More

    Hello Kitty Island Adventure Preview – A Massive Adventure Awaits

    A cozy adventure arrives next year.

    Recently, I had the opportunity to preview Hello Kitty Island Adventure on Nintendo Switch at Summer Game Fest ahead of the game’s reveal at today’s Nintendo Direct. While the build I played was heavily a work in progress, I came away extremely impressed by the vision and the scale of this project, which is currently exclusive to Apple Arcade.

    Hello Kitty Island Adventure might seem like a familiar game like Animal Crossing New Horizons, but it is so much more than that. While it certainly takes from popular simulation and farming titles, Hello Kitty Island Adventure features a significant story to progress through, all sorts of unlockable mini-games, and dozens of areas to explore. Each character you encounter on your island has their own likes and dislikes, questlines, and more. To navigate through the game’s story, you’ll need to befriend each of these friends on your island and grow your bonds to earn items, uncover pieces of the mystery, and build up your community.

    Exploration is a key focus of Hello Kitty Island Adventure. While you can certainly explore the overworld of the island as much as you’d like, the real depth comes from the ability to climb hills, mountains, and valleys. Similar to the latest The Legend of Zelda titles, a stamina meter is utilized in this adventure. You will need to increase your stamina to reach the highest mountains and hills, which could contain fascinating discoveries. Exploration also extends beneath the surface, with swimming and diving available. Shipwrecks and coral reefs are waiting to be discovered, and you can dive in with a friend to find all sorts of treasures.

    Another thing that stood out during my time with the game was the incredible art direction. The entire world is so vibrant and filled with colors, which complements the art style incredibly well. Each character is stylized and meshes together in this bright and tropical destination. 

    Speaking of characters, there are so many different events and activities to participate in with your friends in Hello Kitty Island Adventure! Weekly Quests will challenge you with new items to collect and find each week. You can craft gifts for each of the characters and learn exactly what they like and don’t like. In addition, there are hundreds of items to collect. The list goes on and on, but it’s important to stress just how much content is available in this game.

    I mentioned this in the opening of my preview, but this build I played was rough as the team has just begun the porting effort from Apple Arcade to Nintendo Switch. That being said, I downloaded the game on my iPhone following my preview appointment, and it ran great with no performance issues at all. I’m extremely confident that the team at Sunblink will release the game on consoles with great performance, especially considering that the demo I played was so early in development. 

    I was blown away by the sheer amount of content available in Hello Kitty Island Adventure. When talking with developers at Sunblink in my preview session, I was told that the game currently offers anywhere from 80-100 hours of content, with dozens more on the way with updates. The game receives massive updates multiple times per year, and that is only expected to strengthen as it jumps to new platforms. 

    Overall, I’m extremely excited to see how the community receives Hello Kitty Island Adventure when it jumps outside of Apple Arcade for the first time. This really does feel like a title primed to be a massive hit with fans of cozy or simulation titles, as it has all kinds of features that some might not even expect to find within the genre. There’s genuinely something for everyone, and I cannot say that about most titles.

    Hello Kitty Island Adventure is available now on Apple Arcade. The game will launch for PC and Nintendo Switch in 2025, followed by PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in 2025 after the Switch exclusivity period ends.

    Noah Hunter
    Noah Hunter
    Noah is Final Weapon’s Editor-in-Chief. He co-founded the website in June 2019 and has been writing for it ever since. In total, he has over six years of writing experience across many publications, including IGN Entertainment. His favorite series include Xeno and Final Fantasy.

    Latest articles

    Latest Articles