Nostalgia is a powerful tool in the gaming industry with genres like the first-person grid-based dungeon crawler (Hello Vampire Crawlers and Dungeons of DUSK) still resurging in 2026. Under the Island is the latest in a consistent string of classic adventure games that was kicked off a few years back by Tunic.
While Under the Island wears its inspirations on its sleeve, unfortunately there’s not any real success when it comes to expanding or modernising many of those ideas. The game knows what it is, though, and doesn’t overstay its welcome – with 100% completion possible in around 12 hours.
Every time I felt a little bored, I’d encounter something new that refreshed my interest long enough to carry on playing until the next refreshing thing. That’s not to say anything Under the Island does is exemplary, but it is a solid experience that is worth playing if you’re new to the genre, or want something short and sweet.
Little Details in a Hand-Crafted World
Maybe it’s just my Roguelike burnout, but it was so refreshing to see detail and a sense of bespoke crafting in Under the Island. The map screen is lovingly recreated, exteriors are littered with unique details and interiors are built for exploring too. From little kittens in town to varying fauna and flora in swamps and forests, the game is nice to look at.
These details extend beyond just the visual, too. Within 10 seconds of having control of the game I’d pet a cat, and partway through my playthrough I realised the aforementioned little bundles of fur and claws would meow and follow me when I got close. My monkey pattern-recognition said that this may well be part of an unmarked “Find the lost kittens” type deal. As it happened, I found a mother cat and could return the litter to her for a Cat Key which was used to access a unique upgrade. All of this was unmarked, which made the journey from observation, to exploration, to discovery, to reward all the more fulfilling.
Enemies out in the world also have similar levels of interaction. I don’t want to spoil too many, but in the icy mountains you find frosty versions of a previous enemy, who are now stronger and can sneeze ice shards at you. Thawing this ice-covered version with a source of heat will change them back into the regular variant, making them that much easier to thwack upside the head with your trusty hockey stick. There’s also skeletal enemies who don’t actually die when their HP reaches zero, and discovering how to finish them off was completely accidental (and pretty funny), which made me appreciate the lack of hand-holding in the game. Many enemies have these little caveats or “solutions” involving your suite of tools and weapons.
Wide as a pond, deep as a…pond
Unfortunately Under the Island doesn’t have enough depth to the tricks up its sleeves to satiate the more ‘avid’ of gamers. While the world is pretty and the puzzles are varied over the course of the game, there’s nothing here that you haven’t seen anywhere else, or at least not that’s explored enough to be really genre-defining. For example, there’s a quirky “Wii-mote” style ability that lets you point at things on the screen independently from your character, and that was a keystone moment of “Oh! I can do that! Awesome!” leading to a bunch of progress and discovery. Those moments are fantastic, but they are slotted into a game that overall doesn’t take any further risks or explore modernisation.
And, honestly? That’s fine. Not every game needs to redefine a genre or push the boundaries of the medium. Under the Island has varied gameplay in some areas, enough upgrade variety that exploring is engaging and enough tools to make that exploring feel earned. Ultimately, that makes it a solid adventure game.
The only truly negative thing about the whole experience is the writing and pacing. In a game that has so many nooks and crannies to explore, why do they spill exposition and give away major plot points in 10 minutes of dialogue all at the start of the game? I’d much rather have searched for the Macguffins without knowing exactly what they were related to, and only discovered a living bird-person (Don’t worry, you meet them in the first 5 minutes) at the 8-hour mark. While there’s a menagerie of other creatures that do have some more personality and wit, the writing overall is simply sub-par. Fortunately, after that first lore-dump, there isn’t that much of it.
A few cozy nights of adventure without any strings attached
Under the Island does, I think, what it probably set out to do. It isn’t genre-defining and isn’t a brave next step in adventure game evolution; but it’s cozy, pretty, and doesn’t demand much in return. Under the Island is substantial enough to “get into” but concise enough that you won’t feel bogged-down. Just when you think combat is done, or enemy variety is exhausted, or puzzles are easy, it’ll sprinkle just enough spice to make you want to carry on. Play it over a few nights with a cup of tea or box of chocolates and you might just rediscover how simple escapism can be.
Under the Island is available now on Steam, Playstation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch consoles
