Traveling to a tropical island resort is the dream of the winter months for many people living in colder climates, and Hello Kitty Island Adventure is very well aware of that. The story invites players to join Hello Kitty and all of her Sanrio pals on Friendship Island, a purportedly luxurious island getaway that turns out to…have some problems. As if the plane running into mechanical trouble courtesy of the onboard oven isn't enough. When you and your new pals balloon down to the island, it turns out to be largely abandoned. “Luxury” isn't really on the menu yet, which is where the game's plot comes in: restore the various areas of the resort by completing quests and exploring.

As plots go, it's a good setup for the cozy open-world vibes the game is going for. It's just enough to make it feel like there's a purpose to your exploration if you like to have a narrative to follow, while still loose enough to allow gamers more interested in decorating cabins and dressing up their avatar to focus on that. You need to complete quests to access all of the goodies for those two features, but they're largely FedEx quests or gathering and crafting quests – easily and enjoyably done without taking too much time. They go between plot-based quests and daily friendship-level raising quests, with a few thrown in to allow you to explore the eight available areas on the map. Some areas require a certain friendship level with someone to access, not because they're tied to the character in any way, but because you need to be a high enough level that they'll give you something; for example, you can't access underwater areas until you're good enough friends with Kuromi to get a snorkel.

All-ages games like this one truly need to function on a level where all ages of players can engage with them and enjoy them, particularly in the puzzles and quests. Series like Animal Crossing have the whole idea down to a science, and while Hello Kitty Island Adventure is very nearly there, it still has some areas of gameplay that may feel a little too challenging for the youngest players or those of us with coordination and spatial reasoning issues. For example, fishing, although not as vicious a mini-game as it is in Stardew Valley, is a challenge if you have difficulties with hand-eye coordination. Some of the dungeons require precision or timed jumping which I found frustratingly challenging. (For the record, I have both motor and spatial dysgraphia, neurodivergencies that the game did not take into account.) It's easier if you're playing with a controller (and any PlayStation, Steam, or X-Box controller will work; I used a PS4 controller), but that doesn't alleviate all of the problems.

That issue aside, this is a genuinely fun game. The level of customization isn't top tier, but you still have a lot of options for your character's look, which expand as you find more outfits or buy them from Tuxedosam's shop. Your main Sanrio point of contact is My Melody, who serves as your guide and the point person for most of the plot quests. Other characters have specific quests related to their interests, such as Chococat being interested in the technological aspects of the island or Keroppi in the natural. Most of the main Sanrio gang is present from the get-go, and later other characters, like Dear Daniel, may appear if you meet their conditions, giving the game a nice, large cast of characters to interact with. The game mostly allows players to progress at their own pace and rewards experimentation in the cooking minigames. It's also possible to work on a quest before it's officially offered if you stumble across something, a mechanic I appreciate.

Visually the game is pleasant and fun to look at. The catchable critters (mostly bugs and amphibians) are adorable, and each area of the map has its own flora and fauna, giving the game a varied and unique look. Gudetama figurines can be found throughout the map as part of a minigame, and special mailboxes allow for fast travel as you activate them. My only issue with the visual is the camera; rather than simply following behind you, it switches perspectives, sometimes taking a top-down point of view and swinging around at others. It can make you a bit dizzy, and I found the switch to top-down particularly disorienting and a little claustrophobic.

The game menu is very complete and easy to navigate, with different menu options taking the form of apps on a “cellphone” screen. Red dots mark new information in various menu areas, and you have the option to track quests, with or without a blob of light to follow to help you find where you need to be. It is impossible to die in the game, and walking into lava or falling from too high a cliff results in you being returned to the point where you made the misstep. Music is unobtrusive and generally pleasant, managing to be cute without descending into tinkly madness.

On the whole, Hello Kitty Island Adventure is a fun, easy way to spend some time. It rewards playing just a bit a day by giving you login rewards for each new day you play, and it works very well in one-to-two-hour sessions. Multiplayer mode allows you to play with your friends (and in single-player mode, you can still ask one of the Sanrio gang to “hang out” with you, i.e. accompany you as you explore), and it's generally just a nice, relaxing time. Even if you're not a Sanrio fan, it's easy to get pulled into the gentle world of the game, and if you enjoy the cozy exploration experience, this is a good choice, no matter your age.