Petit Island Review

Developer: Xelo Games

Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), PS5, Switch, Xbox Series X|S

Gene(s): Adventure, RPG

Publisher: Soedesco

Petit Island is a charming open-world narrative exploration game. The game was developed by Xelo Games and published by Soedesco. Games similar to Petit Island would be Europa, A Season: Letter to the Future and more. Petit Island is currently available on PS5, Switch and Xbox Series X|S. This review was done for the PC.

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Petit Island is a single-player game where an opening cutscene sets the story of your Grandpaw Felix struggling to remember his memories. Lily ends up finding Grandpaw’s old journal and heads off to Petit Island in order to restore Grandpaw’s fading memories. Lily meets locals in hopes of restoring faded photos, collecting items to piece together Grandpaw’s journal to refrain him from forgetting.

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The controls for Petit Island are nicely mapped on the screen, so you are always familiar with interactions. At first, you start the game by dressing up Lily to your liking, and upon her arrival at Petit Island, a guide gives her a breakdown of mechanics and tips. The controls worked smoothly and had no noticeable delays. I would say that this game is perfect to be played with a controller as it fits the cosy vibe.

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The art style of Petit Island is bright, colourful, and distinctly stylized, capturing the essence of tropical landscapes and cosy visuals. Its cartoonish 3D design features endearing anthropomorphic characters, including the protagonist, Lily, a kitten. The characters you get to meet whilst exploring Petit Island have their unique characteristics and designs, which make them look vibrant. The game’s visuals convey a warm, family-friendly tone, with lush greenery, picturesque beaches, and vibrant villages inspired by tropical islands like those in Indonesia. The environment has a great balance between simplicity and detail, where details are put together to bring about this colourful life that is portrayed through the characters and items. One of my favourite parts about the visuals in Grandpaw’s journal is that it hardly leaves any details out and looks like a well-told scrapbook put together. The charming animations, such as Lily skipping or gliding with an umbrella, enhance the atmosphere the game wants the player to delve into. The visuals invite players to interact and explore several activities throughout the island. Sound effects and melodies accompanying the visuals are not overpowering and remind me of Animal Crossing. Where the text between characters is mumbled, gibberish and soft instrumentals play in the back as you explore. The music is upbeat and tends to change between each area, which is really immersive.

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The game is perfect when embodying an open-world exploration game as you can do everything at your own pace; not only that, but it offers a lot for players to do. At first, Petit Island is a beautifully crafted narrative that does not leave the player astray but emphasizes the beauty that comes from interactions. Petit Island plays in a way where you are able to complete main quests alongside side quests. Quests are shown on land with big exclamation marks, making it so players do not miss what needs to be done. Sometimes, it did feel that the game was directing you exactly to what needed to be done, which may take away from the exploration part of the game, but rather, it creates a free-roaming, cosy experience. Additionally, the use of Grandpaw’s journal is so handy as it helps keep track of everything Lily has done or needs to do whilst adding cute drawings/sketches.

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As I said earlier, Petit Island is filled with activities that players can keep themselves occupied without getting bored. One of my favourite activities in the game was photography. Some tasks ask for Lily to take pictures, and this truly made me admire the visuals, soft-toned colour and details that were put into making a lovely island. Fishing and catching bugs was also really fun, as I would find myself keeping an eye out for insects to bring out my net. Most of the gameplay did remind me of Animal Crossing, but the narrative developed in Petit Island adds to the charm. None of the mechanics are tricky or overcomplicated, which is perfect for a soothing feel.

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Petit Island is perfect for a slow-paced experience where you do not need to feel rushed with completing quests or reaching the end of the story. I found myself completing game achievements as it got me to interact with every character and explore every bit of the island, making the gameplay much fun. Traversing through the island was quite enjoyable as you could buy animals for transport or glide from hills. Focusing on the story of the game, I found it to be roughly 5 hours of gameplay, and that excludes side quests; therefore, gameplay time can lengthen accordingly.

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Petit Island is a beautiful game where you play as a kitten, Lily, who goes to explore an island in order to help restore her Grandpaw’s memories. The game’s charm comes from the stunning visuals and interactions that are told through meeting islanders and completing tasks. Enjoy a cosy game where you get to traverse through charming landscapes accompanied by relaxing music. Take on fishing, bug catching and photography as you build up your Grandpaw’s journal; if you’re looking for a game that you can wind down to, then be sure to check out Petit Island.

Overall: 8/10