Reviews / 3 July 2023

Little Friends: Puppy Island Review – Puppies On The Go

Does Little Friends: Puppy Island fill the Nintendogs Void?

Welcome to puppy paradise! Get ready for a pawsome puppy adventure in Little Friends: Puppy Island! Discover exciting locations, dig up hidden treasures, build and expand your holiday resort, and meet plenty of lovable little friends to care for on your very own un-paw-gettable, tropical island adventure!

I have a huge soft spot and fond memories for games where you can look after animals, with Nintendogs being one of my all time favourites. While Nintendogs has not had a new release since the 3DS, in enters Little Friends: Puppy Island.

Little Friends: Puppy Island is a game where you are tasked with caring for a variety of puppies. You are on vacation on a paradise island, staying at your friend Sam’s house while they are away. Sam’s house acts as your main base on the island where you can tend to your puppies.

As soon as you arrive on the island, you are greeted by a little Huskey, your first puppy. Altogether there are a total of nine different dog breeds that you can meet throughout the game, with every puppy having stats that you can increase by doing activities with them, such as playing with them, walking and bathing.

There are plenty of different trails that you can take your puppy on for walks and explore. Along each trail you can discover areas on the ground where your puppy can dig where you can find a variety of new items such as collars and clothes. While walking your puppy, you can also work on its obedience as sometimes bushes or small trees on the trails will shake if there is a bird or squirrel in it, and you can train your puppy not to scare away the animal.

Sometimes you can also encounter obstacles during your walks which block your path. To be able to get passed these obstacles you play a short mini-game. You can also encounter new puppies while walking on the trail and you can encourage the new puppy to follow you home.

Back at Sam’s house, you will find everything you will need to take care of your puppies. There is a bathing area and a play station where you can play fetch with your puppies. There is a feeding area where you can feed your puppies either wet or dry food, and you can also dress your puppies up with new collars and outfits.

The game is visually appealing. The puppies are adorable and the different environments are vibrant and colourful. The music and background noises are relaxing and really brings the whole experience together. As for the performance on the Nintendo Switch, overall, it runs pretty smoothly. There is sadly no touch screen capabilities which would have been nice, but playing with a controller is still nice.

Little Friends: Puppy Island is a delightfully cute game to play. For those who are missing games like Nintendogs, this is a great substitute. There is an appeal for players of all ages who like looking after virtual puppies.

I played Little Friends: Puppy Island on Nintendo Switch with a review copy. The game is available now on Nintendo Switch and Steam.