In this game you play as Nia, a teenager who just moved temporarily to a remote island with her parents.  She’s not too thrilled about being away from civilization, but after accidentally touching a shrine and falling down a pit, she is tasked with collecting four gears that’ll activate the island, which is actually a floating craft.  But is everything what it seems here?   That’s what you’ll find out in Under the Island, a top down action adventure game similar to Zelda.  It features modern day settings and elements, so you use a hockey stick instead of a sword for instance.  You’ll explore the island and solve puzzles and take on creative dungeons and boss battles.  It’s available for all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.

If you’ve played a classic Zelda game before, you’ll know what to expect here.  You can walk around with the D-pad and dash with the R button once you get some running shoes.  Swing your hockey stick with another button and assign other weapons and items to buttons via the sub menu.  You’ve got standard stuff, like bombs and a fire wand.  But other, more creative items include animal treats to lure critters where you want them to go.  The settings are pretty creative, too. You’ll explore modern areas like a small town and sawmill as well as more wilderness type places.  The dungeons and bosses are creative, too.  Like a greenhouse where instead of fighting a boss, you must help put on a concert by a plant singer.  And to get one gear, you don’t even go through a dungeon at all, but instead must win a cook off!

My only problems with the game are fairly minor.  The difficulty is a bit higher than a typical Zelda game in spots, and it would’ve been nice to be able to know what to do sometimes, even though they do give you clues frequently.  And they don’t always explain what to do with items either.  I appreciate the lack of constant hand holding, but when most games are digital now, it’s nice to have some instructions.  Like knowing that you can hit animal treats with the hockey stick to send them flying.  On the same note, they don’t make it clear where the save points are.  They look like unassuming gray water heaters and the only way you know they are special is that the blue pilot light thing on them lights up when you get close.  I posted a screenshot with the save point on it next to a house so you’ll know what it is if you play it.  Other than that, though, this is a pretty neat little classic styled Zelda adventure, just the kind of game I like!

Kid Factor:

Under the Island is rated E-10 with ESRB descriptors of Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, and Mild Language.  You hit enemies with a hockey stick and other crazy weapons and items, and they just disappear into pieces when defeated.  I didn’t notice any crude humor or bad language, so it must be used in the text sparingly.  Reading skill is a must and younger gamers may find it too difficult.

Tags: Game Reviews