Steam Game Festival: The Minute of Islands demo is a creepy, slithery delight Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Steam Game Festival: The Minute of Islands demo is a creepy, slithery delight The mould gods. Feature by Christian Donlan Features Editor Published on 4 Feb 2021 7 comments A quick glance at Minute of Islands and I wanted in. Here were blue skies and bright sou'westers, a story book adventure about a girl and a boat and an archipelago of some sort. When I played the demo, though, which is available as part of the Steam Game Festival, I realised that Minute of Islands is actually rather different. Look again: this isn't a children's book style. It's the thin lines and eager rot of 1980s underground comics. That sou'wester is Hazmat yellow, and this adventure doesn't start on the open wave but deep underground, in biomechanical corridors and ear canal spaces where machinery has gone wrong and the air is poisoned. Watch on YouTube Minute of Islands teaser trailer Minute of Islands preview Developer: Studio Fizbin Publisher: Mixtvision Platform: Played on PC Availability: Releasing March 18th on PC (with a free Steam demo available until 9th Feb), Mac, PS4, Xbox One and Switch Fixing the air is the focus of this fascinating, disquieting demo, and it does quickly take us above ground. But above ground is where whales are rotting on beaches and sharks are strung up and gutted. The art style is perfect for moss and mould and spores in the air. The mission to turn on three air purifiers is classic adventure game three-trials stuff, but there is more here - an unusual mood, an unwillingness to settle. I don't want to spoil much more, except to say the Minute of Islands is a neat blend of exploration, traversal and puzzle solving. Traversal is just the right side of intricate and you spend a lot of time opening up secondary short cuts in a manner that inevitably calls to mind Dark Souls. Puzzle solving often comes down to a handy gadget you've got that can power up machinery and direct bolts of energy, and which even points the direction to the next objective if you're lost. Minute of Islands may make for a strange story book, but deep down it is very eager to tell a story anyway. A narrator pops in during quiet moments, and there are plenty of questions raised over the length of this generous slice of the game. Now I know what Minute of Islands is, I am still very interested in seeing more of it. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Features Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Feature What games get wrong about horses And what they could do about it. 28 Feature Shout out to all the Overwatch supports - where would we be without you? Merci. 55 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 4 Genshin Impact Path of Gleaming Jade dates, login event rewards Including other anniversary rewards and how to claim them. Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store