Island Dash

Being on vacation is definitely one of the best ways to relax and forget about all your troubles for a while, but even sunny days at the beach can become stressful sometimes. Many things can go wrong even when you are on vacation, such as vehicles breaking down, getting lost, or worst of all, losing all your money and the ability to get back home safely.

Island Dash is a funny exploration game with adventure and puzzle elements, in which you play the role of a tourist trying to relax on a sunny beach. Things get pretty rough once he hears someone shouting about delicious hot dogs for sale, but as it turns out, the tourist lost all of his money. Thus, the whole game is about making some money in order to finally purchase your very own hot dog.

The game is played from a third-person point of view, and the map is open to exploration from the first few minutes of gameplay. Thus, you can either go to your objective or just have a walk around the beach, both of which are fun activities. However, the missions are very entertaining and fun as well, and some of them actually require a bit of effort.

The hot dog vendor sends you to the ice cream shop in order to get a job and earn some money, which is how the whole adventure starts. One thing leads to another and you are trying to accomplish a variety of tasks around the island, during which your character consumes calories. The goal is to get back to the hot dog stand with as many remaining calories as possible, which is obviously easier said than done.

The colorful graphics help a lot with the laid back atmosphere, but the controls could use a touch-up, given the fact that it’s quite the bother to rotate the camera and see where you are going. Some work could go into the movement aspect as well, because your character can often get stuck in objects, which is pretty frustrating. On the other hand, the experience as a whole is far from annoying, which is a good thing.

In the end, Island Dash is not the kind of game that creates long-lasting memories, but it’s the perfect way to relax for a while and forget about your troubles. The island is colorful enough to really make you feel like you are on vacation.