PHOTO PROVIDED Pictured is Bre’s character with Gudetama in “Hello Kitty Island Adventure.”

Some of you who read my reviews of horror movies and scary games on a regular basis may be surprised to know that my interests do extend past that.

A lesser known fact about me is that I absolutely adore the “Hello Kitty” franchise. When I learned “Hello Kitty Island Adventure” was coming to PC, I jumped at the chance to buy it.

The description of the game on Steam explains the premise really well. It says, “Befriend beloved characters as you explore and restore a mysterious island, solve ancient puzzles, cook delicious dishes, customize yourself and your cabins and so much more.”

The gameplay mostly involves adventuring and puzzle solving. A huge portion of the game is made up of fetch quests, which can be very fun if — like me — you tend to speedrun finding materials.

Before I even unlocked the quest lines involving them, I had power crystals found for the majority of the game areas.

The quest lines are unlocked by giving daily gifts to Sanrio characters and befriending them. Each quest involves either finding items, delivering items, working through puzzles or 3D platforming.

There are also optional side quests — like collecting photos of one of my favorite characters, the lazy egg Gudetama.

Classic Sanrio characters like Hello Kitty, My Melody, Keroppi, Chococat, Pompompurin, Cinnamoroll, Kuromi, Tuxedo Sam, Pochacco, Badtz-Maru, Pekkle, Hangyodon and Retsuko are all initial friends on the island.

Like in the “Animal Crossing” franchise, new friends can be brought to the island as visitors. These are typically lesser known characters — the siblings of the main cast, significant others and friends from their universes.

There are also friends that unlock when you complete quests — such as Little Twin Stars Kiki and Lala.

If you want a cute experience with the characters you know and love, I definitely recommend giving this game a try. The price point is a little steep — $39.99 on Steam — but I’ve already gotten over 12 hours of gameplay out of it. If you value experience over cost, it’s not too terrible!

“Hello Kitty Island Adventure” can be purchased through Apple Arcade, Nintendo Switch, on Steam for Windows and a version on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 will be released later in 2025.

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Breanna Hanley is a reporter for The Express.