Game Over: Lil Gator Game

As soon as Lil Gator Game hit Game Pass, I knew that I had to try it. A 3D platformer with an adorable story that had been highly recommended by a coworker over and over? Yeah, I had to see what the fuss was about, especially since it wouldn’t cost me anything extra and I am thrifty. Yes, I mean cheap.

So, you play as a gator who wants to play with their sister, and decides to put a huge adventure game together across an entire island to prove that it’d be better if she took a rest from her work and played with them. The stakes could not be lower, especially since there is no fall damage and all of the enemies are stationary cardboard models and don’t fight back.

With the help of your friends, and their friends, you set out on an epic quest to… actually, there is no endgame to the quest. The epic quest is to complete people’s requests, such as defeating some cardboard enemies, or picking up a giant pencil. They reward you with scrap paper and agree to join your “village” (the big play area), then you move on to the next quest. Some will aid you by gifting you with equipment to replace your default stuff, such as a nicer hat, or a skateboard to use as a shield, but you’ll usually need to buy those with scrap paper.

The shield is actually one of my favourite items in the game. Not the shield itself, nor its intended purpose (you know, defence), but the thing you actually wind up using it for. It’s a nice and speedy way to get around the island, by sliding on your shield, some of which float in water or bounce! In fact, getting around the island is pretty fun to do, between sliding, climbing, gliding and just walking around. Sure, climbing requires stamina, but that’s only an impedance if you let it be, until you find ways around it.

There is no farming, no crafting, no boss fights requiring you to “git gud”, just a lil gator and their friends doing some make-believe. And a fantastic sense of humour to everything, mustn’t forget that.

Lil Gator Game only takes a handful of hours to complete to 100%, including all of the achievements, but it was time that I really enjoyed playing. My kid watched me playing a little and the next day started playing their own save, completed it, then went right on to New Game Plus. While I don’t usually play NG+, I can certainly see why they wanted to experience the whole game again straight away. The concept is sweet, the vibe is chill, and who doesn’t want to just play?