Environmentalist Exploration Adventure Lou's Lagoon Comes In for Landing

Summer's winding down, and while I'm happy to see the end of this recent chain-heatwave, those who want to keep those sunny vibes running a little bit longer could do worse than Lou's Lagoon, which released today. Coming from German indie studio Tiny Roar, it's an open-world platforming and exploration adventure about travelling by seaplane around an archipelago of cartoon islands inhabited by cute critter-folk, helping them with their problems, rebuilding their storm-damaged homes and towns, and generally being a good neighbor while searching for your titular Uncle Lou.

Gritty open-world survival crafting this isn't, though. Your main tool in Lou's Lagoon is a handy high-tech gadget named the Swirler, which can vacuum up trash and debris from the world to store as resources, which can then be easily deposited into the world as useful structures by changing it from Suck to Blow. There's a little bit of Fortnite in both how the game moves, looks, and the ease of construction, but credit where due, Fortnite has really game-feel. And that's about where my praise for it begins and ends.

While broadly liked, Megabit Publishing has chosen to take down the Lou's Lagoon demo, which is a bit of a shame. It was a good introduction to the game, highlighting that while the game may have easygoing vibes, it doesn't quite fit in with the current 'cozy' crowd of games. It features a little bit more action than other games in this sphere, including some fairly involved platforming and flight challenges. Still entirely kid-friendly, but with a little challenge to keep things interesting.

While there's no grand peril, there are pirate enemies in some areas that will knock you around a bit (albeit non-lethally) and need to be shut down with your Swirler. The local animals can also get ornery if you bother them with the wrong tool. Try to pull the wool off an alpaca, and it'll respond with a firm headbutt, which is more funny than anything, but I found myself launched off ledges and into water a couple times.

With Lou's Lagoon down, Tiny Roar are already deep into their next game - another environmentally-themed open world adventure, but with a somewhat darker, post-apocalyptic tone and hunting mechanics. Still, Verdant is a looker so far, and it's nice to see a smaller studio with multiple irons in the fire and consistent publisher support. Something that you used to take for granted, but these days? Less so.

Lou's Lagoon is out now for £20/$25, with a small 10% launch discount until September 2nd, and a small extra discount if you own the Animal Crossing-esque Hokko Life.