I discovered a number of pleasure in Hello Kitty Island Adventure after I first began taking part in its closed beta for IGN’s information, method again earlier than it hit Apple Arcade in 2023. Attending to create my very own little Sanrio character and run round a tropical island accumulating fine details to reward to my new animal associates was fairly stress-free and enjoyable. However daily, that motivation to finish all my quests, discover lacking associates, and unlock new areas began to put on off. At a sure level it felt like a chore to log in, spam associates with presents till I hit obnoxious every day limits, and hope I’d be allowed to progress my friendship ranges a little bit additional. Sadly, it’s the identical scenario on Change and PC a yr and alter later: this island continues to be simply as giant, colourful, and geographically various because it was on my iPad, nevertheless it’s as frustratingly gated, repetitive, and rancid too.
Don’t get me flawed, there’s a lot to love about Hello Kitty. The crafting, for example, feels easy and intuitive. There are various various things you may make, from quite a lot of meals objects to cute plush friends. However on the finish of the day, the primary goal of crafting is to get higher presents on your island associates. The higher your presents, the faster you’ll advance friendship. Which means there may be little or no incentive to craft issues exterior of reward giving or unlocking the following step of the very gentle “story.”