Hello Kitty Island Adventure is what I consider to be the next best cozy game that everyone should be playing, along the same lines as Animal Crossing; New Horizons and Disney Dreamlight Valley. Hello Kitty is a franchise that has kept growing and growing over time. While the game has been out for Apple Arcade since 2023, however, the game just released for consoles this year.
Not only do players get to help the famous Sanrio characters out by doing tasks for them on the island, there’s also chances of welcoming even more villagers onto the island. On top of that, there are many recipes to learn both in the kitchen and at the crafting table to create better houses for yourself and the villagers as well as giving gifts to the Sanrio characters to boost their friendship levels.
This isn’t the only thing that players can look forward to in Hello Kitty Island Adventure, including the many updates that take place almost every month to every month and a half. These updates sometimes contain new Sanrio characters, items, and even holiday themed visits that take place on the island.
The Best Things To Do In Hello Kitty Island Adventure, And Maybe The Worst
There are many things to do in Hello Kitty island Adventure, some more fun than others. Within the game, there is many plots and subplots that players will have to work their way through by completing quest, and with that it will open up even more biomes, worlds, and characters not seen yet. As players progress, they will also unlock more tools that can be used for forging, growing flowers, and even upgrade their cooking equipment as well. This will also open up the opportunity to level up friendships with Sanrio characters as progression means better gifts to give.
Something that is difficult though is forging, as there is a limited amount of items that can be collected every day, and once the max is collected that is it for the day. So if players need more for a certain craft, or even just to stock up or give to a friend, they will be out of luck. However, it does become easier to have supplies stocked up overtime as you have earned up a lot of the stuff or crafted a lot of the items as time goes on, but it is hard at first.
On top of the above, Hello Kitty Island Adventure has a number of puzzles and races you’ll have to try and complete, like this one in the photo. This game requires the golden blocks being moved from their locations to be placed on the triggers on the floor to open the door for you to get the yellow star. There are also races players will need to complete throughout the island that requires them to collect up items to then win a trophy. These will also be required to be completed to earn friendship beads as well!
There isn’t much I would consider the worst within Hello Kitty Island Adventure, other than how difficult forging can be, or how confusing it can be to know what gifts to gift to which Sanrio character in order to get a certain item in return. This can be terrible when someone is new to the game and trying to figure out where to get certain items they need to craft or cook something – it was something I disliked when I first started playing the game.
Multiplayer Is Way Better Than Expected
Multiplayer is something that turned out much better for console than expected for me honestly. In the past, cozy games like Hello Kitty Island Adventure just haven’t had the best experiences with multiplayer, even limiting players to such a degree that it was almost like, why even play with friends? However, that isn’t the case here. Instead, your friends can almost falsely come over to your island to check out your shops, earn friendship beads with you, or even forge alongside you. There isn’t much that they can’t do while on your island.
Players have the opportunity to give their friends a cabin on their island as well. This will be required for the first set of requirements to get a friendship beads, which then both you and your friend can use to obtain some older event items from Keroppi. Friendship beads are probably one of my personal favorite things from within the game when it comes to doing multiplayer with others.
It is also worth mentioning that your stores will be different from your friends! Meaning, going over to other islands, their shops will have different items making it easier and faster to collect up items for your collection – as long as you have the needed materials from forging.
Overall Thoughts
Overall, Hello Kitty Island Adventure is one of the best cozy games I have played in a long time, and that’s coming from someone who enjoys many cozy games on the regular. Something I appreciated about this game was the smoothness of it, not many glitches or bugs if any, and this might be due to it being out on the Apple Arcade for a few years before heading to console such as Nintendo Switch, to now being on the PlayStation 5. The game has always ran without issues, giving me no crushing, or screen tearing which is something I always look out for.
When it comes to the experience while playing and enjoying the plot, there is never a boring movement. The game keeps you busy with fulfilling the plot, designing character cabins, and even celebrating Sanrio characters birthdays and other holidays. On top of that, almost every time I turn around, there is a new update or exciting announcement happening for the game, keeping me excited and on my toes.
Hello Kitty Island Adventure Review (PlayStation 5) Verdict
Hello Kitty Island Adventure: Hello Kitty Island Adventure is a wonderful cozy game that barely has as many downfalls as other cozy games. It is one that can be picked up and enjoyed from almost start to finish, with new content coming almost all the time and always something fun to do within the game – with or without friends! – faithlane17
[Editor’s Note: Hello Kitty Island Adventure was reviewed on PlayStation 5 and a copy was provided to us for review purposes.]
