Isoland

I bought the Isoland bundle because I was looking for some short point-and-click puzzle games, and the artwork immediately caught my attention. Before playing, I had already read that sometimes you need to “click everywhere” to find clues, and that did happen once: there was a corner I completely missed because nothing really pointed toward it. Aside from that moment, I really enjoyed figuring out what to do next and how to use the objects I found. To unlock all achievements and the true ending, you need to replay the game once. It only took me about 15 minutes to redo most of the earlier puzzles, but the newly unlocked hidden puzzles are much harder. I ended up following a guide for those.

I was really enjoying this game right up until the "end", when, surprise! part 2 means you have to replay the entire game before you do anything different. Now I had fun solving all the logic puzzles and finding solutions to this and that throughout this colorful, imaginative land but my gosh, I NEVER replay games and did not appreciate this "booby prize" for being successful in the 1st round. I slogged through it again but it's over and out on this series for me.

Isoland is a quietly absorbing point-and-click adventure that thrives on atmosphere, curiosity, and thoughtful puzzle design rather than spectacle or urgency. Developed by Cotton Game and published by Lilith Games, the title places the player on a remote and unsettling island where nothing is explicitly explained and nearly everything feels slightly out of place. From the moment you arrive, the game establishes a tone of isolation and mystery, inviting players to explore at their own pace and piece together meaning through observation, experimentation, and reflection. It is a game that values patience and attentiveness, rewarding those who enjoy slow-burn discovery over immediate gratification. Exploration forms the backbone of the experience. The island is divided into a series of distinct locations—beaches, forests, ruins, mechanical structures, and odd dwellings—each filled with objects to inspect and subtle clues to uncover. Movement and interaction follow classic point-and-click conventions, making the game immediately approachable even to newcomers to the genre. As players move from area to area, they collect items, decipher symbols, and interact with eccentric inhabitants w…

If you're looking for a short amazing story and a mind bending puzzle game at the same time, THIS IS IT! Isoland is not your typical puzzle game, it makes you look back at your tracks, makes you observe EVERYTHING, and makes you see something you ignored early on. The puzzles are challenging, but they are a great challenge if i'm being honest. If you are into mind bending games, i recommend this one. ✏️ You have to play this game two times to get the real ending, the second time makes you do all the things you've done in the first run but they added more puzzles to solve and the real ending.

This is an interesting puzzle-focused Adventure. The explorable area is fairly small, and puzzles aren't brain-melting, and I think that's a good thing; it keeps things from being overwhelming, and that gels well with the incredibly charming artstyle. It's on the shorter side, too, even if you go for the second round. The only real problem I had - and this may very well be a me problem - is that I'd occasionally get stuck wondering where to go; the final move for the first round involved going to a screen I didn't even know existed. Still well worth checking out, if you're into this sort of thing.

I am very conflicted about this game. There are some things you need to do to complete it that are not hinted at in any way, and even after knowing the solution, left me wondering how you were supposed to guess you could do that. [spoiler]In part 1, how are you supposed to know that if you shake the plant three times you can get the knob for the drawer? Other things in the game shake as well, but they do nothing, so it's up to luck that you think to click everything that moves three times in a row. Then in part 2 you have the six triangle-shaped stones. How do you know the order you have to place them in to open the secret door that appears in the temple? After seeing the solution in the only guide there is, I do not know how or when the player noticed the pattern, as it is left unexplained.[/spoiler] That being said, the extremely cheap price and charming, standout artstyle combined with most of the puzzles being (in my opinion) telegraphed enough makes me think it is still worth the experience. I can't wait to see what Graeldon's grandkids thinks about this game in some 70 years when they carry out his legacy of reviewing every Steam game.