New ‘Hello Kitty Island Adventure' game lets you play alongside Sanrio's cast of characters

Hello Kitty just expanded her business empire with a new video game. "Hello Kitty Island Adventure" launched exclusively on Apple Arcade on July 28, and gamers are anticipating its first major update by late August. 

The objective of the open-world adventure game, which quickly debuted at No. 1 on Apple Arcade, is to work with beloved Sanrio characters to restore an abandoned amusement park on a tropical island – with a little fun along the way. The game is available in both single player and multiplayer formats and offers 50 hours of gameplay at launch. 

The developers behind Hello Kitty Island Adventure at Sunblink say they have plans to update the game in perpetuity. 

"We had for years wanted to create a massive open world life sim," Sunblink Founder Julian Farrior said at a launch party at the Hello Kitty Grand Cafe in Irvine. "We met with Sanrio. Sanrio was floored by the idea, and it's really been a match made in heaven." 

In the game, players can develop their own Sanrio-style avatar so they can fit into Hello Kitty's "super charming world." Like Hello Kitty says, "you can never have too many friends." 

The core of the game revolves around building up your friendship with each of the 13 characters, including Hello Kitty, My Melody, Cinnamoroll, Keroppi and others. When you 'level up' your friendship, you can unlock new stories, cosmetics, cooking upgrades, crafting recipes, companion abilities and improved companion boosts. 

The game opens on a character-filled plane as everyone heads to Friendship Island. On the flight, you'll encounter your first quest called "Happy Landings" where Hello Kitty causes a fiasco dubbed "cakes on a plane," which forces all the passengers to parachute to safety using balloons. 

While on the island, you're expected to figure out what each character's favorite gifts are. Two ways to make those gifts are cooking and crafting. You can make a delicious treat for your friend (Mama's apple pie, anyone?) or get crafty by combining different materials into trinkets or souvenirs for your Sanrio friends. 

And there's plenty of interior and exterior space to explore on Friendship Island. You can decorate a cabin in the game, and even adopt a pet critter (look around the nature preserve). You can visit Kuromi's haunted mansion, dive underwater or go into a puzzle room for a change of pace.  

Fan favorite Gudetama is also hidden throughout the island. You can take your time finding the lazy egg, though. Once you've found Gudetama, take a selfie in exchange for a cute outfit. 

"Its [Hello Kitty Island Adventure] vibe is similar to Animal Crossing with more focus on questing and exploration," one Reddit user wrote.

The first major update for "Hello Kitty Island Adventure" is planned for late August, according to Sunblink Chief Product Officer Chelsea Howe. She teased that Little Twin Stars and their beautiful home of Cloud Island will be added to the mix, as well as new outfits, new furniture, and new food to make.

The Sanrio world is so rich and so full of characters and we hope that there will be plenty of room for people to kind of find their home here.

Chelsea Howe - Chief Product Officer, Sunblink

"We hope that people can continue to enjoy this longterm for months and even years," she said. "The Sanrio world is so rich and so full of characters and we hope that there will be plenty of room for people to kind of find their home here." 

That home has extended beyond the game, too. 

Sunblink hosts a Discord server for chatter and resolution of issues around the game. More than 19,000 members can read about future updates and game fixes on the platform, or discuss amongst themselves guides related to various aspects of the game such as all the food recipes and a rewards masterlist. 

Are you ready to start a "ridiculously cute Hello Kitty adventure?" Apple Arcade is free with a 1-month trial, and costs $4.99 a month for unlimited access to its game selection.