The Berlin-based studio Fizbin team described their latest release, Minute of Islands, as a storytelling puzzle adventure. This story with Mo, a young woman who is going through a very emotional phase in her life, addresses the issue of the leap from childhood to adult life. In it, Mo must save the world from absolute doom, for which he has an Omni Switch, a device that will prove useful for the mission he is facing. Since an event called the Exodus took place, mankind has been in trouble: yellow spores have spread across the land, destroying everything that gets in their way.
For a while, Mo was safe from this threat thanks to strange machines operated by giants who live underground. However, the titans have fallen asleep and the machines stand still, so life in the beautiful archipelago in which they live risks immediate death. Our goal in the five chapters of Minute of Islands, about seven hours of playing time, is supposed to purify the air of the four islands and awaken the giants so that they can remove the spores and thus free us from extinction.
Visits to the islands follow the same pattern: first we need to find and repair the air filters on the surface, and then descend near the place where the titans rest. In this adventure, the Omni Switch will be the main weapon that both we and Mo will have, as we can interact with the machines and reactivate them in the end. When it comes to mechanics, Minute of Islands mixes puzzles with the meanings of jumping and running. To explore the islands we will have to traverse them, talk to other characters and overcome platforms while also facing various puzzles in the scenarios that take place underground. If we want to restore power to the giants’ machines, we have to fix circuits, restart the machines, and put some mysterious membranes in place.
Since Minute of Islands is mostly focused on the setting and story, the gameplay is pretty straightforward and doesn’t require much. In our experience, we loved the dynamism that the underground areas offer, especially since the Omni Switch is fun to interact with the elements of the world. Unfortunately, the sections with platforms can be irritating as it is not always clear where we can move safely. Towards the end of the game, the cyclical structure, which had worked very well until then, becomes clear; In fact, knowing what to expect Mo after completing each task takes some of the stress out of the business. In any case, the ending has a few aces up its sleeve in terms of the scenarios that take away our previous bad taste and end the title with a good result.
In each of the islands we will learn something new about Mo and the fate that awaits humanity. Some residents, such as the protagonist’s uncle, sister, and grandmother survived the spore threat, but Mo has long been separated from his family, so we shouldn’t be surprised if we witness a strange exchange of words. As the story progresses, the importance of being the only hero in the story and the pressure that Mo’s expectations of himself place on Mo become increasingly apparent. Her inner monologues will reveal a distorted picture of her family that increasingly isolates her from those around her, and as we sail from island to island the spores will evoke visions that will bring Mo’s inner struggles to the surface.
In terms of style and atmosphere, Minute of Islands is halfway between Adventure Time, Nausicaä des Valley of the Wind, Hyper Light Drifter, and the works of HR Giger. The unmistakable comic book style of this title, spurs that fall like yellowish snowflakes, and its minimalist soundtrack add a special charm to the dystopian world of Minute of Islands. Suddenly, even the rotting corpse of a whale or the bones of a dead man take on a special beauty decades ago in this desert world. As if that wasn’t enough, we find a number of memories narrated by Mo everywhere that give us an opportunity to discover what the world was like before the Exodus.
Minute of Islands could be compared to games like Abzû, which focus not so much on challenging the players but shine for the stories they offer. This storytelling adventure features great style, a beautiful soundtrack, and an atmosphere reminiscent of Studio Ghibli films. The incredibly melancholy atmosphere of the title also reflects a series of messages about false self-perceptions, forced isolation and the conviction that we shouldn’t share anything that hurts us with others.
We miss the freedom to make choices during Mo’s emotional journey; an aspect that would allow us to at least partially identify with the protagonist and thus generate a much deeper message. Either way, even to avoid (or maybe because of) super complicated challenges, Minute of Islands is an ideal game for those fans of narrative games with a powerful style who want to spend a day at a very, very, very far.
