Under The Island

I usually bounce off these "clone" games. This one is clearly taking a lot of its inspiration from Link's Awakening, but its so well made I couldn't put it down until I finished it.
Most of these games that call back to the Zelda games of yore get the combat all wrong. It tends to be way too complex and introduce all of the "souls" elements everyone is doing these days. Not this game, it is clearly designed to be exploration first.
If you've bounced off of Zelda clones in the past give this game a try. Its really very charming with fantastic art design, music, and characters.

This game reminds me so much of Minish Cap in every way I could hope for. The pixel art style is vibrant and upbeat, the world is detailed, the characters are active, the exploration is enthralling
As of writing this I've completed the second dungeon and I already know this is a game I'm going to find worth revisiting time and time again, it really meets what I want out of this genre. Progression is incredibly satisfying and I've really missed games like this where you can collect upgrades for everything from your weapon to your wallet, where you get an item in a dungeon that helps you solve new puzzles, where every time you unlock something new the world opens up secrets to discover
And there have been some pretty fun puzzles, I really like the mechanics introduced by the second dungeon's item. (I removed part of the review here because the spoiler tag didn't seem to work) I'm already excited to go back around the overworld and collect secrets using it
I think the world needs more games in this genre and I was so happy to come across this (thanks Jon Cartwright). It's been a blast and I definitely recommend giving it a try

What a gem of a game. So much detail, so much fun, so much to discover without it feeling tedious or forced. I had a bit of a slow start into the game, when you have almost no items and abilities yet but as soon as you’ve got your first one it’s a steep curve of progression and rewards so definitely stick with the game more than 2 hours, it will be worth it! Currently only taking a break from playing because my Steam Deck needs to recharge lol

Target Audience: Action Adventure Games Who Love Exploration and a Link to the Past
Summary:
When it's obvious from the get go that a game like Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past has a strong influence on a game's development, some games can fall into the trap of feeling too similar and being a carbon copy of the game without its budget. Under The Island however goes for it's own mood and feeling, taking elements like the sword swipes and some key animation parallels in their game, but remixing it into a fresh adventure experience. Exploring the world and finding its little details is the star here, rewarding you with playing around with areas while not bringing in certain “staples” like quest markers and map pins to force you to keep exploring naturally: and it works. The developers put energy into the right places: like the sound design being so effective in its simplicity, and great animation work that keeps you want to look for more.
With that said, those expecting a difficult experience will need to look elsewhere: the game won't challenge you in complexity in combat or even in puzzles at times, although occassionally you'll get the smug satisifaction of figuring things out without being told. The game obviously hooks itself to Link to the Past in certain ways, yet elements like boss fights may leave something to be desired. Sometimes the game hooks itself a little too much to the old school mentality, as story elements, in particular with Nia and Avocado, could have done more to elevate the game. Not to say that you won't get a good joke and laugh out of the game however, and there are moments where the simple writing shines through.
The thing is, this brought be back to the days of sitting in front of a CRT and just having a child like wonder, and in that aspect: Under The Island succeeds. As long as you're not expecting a game to push you to the limit, it's a great action adventure game that won't blow your socks off, but will just let you enjoy the simple things in gaming.
Review Video: :
Lists:
Positives:
Exploration has new elements around every corner and brings a child-like wonder with it.
Good variety of things to keep the gameplay fresh while not being too out there.
The details shine through in presentation, with animation and sound quality leading the way.
Reasonable amount of side elements to look for, will do well in the content area for those completionists out there.
Good gateway game to newer players/people getting into gaming. Mixture of all the right things for entry.

Negatives:
Those needing difficulty will need to look elsewhere: you're not getting high complexity here.
Story could use more oompf in terms of execution, in particular with Nia and Avacado (even though there was some good stuff)
Little nitpicks with collision (running into ladders sometimes feels a little more cumbersome then it should be).

If you want more reviews/information regarding games I've reviewed, visit my curator. Dragnix Curator

Good little 2D Zelda-like from a small team. It made me nostalgic for a number of SNES/Game Boy titles, while maintaining a relatively unique identity as far as story, art and music go. Devs have worked pretty hard on patching game and taking player feedback into consideration.

Note the following: It's relatively short (10-12 hours), not difficult, and the minigames are almost all optional. For example: if you can't hit the max score on the arcade game, don't worry. There are plenty of extra honey pots (or heart containers) in the game.

The Good
+Skippable splash screens! Thank you!
+Colorful, detailed pixel artwork
+Family-friendly. Cheerful. No sex, blood, occult, etc. Only a few "damns".
+Frequent save points w/ three profiles
+After loading game, Nia gives a reminder of where you left off
+Game warns you before areas with tougher enemies
+Fast travel and unlockable shortcuts
+Side content with additional, worthwhile rewards
+There are surplus items in game for upgrading health and most equipment
+Can do some content out of signposted order
+Last-minute save point and two-way shortcut in final dungeon. This helps make up for no post-game play to catch anything you missed.

YMMV
~10-12 hours of playtime
~Story and character development are lacking/rushed
~Game isn't very difficult
~Puzzles are "fine". A few may annoy speedrunner types.
~No accessibility options if you have a disability or want god mode, puzzle skips, etc
~Nice music, but you'll have to rip the audio since only a fraction is in OST
~The optional minigames can be a little frustrating
~Most minigames have next to no instructions (including the cookoff, despite the cave)
~Can't cancel fire flower attack or turn when using it
~No way to defend yourself from ranged attacks
~Dungeons are a little short, especially the mountain one
~While bosses or boss-substitutes are unique, there are very few
~The second boss' second phase requires unclear, precise positioning (treat can't be against wall)
~Fishing is nearly pointless
~Snowboarding game is pointless besides one easy (now that it's been nerfed) achievement?
~Most of the bugs seem to have been ironed out after the 4th patch

The Bad
-Nia has almost no iframes
-World map isn't conducive to tracking areas you want to come back to
-The walking log enemies need an attack recovery animation like others
-The font makes 1 & 7 and 6 & 8 hard to discern from one another (and this is apparently after the font was clarified from pre-release)

Played on:
Win11Pro, i7-14700K, RTX5060 Ti 16GB, 32GB DDR5-6000 @ 1920x1080
Using PDP Rematch Advanced Wired Controller for Xbox Series X|S

Beautiful, fun and charming little gem of a game with a LOT of personality. If you're an exploration gamer like me who loves detailed, immersive worlds full of secrets and diverse puzzles, then Under the Island totally got you covered. I'm loving every second of it!

A MUST PLAY FOR ZELDA-LIKE FANS!!
For real, I haven't played such a vibrant, charming game of this style since Minish Cap; if not Blossom Tales. I still just a couple hours in and haven't finished yet, but I'm darn certain I wont be regretting this purchase!
Great work, very great work there! I wish you the best with your launch