Ludography
64/100
Players15 ratings
More scores
Metacritic usersuser score
70/100
GameFAQsEasy
3.79/5
Player reviews
95% positive3,890 reviews
Steam Deck
Playable
Runs on
Windows
Price
Free

Where to get it

Island Saver cover

2020 · Action · Action-adventure

Island Saver

Are you a Savvy Saver? Blast the trash and save the islands! Help save the Savvy Islands!

Also known as
moneybox.exe
Released
12 May 2020
Platforms
WindowsNintendo SwitchPlayStation 4Xbox OneiOSAndroid
Genres
ActionAction-adventureAdventureFirst-person shooterSimulationStrategy
Developers
—
Publishers
—
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
First person
Themes
ActionEducationalKidsOpen world
Country
United Kingdom
Age ratings
USK 6ESRB E10+PEGI 3GRAC ALL
Languages
EnglishFrenchGermanItalianPortuguese (Brazil)Spanish (Spain)
Time to beat
7hmain story9hcompletionist

About

Island Saver is a free-to-play action-adventure game developed by Scottish

studio Stormcloud Games and published by National Westminster Bank. It was released on Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 13 May 2020.

›Story

The game takes place on Savvy Islands, an archipelago of once tropical islands that are now all covered in the world's litter. It is the players job to save the islands animals by clearing up the litter and rescuing the animals along the way.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The game's objective is to traverse an island. New areas can be unlocked by spending in-game coins. These coins are obtained by cleaning up litter, cleaning up goop and in turn saving the bankimals—animals that can balloon up with coins like a piggy bank. As the game progresses, the player learns about the fundamentals of using a bank account, in addition to related topics such as the concept of paying taxes. Two downloadable expansions are available with the proceeds going towards the charities SpecialEffect and Young Money.

Development

NatWest aimed to create an educational video game to teach children about managing money responsibly.

Our design vision for Island Saver was not only to create a fun, family friendly, full scale game but a game that also happened to be educational and have a positive environmental message. We wanted the game to reflect a real-world problem that young people would care about, so we covered the once tropical paradise of the Savvy Islands in gloop and plastic pollution and made it the player's job to transform the rundown islands back into a vibrant paradise.

Reception

Gamespew praised the educational elements of the game, "How exactly does Island Saver teach children about money? Well, every action you complete has a clear reward. [...] It's about balancing your earning vs spending, and not going too mad on those non-essential purchases." Gamepitt gave the game a 9/10 rating and was also positive with regards to the graphics and educational elements.

Other reviews were critical of the game; Evan Norris of VGChartz wrote "Island Saver is not a good game but, considering its raison d'être, it could be worse." He criticised the platforming and combat features of the game, describing the latter as a 'chore' and the controls as 'clumsy'. Jonjo Cosgrove also criticised the gameplay and called it 'tedious' and closed with the comment "[Island Saver is a] thoughtful game with little to no staying value beyond an initial play."

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

Releases by platform
PlatformReleasedRegions
Windows12 May 2020Worldwide
Nintendo Switch13 May 2020Worldwide
PlayStation 413 May 2020Worldwide
Xbox One13 May 2020Worldwide
iOS9 September 2020Worldwide
Android27 September 2020Worldwide

Title IDsone per regional release, with its latest update

Title ids and disc serials by release
PlatformTitle IDRegionLatest update
Nintendo Switch0100A2600FCA0000—v3

Editions and related releases

Downloadable content
Island Saver: Fantasy IslandIsland Saver: Dinosaur Island

Games like this

Collections3 collections

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.