Two words I never thought I would say in the same sentence are “bold” and “Sanrio,” so let’s savour this together. Hello Kitty Island Adventure is a very bold statement from Sanrio. The idea of putting out a game that is so clearly inspired by Animal Crossing would be daunting to most companies, but here we are. Join all of your favourite Hello Kitty characters as they venture to a strange island, set up shop, help out friends, and decorate! 

So first things first, yes this is a social life simulator much like Animal Crossing, you will have the chance to make friends, decorate your home, and invite new people to live on your island. One of the main changes from what someone might be used to, this game has a lot more “game” to it. Instead of just turning it on to talk to people, dig up fossils, and check the shop, you’re given actual quests. Everyone has tasks they need help with at some point. With these quests, you’ll have a choice between adventuring on your own, or asking any of the friends you make to come along with you. On top of that, you can turn a guiding light on and off, in case you decide you’re too much of a gamer to have any help. Nothing wrong with however you play, Hello Kitty Island Adventure is inclusive of all play styles!

To step back from the comparisons to other games, there doesn’t seem to be a variety of islands when you start the game. Instead, if you were to start the game again it would play much the same which could take away from the enjoyment of replays, but there’s also a ton to do in your playthroughs that you’re not too likely to run out of things to do as it is. Not being bound to a limit on how much you can do day to day is really nice. It’s also fun being able to make your own Sanrio character, choose your animal, your patterns and colours, and as you progress through the quests and make better friends with characters, you’ll unlock more options that you can change at any time!

While time in the game progresses at its own pace, meaning you don’t need to wait until nighttime, your time to be able to be on the game at night, there are reasons to come back daily or seasonally. First off, there are daily items that you can collect for playing the game each day, but there’s no pressure to play every single day. You don’t get punished if you miss a day or two here and there.

Secondly, which is the reason you may want to come back day-by-day, is that there are seasonal friends that can come visit your island. For instance, Cappuccino is a springtime friend and becomes available during that season of the year. While these friends are available, you can rebuild houses and decorate them with what each character requests, and then invite them to come live as a permanent fixture on your island. Personally, this is a really interesting mechanic that allows you to really build your island the way you want, even if it doesn’t change from playthrough to playthrough. There are also a lot more spaces available for friends to move to your island, meaning you’re not quite as limited or pressured into leaving some people out that you really like just because they’re not available until autumn.

The art is incredibly cute, as it should be, being a Sanrio game. There are some segments where the frames really start to slow down a bit, but it’s not horrendous and it’s usually so far and few between that it won’t destroy your experience. The music is pretty much as relaxing as you would probably expect for the type of social sim game that it is. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the music, it fits, but you’re not going to go looking for the music to listen to in your spare time like you might with other games. That is unless you struggle with insomnia, these types of games always have sleepy time music.

Hello Kitty Island Adventure is a lot of fun and will easily scratch the itch for a lot of people that have been sitting on Animal Crossing: New Horizons for the past five years. I’m almost not surprised anymore that Sanrio managed to make a better social sim than Nintendo has been able to, and I’m absolutely not complaining at all. Adorable characters mixed with some relaxing gameplay really lets you melt away from the world for a little bit without some raccoon harassing you about your debt.

 

Graphics: 7.5 An incredibly cute game that does run into some graphical issues here and there, but not enough to ruin the enjoyment at all.	Gameplay: 9.0 I never expected to want this much “gameplay” from my social sim games, but this is the perfect balance between just enjoying your time and running around helping friends out.
Sound: 6.5 The music and everything else absolutely matches the game, there’s no doubt about that. It’s nothing massively special, but it fits in perfectly for a relaxing experience.	Fun Factor: 10 Whether you play RPGs, FPS, or social sims, there’s something here for everyone. Gamers and non-gamers can easily sit down have have a good experience together playing this.
Final Verdict: 9.0

Hello Kitty Island Adventure is available now on PC, PlayStation 4/5, and Nintendo Switch.

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch.

A copy of Hello Kitty Island Adventure was provided by the publisher.