Lil Gator Game reminds me a lot of A Short Hike in the same way that Haven Park does, but unlike Haven Park, it's much easier to maintain a free-spirited flow state in a way that the former really captured and the latter somewhat lacked, lending Lil Gator Game a much stronger sense of identity. Translating the climbing stamina mechanics from the isometric perspective of A Short Hike to the 3rd person 3D perspective of Lil Gator Game (basically that of Breath of the Wild) does wonders for how quickly you can just jump and climb about. Factor in t-shirt gliding, "shield" sledding (which allows you to skim on the water like a jetski), and the ability to chain all of this together through constant jumps while sledding to build up speed, and you've got some pretty sick movement potential, even if you don't necessarily need it.
I think that's the strength that this game best exemplifies; there's tons of ways to get going and zip around the two islands for the kicks, but you can absolutely take the odyssey at your own pace and just soak in your surroundings too, since there's no fail-state from falling too far or discomfort from ever getting lost. It's a several hour nostalgia trip with tons of environmental interactivity that's quite literally a living make-believe playground, with tons of random hats, swords, shields, and various toys like a bubble gum balloon or a sticky hand to roleplay Spider Gator to mess around with on a whim. They even give you a texting tool to find the remaining cardboard monsters to go slashy slashy upon and the megaphone to shout out to find your remaining buddies if you're that kind of individual that wants to do everything there is to see. It never tries to take itself too seriously either; the whole gang's here for the dumb adventure tropes and genuinely wants to be your friend. It's such a simple yet realized take upon an indie classic, but absolutely worthwhile dipping into just to remember that sometimes, it's okay to forget about life for a while and pretend to be a kid again.
Oh, and the Ninja Headband accessory actually does make your character move faster thanks to the Naruto run. It's okay though; no one's going to judge you in Lil Gator Game. Now, time to climb some more peaks and ragdoll terminal velocity splat one more time before dinner.
I think that's the strength that this game best exemplifies; there's tons of ways to get going and zip around the two islands for the kicks, but you can absolutely take the odyssey at your own pace and just soak in your surroundings too, since there's no fail-state from falling too far or discomfort from ever getting lost. It's a several hour nostalgia trip with tons of environmental interactivity that's quite literally a living make-believe playground, with tons of random hats, swords, shields, and various toys like a bubble gum balloon or a sticky hand to roleplay Spider Gator to mess around with on a whim. They even give you a texting tool to find the remaining cardboard monsters to go slashy slashy upon and the megaphone to shout out to find your remaining buddies if you're that kind of individual that wants to do everything there is to see. It never tries to take itself too seriously either; the whole gang's here for the dumb adventure tropes and genuinely wants to be your friend. It's such a simple yet realized take upon an indie classic, but absolutely worthwhile dipping into just to remember that sometimes, it's okay to forget about life for a while and pretend to be a kid again.
Oh, and the Ninja Headband accessory actually does make your character move faster thanks to the Naruto run. It's okay though; no one's going to judge you in Lil Gator Game. Now, time to climb some more peaks and ragdoll terminal velocity splat one more time before dinner.