Poppy Sanctum Prelude Aquance Isle

Poppy Sanctum Prologue: Aquance Isle is a really charming little adventure that immediately won me over with its cute red panda protagonist. I play as Mimi, a young red panda stuck on Aquance Isle, a strange place controlled by powerful mages. The main goal is to figure out how to escape, but there is a lot more personality here than I expected from such a short prologue. It has a lovely mixture of exploration, puzzles, magic and little interactions with the creatures living on the island. The exploration is probably my favourite part. Aquance Isle feels like a small but colourful place that actually encourages me to look around rather than simply following a straight path. I can talk to the other red pandas, investigate the environment and gradually work out what I need to do. There is even a little game of tag involving the other pandas, which I thought was a really cute way of making the characters feel like more than simple puzzle hints. The puzzle itself is fairly unusual. I need to recruit some friends and work out how to deal with a mage who can control water, while also avoiding the mage keepers who are trying to keep the poppy under control. The physics based mechanics give some of the interactions a nice sense of unpredictability. I liked experimenting with things and figuring out how the different parts of the environment fit together instead of being given an obvious solution immediately. The visual style is easily one of the strongest things about the game. It mixes hand drawn pixel art with low poly 3D environments, and somehow the combination works really well. The island feels colourful and whimsical without looking completely generic. I especially liked the way the red pandas look against the larger environments. The original music also adds a mysterious atmosphere that makes the island feel like there is more going on beneath its cute appearance. The biggest problem is the length. This is a prologue and the main experience can be completed very quickly, so I reached the end just as I was starting to get properly invested in the world. I really wanted to see more areas, more creatures and more of the story surrounding the Sanctum. The puzzle could also have been expanded with additional mechanics because I think the physics and magic systems have a lot of potential. I also think the game can be a little confusing at times. The unusual perspective and interactive environments mean I sometimes had to experiment before understanding what the game wanted me to do. For me, that was mostly part of the charm, but I can see it becoming frustrating if I want every objective to be clearly explained. Thankfully, the full controller support makes moving around and interacting with the environment feel much more comfortable. Overall, I really enjoyed Poppy Sanctum Prologue: Aquance Isle. It is short, but it has a lot of personality packed into that small experience. Mimi is adorable, the island looks fantastic and the combination of exploration, physics puzzles and magical interactions gives the game a distinct identity. I definitely want more after finishing it, which is probably the best compliment I can give a prologue. It feels like a small glimpse of a much bigger adventure that I would happily play. Rating: 6.6/10