Cynically, Island Saver is an advert for NatWest Bank, superficially dressed up as a save-the-planet first person eco shooter. You clear up and recycle rubbish, you clean the plants and animals, and you endure banking related puns as you go.
Shoehorned in is a primer on what a bank is, and you’re taught about interest, currency exchange, loans and tax collecting. And of course because this is an advert, the game is free.
So why did I enjoy playing it so much? Certainly, it’s not a fantastic game by any means. The gameplay loop is a little tedious, as you can only hold so much and the recycle bins can also only hold so much, and to empty them you need tax credits from a specific machine, and everything takes up inventory space so you’re constantly juggling it. Then your water gun runs out of water just before the Litter Bugs – the only baddies in the game – appear and you can’t shoot them as you need water and you’ve accidentally selected the wrong inventory slot so you fire cans at them instead anyway and by the time you’ve refilled from a pond and taken them down they’ve dirtied all the plants again.
But, it’s very low peril. There’s no real danger. There’s no real skill needed anywhere and it’s all so bright and jolly and easy that somehow, you just get sucked into it. Island Saver feels a bit like Viva Piñata only reimagined as a first person shooter. It’s not going to tax you or provide high thrills, but it’s pleasantly relaxing and inoffensive, and, actually, the banking advert side of it isn’t really that intrusive after all.
You can’t really complain for free, either.
You can just sook up the litterbugs and launch them into the sea! You don’t need to shoot water at them.