Under the Island review

It’s been a long time since Nintendo has made a traditional Zelda game, with the last one being 2013’s A Link Between Worlds. It’s not like the new-style of Zelda is bad, it just doesn’t scratch the same itch the old ones did. Well, Under the Island is here to help with that. You’re a teenage girl who’s just moved to Seashell Island with her archeologist parents and, along with your new friend Avocado, discover that the island is fated to sink beneath the waves. Unless, that is, you can find and return four magical gears to their proper place. It’s styled after The Minish Cap, except instead of a sword, a bow, and bombs you’ve got a hockey stick, a plant that shoots fireballs, and… still bombs.

The game’s intro feels pretty long and text filled, which is in no way indicative of the rest of the game. Once you get that hockey stick, it’s go go go with only a few pit stops along the way. I really enjoyed the quick pace, it feels great to constantly be met with enemies and puzzles without much downtime. It does feel like the game wanted to be a bit more narrative focused though, as between dungeons you need to head back to the main town, Koala Village, and speak to NPCs to learn where to go next, but the game’s writing doesn’t really support what plot is already there. It’s the typical indie game problem when there isn’t a dedicated writer on the team: awkward prose and plot beats that feel like they come out of nowhere.

For example, apparently protagonist Nia and her friend Avocado are supposed to have some sort of conflict going on for most of the game? I only learned about this when the game was about to resolve it, as Avocado really doesn’t show up much before then, and every conversation you can have with her is nothing but cordial. From the intro, I had assumed they were instant friends and would work together to save the island, but then she totally disappears for two or three hours. It’s a good call not to focus on story, especially since it’s not that strong conceptually even, but what writing is there should be more competent.

Story’s not what we’re here for though, and thankfully the gameplay is great. You explore the island from a top-down, 2D perspective, defeating foes and uncovering secrets as you go. Your movement speed is very slow at first, but after the intro you get some running shoes, letting you move at a reasonable pace while holding R or ZR. I do wish there was a run toggle setting, as my finger started to get a bit sore from holding the button down almost constantly, but there are occasional reasons to walk, like precisely dodging a projectile. Attacking likewise has a little quirk to it. You have a three hit combo with the hockey stick, two slashes then an overhead, but the third hit will knock enemies back and leave you open to a hit or two once they make their way back. While the knockback is useful sometimes, for the most part I’d pause my mashing every two hits to keep the slashes going. Unlike needing to hold the trigger to run, I found this kept combat a bit more engaging that it would have been otherwise, even if it’s probably not the intended experience.

Exploring Seashell Island is a ton of fun, but the dungeons are the real highlight. They might start out fairly traditional, with keys to find, doors to open, and a central item most puzzles revolve around, but they quickly deviate from that in very interesting ways. You might enter a cooking contest before you need to face the boss or play Picross using your shovel to unlock a door. The game wouldn’t feel cohesive if these more unique sections were everywhere, so you still have plenty of that Zelda-style dungeon crawling to enjoy.

Because of the short length, you don’t get that many items, but they’re all used very creatively. The aforementioned fireball plant is used as a projectile, but the fire will spread to anything burnable next to whatever you shot too. This creates a lot of cool puzzles, like needing to race a series of burning bushes to hit a switch and continue the chain. You also acquire items like the bombs and a bag of treats for various critters, which can be hit with your hockey stick to send them flying, letting you blow up rocks or lure sheep at a distance. Under the Island gets a ton of mileage out of most of its items, and it’s worth exploring every nook and cranny you can just to test the limits of your arsenal. Not every item gets a lot of use, I think I only used the trumpet two or three times, which is a bit disappointing.

Under the Island is a brisk, fun adventure, that, even after exploring thoroughly, took me only 5 hours to complete, having explored the vast majority of the game world. There’s still secrets for me to find after the credits, but I enjoyed the shorter length in a landscape filled with 40 hour campaigns. The visuals are bright and colorful, with some great pixel art portraits even if the overworld sprites look a bit generic. The music is also great, with catchy tunes to accentuate the action. It’s thoughtfully designed and a ton of fun.