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Minute Of Islands review: a grim world drawn in a wonderful, elegant wayWe used to be giants
We used to be giants
Minute Of Islands Is A Stunning Playable Cartoon | Minute Of Islands GameplayWatch on YouTube
Minute Of Islands Is A Stunning Playable Cartoon | Minute Of Islands Gameplay
Mo has a metaphor/tool called the Omni Switch, a totem that marks her out as special and allows her to interact with the switches and mechanisms of the big machines. You use it to recharge the air purifiers on the surface and reroute power. It also doubles as an objective marker when you need one, showing you the direction of your next goal.
The physical act of clambering around to restart four giant machines is surprisingly effortless. The islands are on a 2D plane, so all you need to do is press to run left or right and Mo will move closer to or further from edges and ledges, so you quickly get a feel for where you can explore further. Mo can climb up and drop down most ledges (all of which are handily marked with white outlines), has a decent jump, and can shimmy along handholds as well.
Seriously this whale is grim and there’s a whole lot offscreen to the left here.
As you progress through Minute Of Islands, the narration becomes more hostile, too, first to external characters and then turning on Mo herself. At the same time, it is painfully clear that the more you destroy the fungus, furthering your goal, the less beautiful the world becomes. And Minute Of Islands is a very good looking game.
Each island is a little different in terms of its environment - one I enjoyed in particular is full of dark pine trees, and basalt rock columns like the Giant’s Causeway - but are all in varying states of decay, rendered in loving detail in an art style that resembles an after-school morality cartoon. It’s clear that Mo’s family are only still on the archipelago because she is. The fungus, meanwhile, floats through the air in golden motes like blossom on the wind. It grows into vibrant mushroomy colonies in elegant shapes, blooming into every colour of the rainbow.
