Minute of Islands - Switch Review
In a colony of islands troubled by the pollution of toxic spores, a young tinkerer named Mo sets out on a journey to restore the four otherworldly giants and their ancient machinery. With the help of her Omni Switch, a multi-purpose tool that allows her to interact with these machines and reveal the way forward, Mo's adventure allows her to see the members of her family once more and reminisce of days long past. And yet, the further her adventure takes her in Minute of Islands, the more she learns about the secrets hidden within.
The Good
To explore the various islands and help you to navigate through puzzles, Mo's Omni Switch is a clever little tool which helps to keep the player on track.
Speaking of the world, the backstory and world building is wonderfully melancholy, depicting a tragic calamity as a result of toxic spores filling the air in which the characters breathe.
Minute of Islands presents itself with a colourful Adventure Time-like aesthetic, which eerily compliments its more mature, and sometimes unsettling, themes. Couple all of this with beautiful voice acting and subtle music effects which helps to further guide the player through the plot and this game's presentation is stellar.
TL;DR
- The Omni Switch is a neat little tool
- Intriguing world and plot development
- A misleading Adventure Time-like aesthetic
- Beautiful voice acting and subtle music effects.
The Bad
Exploring the beautiful yet melancholic world within Minute of Islands is certainly beautiful, but the traversal is such a chore. Mo moves at an incredibly slow pace and the platforms don't usually make it clear which one is reachable or not. Sometimes you'll notice that a ledge may have some paint which is designed to let you know if you can grab onto it and pull yourself up but other than that, there were many moments I had attempted to jump onto a platform below only to find myself slowly falling past it and having to make my way back up.
The Omni Switch is certainly a nice multi-purpose tool that can direct the player in the direction of the next challenge, but that doesn't solve every problem. The ability to zoom out would have greatly improved the player's ability to discern which way they should proceed and not only that, being able to see each islands' level of intricate detail could have also been a treat.
TL;DR
- Ambiguous platforming segments
- The ability to zoom out would have been nice.
Final Score: 7/10
While Minute of Islands could have greatly benefited from improved platforming and character movement, it excels in its ability to create a world full of backstory and personality. It may not have been everything I'd hoped it would be but if you can get past its awkward controls, you'll be treated to beautiful artwork set in a strange land that tackles pollution and cultural preservation.
Thank you for checking out our Minute of Islands Switch review, thank you to Mixtvision for providing the review code and thank you to our $5 and up Patreon Backers for their ongoing support: