Uncover Mysteries in Under The Island’s Exciting Adventure

Author’s Note: A Game Key for Under The Island was kindly provided by Top Hat Studios

Adventure awaits players in Under The Island!

Firstly, cast your memory back to when you were a kid. Getting up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning and watching cartoons or playing video games. Exploring unknown worlds you could only dream of growing up. Scaling the tallest trees as if they were a lookout or a lighthouse. Building bases and hideouts that only a few would know about. Well, Under The Island helps you relive and reexperience those exact feelings. Nostalgic, cosy and wholesome.

In Under The Island, you play as the plucky, courageous heroine Nia.

As you arrive on Seashell Island, Nia takes the time to get to know the locals and her new surroundings, though this doesn’t quite go to plan. During this, Nia ends up not on the best of terms with one of the locals, Avocado. Now the two of them must work together to uncover the disturbing mystery of Seashell Island as well as help stop the island from ultimately sinking beyond saving.

By stepping into the role of Nia, you’ll not only meet and get to know a charming and interesting cast of characters, but you’ll also embark on battles, taking on different monsters, explore many one-of-a-kind and vibrant locations beaming with life and use your ultimate puzzle-solving skills to solve even the most intricate ones you come up against.

Under The Island Features

Under The Island is a game packed full of adventure, action and wonder. With such a game, you can be sure to find many features to truly bring the game to life. Here’s a deeper dive into what you can expect from Under The Island!

  • Embark on a thrilling adventure through a vibrant island world, filled with at least 6 different diverse biomes
  • that change according to the day/night cycle and weather.
  • Meet fascinating characters just waiting to get to know you with their own stories to tell!
  • Or get foiled by and bicker with Avocado, that’s fine too…
  • Traverse treacherous dungeons and caves, ranging from sentient greenhouses to treacherous ice caverns to
    crazy saw mills, gathering unique items and artefacts to become stronger and unlock new abilities.
  • Fight weird enemies like eggplants that can’t stop throwing up on the floor, and wolves that somehow dig
    underground. And walking onions that would love nothing more than to whack you with their stalks… discover
    new ways to fight them, and new strategies with the artefacts, loot, and upgrades you discover around the
    island!
  • Experience the world in unique, different ways from play through to play through, with different events and
    challenges to encounter and overcome, all depending on the order you decide to approach them in.
  • Uncover the secrets of the island’s ancient past, piecing together clues to unravel the truth behind its
    mysterious sinking.
  • Embrace the freedom and fluidity of an adventure directed by yourself, exploring the island’s nooks and
    crannies at your own pace and discovering hidden secrets along the way.
  • Befriend & help animals and treat them with snacks! Maybe some of them can help you?

via Top Hat Studios

Dive into the Unknown

Under The Island is a classic and nostalgic top-down 2D adventure. Reminiscent of many games I played myself as a child. Unsure as to what kind of adventure truly was ahead of me, I dived straight into Under The Island for the first time.

From the opening cut scene of the game, it felt relatable. Many long car journeys growing up, travelling across the country, unsure as to how long they would last. In this case, it was Nia who would be swapping her reality for a new one. One she really didn’t want to do or be a part of, but she was reassured by her parents it would only be for the short term.

However, it was now time to jump into the game myself and start exploring Seashell Island with Nia! Well, more specifically, Koala Village.

After spending some time exploring the village, soon I met Avocado. A long-time resident and seasonal tour guide for those visiting Seashell Island and the landmark Shrine in Koala Village. Yes, there’s also the odd koala you can find around the village too. Although, things don’t get off to a great start with Avocado and suddenly both were seemingly under the island. No pun intended. What happens next, who knows? Who are these mysterious new people Nia and Avocado just met? There certainly were a lot of initial questions needing answers!

I continued to progress through Under the Island. Curious to see how the story would unfold with my new-found friends, maybe more allies at this early point in the game, but eager to move forward. Rather than settling in and wishing for time to go quickly while on the island, I was now faced with a new challenge. One that seemed surreal and unusual, but now seemed to be more urgent. Like, much more urgent.

Without giving away too much of the story, it’s not what I was expecting at all. While I knew I’d be solving various mysteries such as the one about the sinking island, there’s so much more to it than just that. It’s the adventures you embark on with Avocado, the challenges you need to overcome, the puzzles you solve and secrets you uncover along the way. Piecing the clues together to truly understand why what is happening is doing so while trying to figure out how to stop it.

Combining those elements alongside not only the game’s lovely nostalgic art style but in a top-down fashion really has made me feel as though I’m back to playing one of many games on my Game Boy as a child.

I do have to say that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with Under The Island. I wasn’t entirely sure what to really expect when first starting the game. However, I’ve been pleasantly surprised and loved every moment. With an engaging story, curious and interesting characters, a good mixture between exploring puzzle laden dungeons and solving the sinking feeling Under The Island has been the perfect game for me lately. There is truly so much more I could say about the game, however, it’s one of those times when I really don’t want to ruin the story and let slip any potential spoilers.

What I can say is that it’s a story that really keeps you wanting more, not only to figure out the mystery of Seashell Island but also to see how your relationship develops with the other characters, such as Avocado and your parents. It’s one thing to live in one location for most of your life with your friends and normality to then flip that upside down and relocated to somewhere that is the polar opposite to what you know. It really makes you wonder what just may lay ahead as you start a new journey.

Steam Deck vs PC

Initially, I started my play through of Under The Island on PC, however, something just felt missing to me. Knowing that the game is Steam Deck verified, I switched over to the handheld device to see if that would change my mind, and it certainly did. As I mentioned previously, Under The Island had me reminiscent of the good old Game Boy days and this certainly helped that feeling. I guess you could say that it made the experience feel not only nostalgic but more immersive.

Performance wise, between the two, I experienced no issues and switching freely between the two platforms was seamless for me. Likewise with switching between using a keyboard and mouse set up and an Xbox Controller.

A Meaningful Adventure Awaits

I truly loved every moment I’ve spent so far with Under The Island. It’s a game that piqued my interest when I first heard about it and has been pleasantly surprising ever since. The art style, the vibrant immersive settings, the story, the characters, the enemies, the puzzles, the world, the attention to detail, everything is spot on. For me, it’s perfect. I’m excited to round off the closing moments of this current save file to then take on the game again. I didn’t think it was a game for me, but I couldn’t be more wrong.

However, that’s not all! Did you know you can also pet the dogs and cats that you see as you explore Koala Village? Well, now you do!

So, if you are looking for a modern take on the classic top-down 90s inspired adventure game, then Under The Island might be just what you are looking for! Go on, grab your hockey stick and take on those leek wielding monsters, this is one game not to miss.

Under The Island releases on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox and PlayStation on 17th February 2026. A demo on Steam is currently available to check out now!

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Published by Krista

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