First Impresssions: Hello Kitty Island Adventure (Apple Arcade)

Embark on a cozy adventure with Hello Kitty and Friends and restore an abandoned island to its former glory!

If you haven't already heard, Hello Kitty Island Adventure launched exclusively on 28 July 2023 on the Apple Arcade platform. 

The aim of the game is simple: you start off by creating an avatar to join Hello Kitty and Friends on a flight to an island. Things take a turn for excitement when Hello Kitty's attempt to treat everyone to some baked cupcakes causes the plane to hit turbulence and everyone has to parachute out of there asap! 

You land on the mysterious island, which was supposed to be your original destination, except now you had to crash land and your first goal is to reunite with everyone, as they’ve been scattered about the place. 

Doesn't my avatar have Animal Crossing vibes?

Your second goal is to unlock the mysteries of the island and return the place to its thriving glory days.  As you progress and explore the island, you will be able to slowly reveal recipes as you test out different combinations of ingredients. The more elaborate recipes can even be unlocked through friendship levels.

[Hello Kitty Island Adventure: All Recipes (& How To Make Them)]

There are tasks to complete, lots of them. Tasks to track down things for friends, build things using materials found on the island and a crafting table, to solve Zelda Breath of the Wild-inspired dungeons (albeit far simpler ones), and puzzles to unlock more parts of the island.

In addition to tasks, there are minigames to play, fishing and bug catching to indulge in; even photography tasks to complete! There's a whole lot activities to be done, and while similar to Animal Crossing, it is not exactly the same: you get to be involved in setting up the economy and society of the island to make it a success.

First Impressions

What I have been up to so far

Since I happened to have an activation for Apple Arcade for 3 months, I decided to download and try this adorable game. 

I initially installed it on my iPad Pro with the intention of playing with my pro-controller. But for some reason I was not able to connect them, so I switched over to play on my iPhone instead using just the touch screen controls.

The touch screen controls are a bit frustrating as they are either too sensitive or not at all. When I want to run, I end up jumping or  slow walking in the wrong directing, when I want to jump I never end up when I want to land. In total, I played less than 10 minutes as the navigation experience was subpar.

After updating my iPad Pro to iOS16.6, I was finally able to connect my pro-controller! And the difference is as clear as night and day! I am now more invested in playing Hello Kitty Island Adventure for the next 3 months to see if it's worth getting in the long run (or perhaps it might come out on the Nintendo Switch?). 

So much better playing on a bigger screen. This weekend, I'll try playing it on my Mac and pro-controller. 😍

Verdict: 4/5

The game aesthetics are both simple, but effective and adorable! 

Hello Kitty Island Adventure is a  massive place to explore, with regions being broken up into various themes – volcano area, swamp area etc). Each of those regions are each a colorful feast for the eyes, and makes exploring and playing around in each of them bright and fun. I cannot wait to each one of them and unlock more outfits options too!

Have you downloaded and played Hello Kitty Island Adventure? What are your thoughts on it? Let us know in the comments below!