Island Getaway.
As a kid, one of the hardest things to do was to move away from home to a new place. You're then surrounded by unfamiliar faces and areas you've never been before. Everything is new, and you then feel stranded in the middle of nowhere without your friends and usual places to hang out. Under the Island is one such tale of finding your way on a strange Island you and your family move to, beginning what is then the next chapter of your lives. This will either become the scariest experience in your life, or, with a bit of determination and eye for silver linings, it will become the biggest opportunity set before you for an exciting adventure. Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go and explore!
Under the Island opens up with a small family driving towards their new home. The mother and father are brightly optimistic, having made the tough choice to move to Seashell Island for work opportunities. Their adolescent daughter, Nia, is not so sure and sullenly mentions about being away from her friends back home. Trying their best to encourage her, Nia’s parents suggest she go explore and introduce herself to the other residents. She meets another young girl tending to a small shrine, who is named Avocado. Avocado is a little reserved but still friendly and polite.
She warns Nia to be respectful and not touch the shrine, or bad things could befall them or even the island itself. Unaware of Seashell Island's customs, Nia playfully touches the shrine and accidentally knocks a few shells askew. Avocado begins to admonish her and is interrupted by the ground beginning to shake. A hole in the ground suddenly breaks open beneath the two girls, and they fall into a cavern system below. Nia has now found herself amidst an adventure that seems to grow bigger the further she goes.
As soon as you helm Nia's adventure, you'll see that the controls themselves are comfortably responsive and easy to learn. I attribute that to everything from single-button attacks to the smooth movement as you progress through a discoverable grid-style world map, to be nicely familiar. The developers seem to have taken influence from many of the pixely retro adventure games of the past. I've noticed that the endearingly brightly colored surface of Under the Island borrows many inspirations from games such as older Legend of Zelda and Pokémon titles. For example, the way you progress through dungeons is handled much in the same way as previous overhead-view Zelda games did. There is a compass and a map to find, as well as a boss key to gain access to the main monster’s lair.
However, this is where the similarities end, and Under the Island takes the influences from others and builds something whimsical and unique. Under the Island even turns boss fights into hilarious encounters filled with comical solutions. My favorite of which was the main fight of one of the dungeons, consisting of surviving through a gauntlet of tasks to keep a herd of fans from overwhelming a performing star on stage.
The puzzles in the dungeons and the whole island are fun, sometimes humorous, and seasoned with enough challenge that it feels rewarding to persevere through them. Combat feels nice and tactile. Despite being a simple single-button press affair, dodging is quick, and switching between healing items or equipment is customizable to quick tabs you can access on the go. The strategy will come from knowing what enemies and challenges to expect and switching items from your quick access buttons if you need something else for the moment. Even your equipment and health bar is made up of hearts and easily upgradable using the many resources you'll find along your way. This all pairs nicely with traversal throughout the game and battles with the nice variety of monsters that inhabit the dungeons and different biomes. All in all, they did a wonderful job implementing how the game functions beneath the artistry.
Technically speaking, Under the Island performs quite well. I had the privilege of experiencing the game on the Switch 2. With the power of Nintendo's newest hardware, the game runs as smoothly as butter. I never found progress halted by freezing, no stutters or graphical bugs of any kind. The only small thing I found was vegetation that you can break down, to sometimes find coins or items, would disappear entirely. This normally happened if I paused the game for a while, and the system would sleep. Picking back up where I left off would cause these minuscule imperfections. Restarting the game was a fast fix for this, and with the lightning-quick load times on the Switch 2, it became rather inconsequential. It was a small gripe, I honestly felt never took anything away.
Under the Island is brightly coloured and quite visually pleasing. It utilizes many retroesque styles from older bygone eras of gaming and animation. The towns and character sprites remind me greatly of the previous Pokémon titles on the DS systems, while the traversal, battles with enemies, and questing through dungeons emulated the Zelda games from the Super Nintendo era. Some of the character design and even the story itself seemingly pay homage to a sprawling Studio Ghibli animated movie. As I said before, there are many influences that make the game feel like the team of Slime King is honoring the magical craft of these entertainment titans that shaped many of our childhoods. They took these heavy influences and built something unique and warmly entertaining.
The only other issue I had with Under the Island is how easy it was to get distracted and lose your place on your to-do list. The only way that I could tell to get back on track was when you reload the game, and Nia speaks out loud to remind herself what she was doing in terms of story tasks. Everything else, it seems like you have to really try hard to remember side quests and minor tasks. This could possibly be remedied with a journal of sorts, where you could possibly see a list of tasks or noticeable paths you come across. Even a checklist that allows you to prioritize which quest/task you want to undertake. Small fixes for small gripes that won't break the game or even leave a mark of any kind should Slime King decide not to update these issues.
The positives of Under the Island are quite many, and a lot of them I have already mentioned in gushing detail during previous discussions. My favorites were the wonderfully witty story, the bright and cheerful retro artistry, and how comfortable the game itself controls. It was an entertaining experience that never overstayed its welcome but was still long enough to feel modestly sprawling with a snug run time of 15 plus hours. If you would rather a bite-sized version of the story to enjoy, some players mentioned it was beatable around 7 hours without feeling as though you're missing out on any parts of the main story.
Under the Island was a super fun story to play through, and I wish anyone who sees this and is looking to dive into a 90s nostalgia trip through a new and vibrant world gives this title a chance! You'll be glad you did! And Slime King, Top Hat, I fell in love with this title and eagerly wait to see what you come up with next!
Developer - Slime King Games.
Publisher - Top Hat Studios.
Released - February 17th, 2026
Available On - Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Series X/S, PC.
Rated - (E) - Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, and Mild Language.
Platform Reviewed - PC
Review Access - A review code for Under the Island was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Rebecca is a huge fan of JRPG’s, RPG’s, and Survival Horror. From Silent Hill to Resident evil. Xenogears and Final Fantasy. When she isn’t tinkering with skill trees or equipping the right rifle to take down numerous monsters, you can find her farming away on Stardew Valley.