Beasts of Maravilla
Island Review

Beasts of Maravilla Island (2021) is an adventure game where you play an aspiring wildlife photographer. You play Marina who explores the hidden, magic jungles of Maravilla Island. Follow the sights and sounds of the place, you solve puzzles to discover extraordinary creatures, interact with them in their natural habitat, and photograph their unique behaviours.

Your grandfather has died. Armed with his journal, you work to save Maravilla Island. To complete your book of photographs you'll need to coax the different animals out of their habitat. This evolves into side-quests where you, for example, play with a rambunctious otter-crocodile, be the wingman for a lovestruck bird-monkey and discover the favourite hiding spots of birds disguised as bananas.

There are over 50 extraordinary creatures and plants to photograph, each with their own appearance and behaviour such as the Sparkling Lamp lily, the Maravilla Mango Kakapo and the Prism-Winged Butterfly. The puzzles you complete also rely on your cooperation with animals, including playing hide and seek with an Otter Crocodile or helping a Bird Monkey find his perfect match.

The result is a game that combines ecology, photography and beautiful hand-drawn records of the creatures and plants you discover. You can explore at your own pace and go where you want in the island by running and climbing to discover and engage with the local wildlife.

Out now on Switch, PC, Xbox and coming soon to PS4

Our examiner, Jo Robertson, first checked Beasts of Maravilla Island 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Andy Robertson and updated 2 weeks ago.