What was once a peaceful place with a thriving ecosystem has literally shattered and turned inhospitable due to the inactivation of the electromagnetic cores holding the component islands together. In an attempt to reignite each core and make the land whole again, aspiring anthropomorphic warriors set out on adventures across those floating islands. Iko, our mouse protagonist, is one such warrior with humble beginnings who might turn out to be the hero of the land under your guidance.

While the plot isn’t the main focus in this Metroidvania title, Islets provides enough lore to deliver an original universe, albeit with a relatively linear premise. The game’s worldbuilding is further fleshed out with its original set of NPCs that each have quirky, memorable personalities. You’ll come across a judgy “friend”, an awed fan-mouse and a (highly) suspicious tour guide. In tandem with a backstory of a literally fractured world, Islets also subtly hints at the need to connect with one another.

Islets’ striking art style and presentation further livens up its universe. Developer Kyle Thompson populated the game with intricately detailed environment across the varied islands ranging from rainy scenes to clockwork-based ones, while sparking intrigue with old relics in the background. And while you’ll be stabbing and aiming at monsters across the islands, the aesthetic and chilled soundtrack inevitably endow Islets with a wholesome vibe. The presentation is easily reminiscent of Ghibli movies and while there are parallels with the colour palette employed and some character design, Islets’ original universe and characters deliver a unique presentation.

Islet’s originality also stems from the fact that it combines its cutesy art style with a Metroidvania gameplay. You’ll get to explore each island with platforming sessions, puzzle solving and monster battles. These are executed fluidly with simple mechanics. You start off with a sword, dodge ability and bow/arrow to fend for yourself. As you explore the islands, you’ll unlock new abilities such as gapple and double jump, and find upgrades (or complete mini-games that unlock upgrades) like boosting your attack damage and increasing your quiver capacity hidden in the environment that will assist Iko in his quest. There are no skill trees or XPs to collect; just good ‘ol exploration and battling.

While I found this approach to be fun as a pick-up-and-play approach, it can feel testing when the challenge spikes up unexpectedly. I encountered this in early boss fights where the level didn’t feel particularly indicative of the upcoming challenge. They required more agile controls and restarts than I wished, leading to a temporarily frustrating experience.

That said, boss fights are varied ranging from battles with island bosses to sky pirates. These encounters often challenge Iko with a unique combination of platforming and bullet hell sequences. Paying attention to the patterns is a must to emerge victorious and the battles feel satisfying once completed.

Outside of battles, you’ll also explore the islands and overworld. In the latter, you’ll board an upgradeable airship (and sporadically encounter sky pirates). As you explore and unlock new abilities, you’ll be able to use those abilities to tread back in previous areas to collect items or progress through a previously inaccessible area.

However, making this backtracking aspect an integral part of the gameplay might not have been the best option. This is because while there are fast travel portals that you can discover, they are randomly placed and often far between. In case you haven’t found a portal or need to head somewhere specific on the map, you’ll need to tediously tread along familiar routes.

Such random location also applies to save points which also help replenish Iko’s health gauge. Even if this uncertainty adds to the challenge and helps keep you on your toes, it can feel testing when you’re low on health and haven’t encountered a save point for quite some time as you’ve been disoriented or had to handle a horde of enemies. 

Indeed, as you explore the islets, you can easily get lost as you explore the uncharted areas. While the lack of explicit guidance encourages exploration, this adds to the need to backtrack and fuels a sense of disorientation. As a slight remedy, there is the option to add markers to your map but they come at a cost.

Nevertheless, Islets’ classic Metroidvania mechanics and charming presentation condense to deliver an enjoyable experience with a wholesome atmosphere.

Islets - Launch Trailer