About Islands:
Bottom line: This is not a game. it’s a simple story with nice drawings that progresses too slowly while forcing you to go through the motions. I’ll start with the good: the drawings & animations are amazing! Together with the sound, it sets an interesting atmosphere. However, other than that there’s not much of a game. There’s a story, but it’s pretty flat, and it’s told on a level that resembles a children’s book – although this game is certainly not intended for children. The story is extremely linear. It might look like a point-and-click adventure, but you can’t interact with basically anything (which is a real shame with all of the intricate artwork) and the forced linearity ruins any feeling of adventure. Even when given 2 tasks that in theory can be done in any order, the game mechanics still force you to do them in a very particular order. The tasks themselves are very basic, it would be a stretch to call them puzzles. Meanwhile, the game also tries to be some kind of simple platformer, but it’s a very janky one with weird controls. So I received this game as part of a Humble Bundle and it is not the typical sort of game I would play. I thought it would be a nice change from the typical high intensity games I play, so I gave it a shot. What this game is: It is a great “experience”. It is a short-animated-film mixed with basic game mechanics. It works very very well. I had to let go of my impatience around slow cut scenes and loss of control as the camera pans somewhere. The story is interesting, unique and I still have many questions about what is going on (only 2.5 hours in – though I think it is a short game). This is a “grab a beverage”, “sit back” and enjoy, type of game. Movement is fluid and animations are done well. Narration and visuals are well done and interesting. The music suites the milieu. What it is not: It is not a fast paced 2D action scroller.
