Game Review: Storm Boy: The Game (Xbox One X)

Storm Boy: The Game is based on Colin Thiele’s 1964 children’s book of the same name. Aimed squarely at the younger market. It’s a loving retelling of the story with sharp, pretty visuals, simplistic gameplay and a touching soundtrack.

However, its target audience does not excuse its incredibly short length. This is game that can be finished, beginning to end within 10 minutes. That’s incredible for a game costing £4.99.

That’s not even rushing either.

Storm Boy takes place on the beaches of South Australia and tells the tale of a young boy who rescues orphaned pelican chicks. One of whom he develops a deeper bond with becoming his pet and companion, Mr Percival.

A coming of age story, it’s as much about companionship as it is about loss and acceptance. A sweet story and one anyone who has had a loving pet can relate too even if this one is about a pelican. It’s a shame that the game has very little impact thanks to a lack of detail.

Visually sweet, the beach and sand dunes are relaxing and backed up by a soft soundtrack that really sells the peacefulness of it all. In this area the game excels as you move right on the screen in 2.5D fashion. Simple controls, short sentences that appear on screen to tell the story and mini-games that involve drawing on the beach, feeding the pelicans and swimming with fishes. It’s all weighted towards a very young age.

You can’t fault the tone even if it is perhaps too basic. There is little replay value either even if each mini-game can be accessed from the main menu after your initial play-through. These are too light on content to extend gameplay. Although really young kids might find digging for shells and sliding down dunes a short distraction.