Hello Kitty Island Adventure Review

Despite my curiosity for Sunblink's Hello Kitty Island Adventure, I didn't immediately buy the game because so many content creators and people in the community seemed to be on the fence about whether the title was good or not. Now that I've played it for 100 hours, I very well understand why there was a split, as the game, which was initially released for Apple Arcade back in 2021, takes a while to open up.

For those who aren't familiar, Hello Kitty Island Adventure is an Animal Crossing–like title where players get stranded on a mysterious island alongside the Sanrio cast. This is what makes the first distinction from Nintendo's cosy title, as Sunblink's is chock-full of story and mystery revolving around what happened to the resort and why its condition has deteriorated.

While the narrative and subsequent quests are obviously very lighthearted (I think people forget this game is aimed at children), it doesn't mean they're not charming. I constantly laugh at the silly dialogue and situations that happen, which have slowly helped me get to know the Sanrio cast — the group of characters I only recognised as merchandise, especially growing up.

The narrative premise is that the cast ends up roped up trying to find out what the island's past is, and this is further aided by three recurring characters: a glitchy host and two twins that mysteriously appear and disappear, Kiki and Lala. I won't go into too much detail because, as I said, it's not a very deep story, so I'd rather players get to experience it. My only hope is that everyone who picks up the title understands the depth the story can go into, as it's a lighthearted cosy Hello Kitty Island Adventure.

As I played through the game, I was pleasantly surprised at how massive the world map is, especially the more I unlocked. Every area is very different from the others, and each one has its own collectibles and mini-games to experience. Although the camera angle is atrocious (especially at the beginning, before I was used to it, and even still now in the underwater world), it's fun to run around and explore every nook and cranny, catching critters, fish, and various materials.

What stood out to me the most as days went on and I became more familiar with each zone was the magnificent soundtracks they all have! I'm not one to notice audio very often — I even forget to touch on it in most of my reviews — but it's hard not to notice the outstanding and unique blend of music! This is perhaps the first title I'm ever disappointed that I cannot buy the music on Steam.

The reason hitting 100 hours made me realise why no one seemed to agree on whether the game was good is because Hello Kitty Island Adventure takes a while to open up. Before it did, I assumed I had hit the gameplay loop, and I thought it was so unengaging that I stopped playing it for a while; thankfully, I returned to it and stuck around.

The mobile roots are evident throughout some of the gameplay, and not in a bad way. There are a lot of instances where players will find themselves gated by the game and having to wait a day (sometimes more) to see the ending of a quest or event. It's not unheard of, of course, as games like Cozy Grove and the Animal Crossing franchise do it too, and I think it's all the better for it.

Another evident leftover from the Apple Arcade beginnings are the login rewards. Every time players boot the game, they get something: sometimes it's materials (even important ones), other times it's cosmetics... but it is NEVER tied to the dreaded FOMO seen everywhere in phone titles.

How each player goes about their daily journey is up to them, but I usually log in, cook and craft everyone's gifts, and then I go and hand them over while collecting materials on my way to each character. Once that's done and dusted, I check for any quests or events available, and I move on to that!

As areas and characters unlock, there are plenty more things to look forward to, especially if you're a fan of collecting. Sunblink did a phenomenal job at making the satisfying dopamine of achievements be tied to everything you do in the game, from befriending the various characters to owning every item possible and catching all the fish and critters. This extends to the Steam achievements, which have been a joy to get!

Speaking of characters, there is more than just the main Sanrio cast to befriend. While some of them are just visitors that players can unlock, inviting them over to the island by decorating a cabin for them (think Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer), there are some that unlock as the story progresses. These also have friendship quests and rewards, including new furniture and clothing.

This brings me to one of my favourite aspects of Hello Kitty Island Adventure — you can play as an animal. I'm a big sucker for embodying adorable avatars in-game, and Sunblink did an incredible job at offering a nice variety, each with a customisable face, body type, fur pattern, and colour. They even added four new species recently: frogs, toads, axolotls, and bears.

The clothing is very varied in style, each in-game event bringing new things to collect, expanding the wardrobe even further. Some of the characters will even unlock matching outfits with the player through friendship quests, and they can be asked to change their style any time, too!

When I was new to the Hello Kitty Island Adventure, I was very confused about the events, especially as someone who has been in the gacha and live-service games space for so long (thankfully, not anymore). These aren't anything like those genres, as players can look forward to collecting everything next year again; Sunblink also tends to send an in-game email with tons of the event currency.

Aside from lacking the horrendous FOMO, they work very similarly: players need to look around for special items around the island to use as currency, which unlocks various cosmetics and furniture items. These events also usually involve one or more of the Sanrio cast, which makes them feel much more personal and alive; so far, my favourite has been the Christmas one.

These items can also be used to decorate the cabin for the upcoming visitors, and players are encouraged to revisit them, as characters can love their room up to five hearts. I've spent several hours getting their rooms right and returning to check on residents to see what else I can do to with them! As someone who loves decorating, this is a massive plus.

Although you unfortunately can't decorate the island, the game is still getting updates to this day, including free ones and a recently released DLC. Perhaps there will be more features unveiled in the future, though that remains to be seen.

Despite taking a long hiatus from the game, thinking I had seen everything there was to see, I returned to pick up where I left off without any guilt-tripping or issues. This opens the possibility for those with busy schedules or anxious minds to take a break when they need to, returning to Hello Kitty Island Adventure at their own time and pace — a welcome change from other titles.

It has become a daily routine for me to log into the game because it climbed its way to one of my favourite games. It brought a breath of fresh air to a genre that isn’t getting stale but does suffer from a cloning problem. Mixing in adventure and narrative with a cast of beloved franchise characters was just what this sort of title needed!

Hello Kitty Island Adventure is well worth the pickup, especially if you love the Sanrio cast or are willing to stick to it until it opens up. Once it does, you'll find nothing but charm and effort all across the various layers of this phenomenal title!