A relaxing cleanup game that offers 5-10 hours of free content and would have some education value for small children.
+ smooth complexity progression in gradually stacking mechanics
+ impressive amount of unique animal and plant designs
+ colorful visuals accentuating each biome's characteristics
- unpolished from a technical standpoint, especially in movement
- slow UI responses
- somewhat irritating sound effects
- excessive backtracking in a few areas

Island Saver is an enjoyable, laid-back simulation game where you play as a Bionaut, a type of astronaut that travels from place to place to remove pollution and litter from various areas in the game world. Your goal is to clean each area. As you remove the litter and goop from each area, animals start returning to their habitats. The game is likely made for children, but as an adult who is a child at heart, I loved it, and it's probably one of my favorite games.

In Island Saver, there are three campaigns/levels in the base game. Each one was enjoyable and featured its own location.

What I loved about the gameplay:

I loved that the gameplay was relaxed and satisfying. Island Saver is a really fun game to play if you feel like something light-hearted and fun that doesn't take too much stress, strategy, or time. I never felt that the gameplay was tedious, and I genuinely enjoyed the feeling of clearing each area and seeing the animals come back to each place.

I loved the visuals in the game. Island Saver has a vibrant, cartoony style to it that I enjoyed. I felt excited when I got to see the new environments for the first time and explore them.

I loved the collecting in the game. Unlike a lot of other games I've played, collecting wasn't a chore; it was not difficult to do and there weren't any collectibles that were frustrating to get to.

I enjoyed the soundtrack of the game. This game doesn't have many music tracks; you'll hear the same tunes repeatedly in the game, but that did not bother me much, since I found that all of the tracks were enjoyable to listen to.

I enjoyed the animals' appearances. They're not realistic by any means; very cartoony and sometimes humorous, but charming in their unusual style and vibrant colors.

What I think could have been better:

I feel like it would've been handy to have upgrades available earlier in the game, rather than just late-game.


Who I would recommend this game to:

Anyone and everyone interested in either light/relaxing games, animal/nature lovers like me, from children to adults, and anyone who enjoys the concept/gameplay experience this game has to provide.

My rating/verdict:

I give this game a 4.5. I don't really have any complaints, other than that I wish there were more upgrades available in the game!

Please give it a try if it interests you; it's free, and honestly one of the most enjoyable games I've played in a while; in my personal opinion. I played both DLC and enjoyed them quite a bit. They both had great areas, gameplay, and animals.

I would recommend buying them if you enjoy the regular game; they're cheap, and give you a few more enjoyable hours of the game!

Though it’s rare compared to the old days of the 80s, 90s, and 00s, the advertisement game lives on in this particular little entry. Published by the National Westminster Bank of the UK, Island Saver is another in the line of the “comfy game” aesthetic of vidya-somewhat in the vein of Slime Rancher-but this time with an edutainment slant about saving money and the environment (which makes sense while also being ironic), all of which revolves around the main loop of recycling trash, using your funds responsibly, while also learning tidbits about banking, taxation, animals, and everything in between. The colorful and whimsical graphics, coupled with the varied environments, do a lot to hide what’s otherwise a tedious gameplay loop of collect-and-drop and the occasional combat, fun for the first hour but losing its charm towards the last island. However, considering that it’s free and it ultimately did accomplish what it set out to do, it’s fine for what it is. The DLC islands, particularly the dinosaur island, do spice up the formula just a little bit and are a bit on the cheap side. They’re worth it to those who thoroughly enjoyed the main game.

A really great free to play edutainment game.

A game that teaches children about environmentalism and finances is strange combination to be sure, but it works.

The world is cute and colorful, and the basic gameplay elements will draw children in. However some of the banking mechanics can be a bit difficult for children to understand, so an adult will probably need to play with them to help them understand.

The only real problems this game has are that the platforming segments can be a bit wonky, NPCs remind you of your objectives a little too often, and a big part of the gameplay is tedious inventory management.

The main game feels a little short, but the DLC makes up for it. The DLC is not only cheap, but the proceeds go towards a charity known as Special Effect, a charity for helping disabled children.

Great for casual play, or for spending time with a younger relative.

Slime Rancher meets Viva Piñata in this charming, relaxing game that aims to teach kids about caring for the environment and managing money. There is also a bit of collectathon 3D platforming along with fun extra things you can do like buy hats for your animals and change their colors. If it sounds interesting to you, I strongly recommend giving it a try - it's free.

There is also some paid DLC, but I found it a bit lacking compared to the base game. The dinosaur DLC has big, empty-feeling environments that are trying to compensate for the large dinosaurs, and the fantasy DLC introduces a new animal food mechanic that adds a lot of walking back and forth.