One of the few Switch 2 launch exclusives, Survival Kids is a bit of an oddity. It was developed by Unity essentially as a test of their new technology, in collaboration with Konami, the publisher for a long running series of games also under the name “Survival Kids”. But will this installment created under unusual circumstances make for a fun game?
Worst Sailors Ever
Survival Kids has more of a premise than a story. Four kids find an old map in an attic. They then decide to set sail with very little preparation to find out where it would take them.
The kids find themselves stranded on an island and must sail to nine nearby islands to find harmony stones that will power the lighthouse and push the storm back. But each time they land on an island, they manage to crash their raft, both losing and breaking it.
It’s simple, but it works. The narration adds a layer of humor, with at times slightly sarcastic comments in a very British voice.
Fix Your Raft
The aim of each island in Survival Kids is the same. You have to find your raft and fix the damage from the craft. There are also objectives of finding hidden treasure stones and completing the level within time limits, along with some other challenges.
Each island requires that you explore and then craft objects such as bridges, climbing nets, and tools to progress to the next section. This has you running around the island to cut down trees, smash up rocks, and foraging for food to keep your stamina up.
The game starts with some fairly light puzzles along the lines of realizing that a hook in the wall needs you to use the fishing rod on it, but this escalates as the game continues. You’ll often find yourself needing to think about how to combine several mechanics such as throwing an item and using the fan on it to make it roll along to a pressure plate to activate a bridge, with more complex puzzles coming later in the game. The puzzles are never too difficult, but some do require some thinking, both in how to use the tools to proceed or what the safest way might be.
I should note here that Survival Kids is both more aimed toward younger players and multiplayer either locally, online, or using the GameShare feature. Many of the tasks work best if you’re working together to move crafting materials around, having one person deal with a switch while another waits on the platform, someone to move walls to block turrets while someone else drags a log, and so on. It’s still plenty of fun to complete the game single-player, but this is more of an ideal game to play with a younger relative or for kids to play together. It’s relatively easy to understand and one where players can have fun working together.
More difficulty comes in the form of the objectives to complete the levels quickly. The time limits can be quite tight even on a second playthrough when you already know the answer to the puzzles, and making mistakes like getting sent flying off a platform or dropping resources into the ocean can set you back enough to make the top score hard to reach. The hidden treasure stones can also be very out of the way or behind some puzzles that require a little more thinking. These objectives aren’t entirely optional either, since you need to complete enough of them to unlock the final level.
I enjoyed playing through Survival Kids, despite not being the target audience. Exploring the islands to discover their secrets, figuring out the best ways past the puzzles, and using the sometimes absurd tools made the gameplay simple but fun.
Sometimes In The Sun
Throughout the nine islands, there were three types of climate: forest, desert, and ice, each with a very different aesthetic and sets of fauna to find. Proceeding from one type to the other gave a clear sense of progression. Overall, I liked the look of the islands, feeling they had charm.
I wasn’t sure about the look of the characters at first, but they grew on me over time. It helped that you can customize them and unlock cosmetics through optional challenges along the lines of finding secret glyphs or discovering six types of fish.
I can’t say the music or sound was particularly memorable, but it always fit the setting. The exception of course was the already mentioned narrator, which was a nice addition.
Verdict
Survival Kids is best suited to playing multiplayer and could be an ideal title for a gamer to play with their child or a younger sibling. Even alone though, it’s a fun survival game with some light puzzles, and a good amount of charm to it.
There’s a good amount to discover here and a higher level of challenge than you might expect, at least if you want to clear all of the objectives.
SURVIVAL KIDS IS RECOMMENDED
If you are looking for a review of another Switch 2 launch title, check out our review of Mario Kart World.
Many thanks go to Konami for a Nintendo Switch 2 review code for Survival Kids.
A gamer since the days of Amstrad and DOS and someone who has dabbled in a variety of professions. He enjoys a wide variety of genres, but has been focusing on visual novels and virtual reality in recent years. Head Editor of NookGaming. Follow him and the website on @NookSite.
