Island Saver is a lot of things but it’s not your regular game. For good or bad, this “Edutainment” game has changed what it means to be an Edutainment game. 

Island Saver is a 2020 title that was released by National Westminster Bank and was developed by Scottish Outfit Stormcloud. It was released on Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on 13 May 2020.

You’d probably think that the strangest thing about this game is the fact that it was released by a bank and while that may seem pretty weird, we’d say the strangest thing is the fact that it was released by a Bank— and it isn’t completely terrible. It has actually received a lot of great reviews. 

The next question might be why. Why is this game good? Well, there are a lot of reasons, and we’ll start with one. 

The Story Is Surprisingly Not Cringeworthy

Have you played any of those adventure games that are designed to teach kids math? If you have, you’d notice that they have a talent for running on extraordinarily cringeworthy stories. Some may even say that Cringeworthy stories are a huge element of the entire Edutainment genre but that’s not the case with the Island Saver game. The story of the game is that you’re something named a Bionaut and you’ve just arrived on an Island called Savvy Island. However, Savvy Island has one huge problem— it is quite literally drowning in waste. Plastic waste poses a great threat to the future of the Island, and if something isn’t done, the place may become inhabitable—  which sounds like something that may just be coming to someplace near you, wink wink. 

Anyway, our hero is armed with a trash blaster, which doesn’t do what you think it does. Instead, the blaster recycles trash instead of blasting them, the blaster can also suck water and use it to wash off black goo that is left over after all that recycling business. As you’d expect, our hero is supposed to clean up all the trash and the goo that comes with it, as this would save the Island from ruin. This sounds like a pretty decent plan, doesn’t it? The trash and the goo isn’t the only thing our hero cleans, though. Our hero also cleans thickets that are dotted about with nasty things. This causes them to produce fruit – fruit which attracts “Bankimals”. These animals vary in size and type and are usually yours to ride. When they come into the game, they are usually very lean, but as they eat more plants, they get fatter. 

And that’s when the fun starts, you can suck accumulated money from them using the Trash blaster. When you suck the money out of these bankimals, you’d have to spend them on something right?Well, welcome to the entire point of the game. It introduces ideas like a tax (for every ten coins, the tax robot takes one), banks (you can shoot money at a bank and have bank accounts secured with a pin), and foreign money. 

While this may sound a bit complicated, the entire idea behind the game is quite simple. You’re meant to suck up trash (not blast, as the name Trash Blaster may imply), deposit, clean the Island up, and make money from the Bankimals. This may not look like an Edutainment game at first— but that’s the point. It’s teaching kids how to make money, well roughly speaking, save money, account for the tax man, and spend it. 

It Looks Stunning 

The game is designed for 8 to 12-year-olds and it looks exactly like a game that was designed for 8 to 12-year-olds. It’s extremely colorful and will captivate a young mind. It’s super bright, super colorful, super loud, and super great for kids. 

Aside from looking amazing, the game sounds amazing as well. The bankimals aren’t just mindless drones that mill around like cattle (even though they technically are). They have very rich personalities, and the narrator, Kiwi the parrot is perfect for the job. 

But It Isn’t All Good

While we would have loved for this game to be perfect, it isn’t. And since we’ve said a great deal about why it’s a decent game, we have to talk about why it’s not the greatest game you’ll ever play. First off, the platforming isn’t that great. If you’re used to platform games that allow you to jump off at the last possible moment you probably wouldn’t enjoy this game that much. All of that microsecond last-minute measurement is gone. While the aesthetics of the game may look great, the actual gameplay just Isn’t that precise. Of course, this may just be because the game is targeted at young kids who haven’t yet become that great at playing video games. 

Another thing that doesn’t quite land (did you get that?) with this game is the fact that it does get repetitive after a while. Maybe eight-year-olds to twelve-year-olds like repetition— we can’t say for sure but we can say that you wouldn’t want to play this game after an hour. 

Verdict 

If you’re looking to play a serious game, well this isn’t for you. If you aren’t between the ages of 8-12, you shouldn’t even try to play this game. However, if you’ve got little ones, this is one game you should get for them. It’s fun, colorful, and will teach them more about money than you could. 

The Good 

Bright and colorful world with great graphics 

Easy and uncomplicated gameplay

It educates without being boring

The Bad

The gameplay isn’t very precise

It’s a bit repetitive