Petit Island Review (PC)

I’m mulling over the fumes of a warm brew, mindfully inhaling the endorphins of a sacred spirit that once paved the way for adventure. I’m listening to his stories, and I’m wondering where the latest chapter in his anthology will take us. He tells me that his memories are gradually fading, and that, should I choose to continue to prolong the journey that he tried so desperately to forge, I should return to the root of his adolescent dreams. He opens his journal, and he begins to untangle a world that, to my knowledge, has the delicacies of a storybook where elegance and whimsy are commonplace. I want to go there. No, I must go there, if only to rekindle the memories of an eccentric explorer who had the courage to go beyond the shores of an idyllic world. At first dawn, I will travel to Petit Island.

Petit Island, much like the cozy open-world keepsakes that have come before it, takes us to a quaint and seemingly fruitful locale where enchanting beaches and panoramic views are the bones of which it builds upon. Also like its counterparts—stories that often revolve around a simple yet digestible ideology of mortality—Petit Island sees you, the avid adventurer, as an opportunity to learn, develop, and ultimately become more acquainted with the concept of losing one’s most precious memories. Granted, it doesn’t have the emotional impact that you would expect from such a touching concept, but the message still stands: memories are invaluable, and should therefore be shared, celebrated, and in this case, preserved. And that, in short, is what Petit Island wants to tell you: that memories are worth capturing.

Tell Me a Story

Petit Island paints an incredibly simple picture, one that depicts the life of a young girl—Lilly—and her eventual arrival at a remote location known as Petit Island. Lilly, in a bid to rekindle her grandfather’s legacy, is given a task: capture the beating heart of the world through the lens of a camera, and compile a photo album to bring back home to her wayward grandfather. Naturally, filling the album in question is merely a small portion of the adventure here; the local inhabitants also have their own stories to share with you, and not to mention short quests for you to embark upon, too. However, the breadth of the game itself is still pretty self explanatory: complete the album, and walk in your grandfather’s footsteps to embrace his childhood memories.

Petit Island is an open-world game at heart, and so, naturally, there isn’t a correct way of doing things, per se; on the contrary, the world is more or less handed to you in a way that lets you explore, interact, and enjoy its every nook and cranny at your own leisure. There are characters to meet, activities to unravel, and of course, landmarks to capture with your trusty camera. And, as for how you choose to tackle these rather generic yet oddly enjoyable tasks in your diary is entirely up to you; catch a bug here, go fishing over there, and track down one of grandpa’s old friends if and when you’re ready to nudge the next milestone forward. There isn’t much else to it than that, to be honest. So, like I said — cozy, but not to the point where you’ll be sitting around doing nothing at all.

Where the Wild Things Are

The game begins with a good old-fashioned character creation suite—a relatively bite-sized yet elegant menu that essentially allows you to kit out your own feline with all the bells and whistles of a natural-born explorer. From there, you’re given the opportunity to explore this vast open space—Petit Island—which includes a select number of biomes to explore, folks to converse with, and comprehendible mini-games to check out. Granted, none of the aforementioned trials are extraordinarily complex, nor are they particularly unique in terms of how they work. Chances are, if you’ve ever played through the likes of Animal Crossing or A Short Hike, then you’ll probably have all of the experience necessary to shovel through the vast majority of the objectives here. And even if these sorts of games are somewhat alien to you, then hey — you needn’t fret, either way; you won’t find a challenging experience here.

In the several hours that I poured into Petit Island, I was able to flesh out a lot of that photo album. And the best part about that process was that, even though I knew I had a job to do, I wasn’t really completing the pages with any sort of intent of finishing it as swiftly as possible. Suffice it to say, it was the journey that captivated me, and the numerous arching pathways that made me want to venture away from the usual route to unlock another piece of the puzzle. To that end, I found myself embarking on all sorts of quests, and it was only very rarely that I felt the need to usher in the next chapter. It helped, too, that each section of the map was in receipt of some genuinely interesting landmarks and bubbling personalities. Icing on the cake, you could say.

A Welcoming World

Petit Island is a very, very beautiful game. Sure, it’s certainly minimalistic in terms of its design, what with a lot of its color choices being reminiscent of rainbow colors with little to no detail or texture. Having said that, for a game that oozes atmosphere in its own brand of flawless simplicity, it certainly works well here. Again, it clearly lacks the technical complexity of an award-winning palette, but that isn’t to say that it’s without its own array of colors and unique features. What’s more, the characters themselves pretty much bring their own collective consciousness and color into the world—a flavorful pelt that more or less has the sparkling essence of a rainbow unto itself.

It’s highly unlikely that you’ll spend weeks patrolling the sandy shores of Petit Island, for the journey itself isn’t so much of a hike, but more of a zig-zag trip with numerous stops and extracurricular tours. However, where the game itself lacks in longevity, it definitely makes up for with its ability to spin a compelling yarn for a story and to create a solid tapestry of likable characters and heartfelt encounters. Sure, the English translation isn’t perfect, but it’s still believable to the extent that you can still plough through the majority of the story without having to establish context along the way. And this is me nitpicking, by the way.

Verdict

Petit Island is as cozy as it is heartwarming, and, to be honest, it most certainly delivers the perfect backdrop for a nostalgic trip down memory lane. From its classy design to its simplified control system, the island has a quality collection of approachable assets, all of which have the natural capacity to provide even the most hardened of gamers some well-needed respite. And sure, while it might not possess eternal bragging rights for its choice of words (the English translation springs to mind here, respectively), it does possess a significant advantage in its ability to convey a universal message and common sense of purpose. I’ll take that over a few mismatched sentences any day of the week — and then some.

To cut a story story short, if the faithful words cozy and relaxing are something of a permanent fixture in your go-to bingo card, then I have no doubt in my mind that you will absolutely adore Petit Island. It’s greatest inner workings may be petite and oftentimes not as flashy as they probably should be, but when all’s said and done, it isn’t the size or the prestigious nature of it that matters; it’s the amount of tender love and respect that evidently went into the founding of its each and every nook and cranny. To that I say, well played — if it’s a personal touch that you wanted to share with us, then consider it received.