Lou's Lagoon

Instant Tale Spin vibes made me interested. However Game is Grindy and feels still like early access. Bugs, QoL, and Story. One of the biggest things is Crafting space and the economy. You should be able to craft multiple refineries to speed things up as well. Flying well its arcade flying. very dumbed down which isn't bad but I feel there is more room for improvement there. some of the animations with the gadgets are reused. like I upgrade my fishing pole but its animation is reused for the swirler. I am going to check back in a couple months to see if they add some updates. (Inventory space should be a quest reward and scale faster than just finding chests and hoping you can ease that pain.) if you have space in the the plane just add it to the character. make the inventory of the plane Unique. example have a Quest item that needs to be delivered. the Item is stored in the plane inventory. Increase crafting output. Have more places to craft. (your own island?) 3/5

If you're a fan of PS2 era platformers - think Spyro, Ty The Tasmanian Tiger, Jak & Daxter - then Lou's Lagoon may be the nostalgic experience you've been craving. I actually played a demo of the game back in 2024 and immediately added it to my wishlist. I've been eagerly awaiting the full launch since then and I'm super happy to say that it delivered the cozy, nostalgic adventure I had hoped for. The graphics are cute, the characters are charming and the island designs, while not groundbreaking, are really well done. There's something comforting about exploring the world, completing requests, hunting for treasure and discovering secrets. I feel like it really captures that old-school platformer feeling while incorporating newer concepts like foraging and crafting. Though inventory space is limited at the beginning, it is upgraded as you progress and explore. There is also additional storage space offered in the plane, so the inventory restrictions never felt like a major problem to me. Crafting times can be a little tedious at times, but I honestly didn't mind it too much - it gave me an excuse to completed other errands while waiting for things to finish crafting. I did encounter a few bugs during my playthrough, but thankfully nothing game breaking or impacted my enjoyment. The devs have also implemented a hand reporting function which is available at all times, so any bugs encountered can be reported without navigating away from the game. I finished the main story questline in roughly 15 hours, although I took my time, completed a good chunk of side quests and searched for treasure chests in between story quests. I never felt the need to rush through, and I think that's the best way to experience this game - just relax, explore and enjoy the adventure! There are a few things I'd love to see in future updates: The House: Personally, I'd have preferred a pre-made house designed by the devs that requires crafting materials to be collected for (like in the More Than Walls and a Roof quest) rather than a sandbox-style building. The NPC houses have far more aesthetic charm than anything I am able to create. It would also be great if the house had some actual functionality - sit on furniture, interact with items, display collectibles, etc. The Plane: Flying around is genuinely fun, but once fast travel is unlocked the plane feels a bit redundant (besides the ring challenges). I'd love to see more reasons to get back into the cockpit - as Lou owns a delivery company, delivery jobs would be perfect for this, but things like special destinations that can only be reached by plane would also be welcome! Post-Game Content: I'd love a bit more to do after finishing the main story - as mentioned in my previous point, delivery jobs would make a great addition and would add further playability after completing the game. These aren't complaints that ruined the game for me - just suggestions as I genuinely enjoyed what is already included in the game! Overall, Lou's Lagoon scratched that PS2 era platformer itch perfectly for me. It isn't trying to reinvent the wheel, but it takes the charm, simplicity and adventure and mixes these elements with cozy exploration, foraging and crafting to create something that feels both nostalgic and fresh.