Isles of Sea and Sky Explanation, what if the Game Boy Zelda went to the Sokoban? (PC), This small independent title conquers us with its fun exploration and puzzle adventure that combines genres very successfully.
The puzzle genre based on pushing boxes to a certain location, called Sokoban, is one of the oldest in the industry, with more than 40 years behind it, after debuting in the early 90s with the game of the same name that gave it qualification. Since then, the formula has seen a thousand and one variations, but the one we are dealing with today thanks to Isles of Sea and Sky has seemed very interesting and very well executed.
A drawer adventure
Isles of Sea and Sky is a puzzle adventure that inevitably reminds us of Game Boy’s Zelda due to its development and 8-bit graphics, but with one big difference: in each “zone” there is a box-pushing puzzle. If you remember, many 8-bit role-playing games divided their map into “squares”, so to speak, and the camera did not follow you but changed to the next area when you crossed the border of the screen. It’s the same here, and each of those “boxes” contains a puzzle to solve.
In this title, we will explore, as its name suggests, several islands full of puzzles, with some freedom to progress. Overall, the puzzles are great and are very, very satisfying to solve. They always leave you with that feeling of being close, and never of “this is impossible” (unless, as we explain later, they are impossible at that moment). As if it were a 3D platform game, we will have to collect stars to open new areas, so progress is not necessarily linear, and we have some flexibility to obtain the specific amount of stars required to open the next area.
Besides, we have to get certain objects and improvements to advance. For example, each main island has a deity who, after collecting several crystals, will unlock creatures that we can use in puzzles to progress. Some objects help us access new areas, in true Zelda style. For example, diving fins allow us to access submerged parts.
You know that we are quite in favor of games trusting the player and not leading them by the hand, and this is something that Isles of Sea and Sky does very well. There is not a single tutorial, and we discover everything little by little through trial and error. What we do think is that, sometimes, this simplicity can be counterproductive and somewhat confusing. For example, many puzzles cannot be solved until we have unlocked the creatures on each island, but nothing tells you this, and you never know for sure if a puzzle is simply difficult and you have choked on it, or if you simply cannot solve it.
Something similar happens with certain objects. For example, an island has buttons that raise and lower the water level. When you see a star underwater, the first thing you think is that you need to find the lower water level button, and it can drive you crazy until you discover that you need the diving fins. It’s like, in a Zelda game, there was a button that explodes rocks, but the door blocked by rocks can only be opened when you get the bomb later on. This means that you spend most of your time looking for a puzzle to solve, which, together with somewhat slow and uncomfortable navigation, often makes the experience somewhat frustrating.
Audiovisually charismatic
We loved Isles of Sea and Sky artistically. We believe that it knows how to successfully recover those 8-bit graphics, working with very few colors, but knowing how to combine them very successfully. The structure of the maps, the ability to navigate on a giant turtle between various islands on a map… it’s all very nostalgic. For those of us who have been doing this for quite a few years, it has been an experience that has reminded us of those years when we were looking for a light source where possible to be able to see the screen of our Game Boy.
In terms of sound, we have very successful melodies that accompany us very successfully, and discreet sound effects that also more than fulfill their purpose. Finally, it should be noted that, although there are practically no texts, those that do exist are in our language.
A fantastic adventure one step away from being outstanding
Isles of Sea and Sky is a fantastic game, with complex, well-planned, and fun-to-solve puzzles, also wrapped in a nostalgic audiovisual section that works great. Our biggest problem with the game is that it constantly presents you with puzzles that you can’t solve yet without you knowing it, and you spend most of the time trying to find the next puzzle that you can solve, which together with somewhat awkward navigation, can end up being quite frustrating. The good outweighs much more in this adventure, and even in those moments of frustration, we continued wanting to solve the next puzzle. We’ve spent a fun 12 hours with Isles of Sea and Sky, and it can be a lot more if you decide to go 100%. As soon as puzzles of this genre appeal to you, we think you have to give it a try.
We have carried out this analysis on Steam Deck thanks to a download code provided by Cicadasoft.
