is exactly what it sounds like: you play as a tiny gator who has taken on a heroic name of your choosing and is fully committed to the bit of being a legendary hero. Growing up, Lil Gator and his older sister would spend hours creating these extravagant imaginary adventures together. She would design entire worlds for them to explore. But as she got older and left for university, those adventures slowly stopped.
When she comes home for break, Lil Gator makes it a personal mission to show her that the magic of their childhood world is still alive. What starts on a small island gradually opens into a huge playground on a bigger island, where Gator and his friends have built their own fantasy town. The entire journey is wholesome, nostalgic and surprisingly emotional.
The gameplay is simple, smooth and intentionally stress-free. Lil Gator Game is a single-player casual action adventure where there is no real danger. No health bar. No fear of losing progress. You can float to the sky with balloons, destroy cardboard monsters, and it is all part of the fun. Most of the game revolves around completing quests across the island. These range from fetching items, saving ‘trapped’ townsfolk from cardboard monsters, to even participating in a full-blown courtroom discussion. Every quest feels different enough to stay engaging.
Combat is not serious, and that is the point. You break cardboard monsters with toy weapons, watching them shatter into satisfying little pieces. There is something oddly therapeutic about swinging your weapons and seeing bits of cardboard fly everywhere. It perfectly captures that childhood feeling. You collect confetti throughout the island, which you use to craft cosmetics like hats, shields, weapons and accessories. These are not just for visuals, but accessories have functionality. Balloons let you glide higher, shurikens let you hit monsters stuck on balloons, and different shields give you a little movement boost.
I spent a lot of time just experimenting with different gear combinations as they each slightly change the mobility animations, but most importantly, they served cute aesthetics for lil gator. The game may be short; it took me around 4.5 hours to 100% complete, achievements included, but not once did it feel boring. Every minute felt intentional and playful.
The art style is genuinely adorable. The world is bright, colourful, and filled with quirky animal characters that are instantly lovable. Each NPC has such a distinct personality that interacting with them makes you want to recruit them into your fantasy town immediately. One of my favourite small details is Lil Gator’s little waddle when walking. It gives Lil Gator a childlike presence that perfectly matches the tone of the game. The cardboard monsters look like something straight out of a kids’ sketchbook, messy, imaginative and fitting. The peaceful soundtrack ties everything together beautifully. There is a serene, almost autumn-like ambience to it. It never overpowers the experience, but it constantly reinforces a warm, nostalgic vibe that the game is going for.
Lil Gator Game lies in exploration and recruitment. As you explore the island, you meet new characters who each request something from you. Completing their quests brings them into your growing playground fantasy town. The structure feels open and never overwhelming. You can wander freely, climb almost anything, glide across high mountains and just enjoy the game at your own pace. What makes it special is the fantasy world the game builds. It commits so hard to the imagination that you, as the player, get roped into it completely. Even though you know it is cardboard and make-believe, it still feels like you are saving the world!
This game genuinely made me feel like a little kid again. Running around, breaking cardboard monsters, and building a fantasy town with friends unlocks a sense of nostalgia but also puts you into the perspective of Lil Gators’ older sister. Even though the game is short, it tells a story that leaves you with a warm feeling. Lil Gator Game was originally released in 2022, and recently, the developers released a DLC called ‘Lil Gator Game: In The Dark’.
The In The Dark DLC expands the world of Lil Gator Gme in a way that feels natural rather than forced. I mean, what’s another adventure Lil Gator cannot take on! This time, Gator and his friends encounter the Darklord, a bratty pig who threatens to destroy their beloved fantasy cardboard town. Determined to stop him, Gator and his friends chase Darklord and his minions underground into a sprawling cave system. While the core premise remains the same, the stakes feel slightly higher, and the story is more eventful.
The DLC introduces refreshing new mechanics. Instead of collecting stamina bracelets like in the base game, you now earn charms that dangle off your weapons. These charms grant special abilities like double jumping, twirling and other movement abilities. This adds more depth to traversal and platforming, especially because the cave system has several layers and intertwining vines.
The underground cave system is stunning. The atmosphere shift between the base game and the DLC is noticeable immediately. You move from bright autumn islands to darker, moodier environments filled with stalagmites, pools of water, winding tunnels, and branching vines that get Lil Gator to crawl into hidden-away crevices. The lighting underground is beautiful. It creates a cosy yet mysterious tone that makes exploring this maze-like cave system magical. Even the characters match the environment, from spiders, axolotls, and other creatures that belong underground. Their designs are somehow even more charming than before.
The DLC keeps the same quest-based structure but enhances it by incorporating little mini-games and once again adding variation to interactive quests. Character interactions will always remain a highlight in this game. I mean the distinct typing style for each character emphasises their personalities and mood, which continues to add charm. Despite the darker setting, it never loses that playful spirit. It still feels like kids playing hero with some sense of coming-of-age ideologies.
What I loved most about In The Dark is that it does not try to create a completely different game from the base game, but rather expands on it. You still get to enjoy the playful thrill, but it’s a more atmospheric environment. With the addition of deeper mechanics and the perfect villain for the heroic story, it creates that wholesome experience that players will continue to enjoy.
Lil Gator Game reminds you why games are fun in the first place. It is wholesome, creative, and charming. Whether you are a kid or someone older who wants to reconnect with childhood imagination, this game does just that. And if you have already played the base game, In The Dark is definitely worth checking out. It builds beautifully on the original story and deepens the world in an eventful way.
If you have not played either yet, I would honestly recommend grabbing the complete edition and experiencing the story between both adventures. Lil Gator Game may be a small game, but it comes with a big heart!
Overall: 10/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
