Sometimes you’ll play a game, and everything about it will click into place for you, making the entire experience feel custom-made for you. This is exactly how I felt about Minute of Islands. Now I would like nothing more than to enthral you with a tale about how I had followed the game since its inception or admired it from afar. The truth is, I ended up buying and playing Minute of Islands because the game was ridiculously cheap, and I had store credit.
But how I ended up coming across Minute of Islands is neither here nor there; in reality, the only thing that matters is that I did end up playing it (even if the stars had to align to make it happen) and that Minute of Islands is a magnificent game. In the game, players take control of a young engineer named Mo, who lives on a small set of islands with her family.
However, as is apt to happen in video games, all is not sunshine and roses, and soon the world around Mo and her family becomes engulfed by deadly toxic spores. The only thing keeping Mo’s island the same is a group of mysterious titans who live underground, and it’s Mo’s job to keep the titans alive. So basically, who needs drugs when you can play Minute of Islands?
First, let’s address Minute of Islands’s most significant pull from the word go: the art style. The game is completely and utterly beautiful, and even while playing, it feels so fluid and alive that it’s hard to look away. But just because the graphics are easy on the eyes doesn’t mean this is a game aimed at children. While the game starts players off in the shallow end, before long, the actual weight of the story starts to creep up on you.
And then, to top off an already masterfully unique experience, puzzle platforming elements scattered throughout that help keep the game interesting without ever tipping the scales to the side of frustration instead.
