When your uncle suddenly disappears, leaving you to run his delivery business, you do what every good niece should do and step up to fill his huge shoes. In Lou’s Lagoon, your life is turned into a whirlwind of deliveries and mysteries as you try to fly from island to island, uncovering secrets about your uncle’s disappearance.
Uncle Lou has left you with his trusty seaplane and the Swirler 2000, a vacuum tool to help you harvest resources and solve puzzles. Think Palia crossed with Slime Rancher, sort of. Around each island in the Limbo Archipelago are creatures to encounter and harvest for their fur or feathers, and we are assured by the game devs that the animals like being vacuumed, despite their squeaks of surprise. Alongside the small animals are the islanders, anthropomorphic creatures full of personality, some of whom may have a task or two to complete or secrets to spill.
The tasks take you from island to island, and back again, so you are never settled in one place for too long. Lou’s Lagoon will keep you busy flying between islands, meeting new characters, and discovering the hidden treasures in each area. No mission is too simple. At one point, you need to find a propeller, but to get it, you will first need to uncover a secret family recipe from a grandmother who is only accessible by crafting steps. And then granny needs the ingredients for her recipe! Nothing is ever boringly straightforward. For those moments when you want to relax and not worry about fetching a delivery or uncovering another secret about your uncle, you can go fishing in the waters nearby or take to the skies and try your hand at sky races and timed challenges.
Flying is a lot more fun than I imagined it would be, and takes a little time to master. It is great fun to swoop and loop through the skies, completing timed challenges and discovering new islands. The unique nature of being able to traverse through the air is something that really sets Lou’s Lagoon apart from similar cozy games, along with the variation in landscapes across the islands.
Each colorful and vibrant island has a unique landscape to explore, with plenty of space for you to build a little holiday home or base of operations. The optional build aspect of Lou’s Lagoon is simple and fun to use, allowing you to select each modular piece, rotate it, and click it into place with ease. There is plenty of cute decor and furniture to unlock and add as you progress to make your home uniquely yours. If building isn’t your thing, that’s fine too; there’s plenty more to customize, from giving your seaplane a brand-new look to changing your character, clothes, and accessories.
Lou’s Lagoon is a great mix of cozy island fun and intriguing adventure. Harvesting resources and crafting are a huge part of the gameplay, with plenty of opportunities to upgrade your Swirler vacuum with extra tools to help you fix and create around the islands. If your favorite part of cozy games is cooking and baking, you will be pleased to know you will also find delicious recipes as you progress.
Even with just a small taster preview, we are excited to see more and really get our teeth stuck into Lou’s Lagoon. I can absolutely see this game being a massive hit with cozy game streamers, and I look forward to everyone’s reactions when it is released. Meanwhile, if you want to try out Lou’s Lagoon for yourself, check out the demo available to play on Steam right now.
