There’s something strangely thrilling about turning something broken and dirty into something beautiful, giving it a new lease of life and a refreshed purpose. When that’s done virtually with instant results, it’s even better. That’s the experience on offer in Restore Your Island, and it’s as addictive as it is wholesome. 

Developed and published by indie studio PaiBand, Restore Your Island is what would happen if Castaway occurred on a litter-scattered island and Chuck had a penchant for environmental restoration. It’s 100% a cozy game with a deep meaning and hidden secrets that I cannot help but love. 

Well, we’re here now

It’s a known fact that the world is littered with trash, especially the world’s oceans. Just this morning, I read a news report stating that there are trillions of tons of plastic floating around in the water that makes up most of the world’s surface, and that’s not only hugely detrimental to the sealife, but also the world in general. Restore Your Island thrusts the truth of the matter directly into focus, stranding you on a desert island that is absolutely covered in trash that has washed up on the shore. 

Now, as eye-opening and potentially depressing as the subject matter is in Restore Your Island, it’s difficult not to fall in love with the process of cleaning up the island. You pick up every broken, dirty item one by one with the aid of a litter picker and place it into one of a varying number of trash cans (depending on how many you’ve unlocked) to gradually make the sandy beaches beautiful again. 

As you slowly remove the trash, the island slowly becomes a nice place to be, not only for yourself, but also for the wildlife that has previously abandoned it. Slowly, fish and sharks make a welcome return to the waters surrounding your new waterlocked piece of land, then crabs and turtles start to make their presence known. The island starts to come alive, all thanks to your effort, and that’s a beautiful thing. 

Tools and organization

As you progress and clean up more trash, you can sell it to purchase new items and upgrades that make further cleaning just a little easier. You can increase how much trash will fit in a single trash can, increase how much energy you have so that you can gather trash for longer, and even purchase a sifter to streamline the process and make it go that much quicker. 

These tools are welcome, but despite having them, I always default to my lowly trash picker. It just feels more satisfying to do it slowly.

The organization aspect really begins when you purchase your first additional trash can, which then provides you the opportunity to sort your trash to earn more money when it comes time to sell it. That means you’ll get a boost of funds if you fill an entire trash can with plastic, and another with metal, but it is harder to manage than you’d think. It’s easy to accidentally throw an apple core into your otherwise purely glass-filled trash can, and there’s no way to retrieve anything you throw in. 

In the end, I erred on the side of chaos and accepted the fact that I would earn less money, but I had a great time mixing my trash. 

Secrets and easter eggs

Once you’ve cleaned up the entire island and used your radar to find the hidden treasures in the sand, there are still some secrets to discover. You can free a trapped turtle using the pliers that unlock once you’ve completed everything else (including fertilizing the trees), and, my favorite secret of all, you can find a Castaway Easter egg in the chest behind the house. 

The key to this chest is hidden in the sand somewhere, and you’ll need to find it with your sifter, but once you do, you can unlock the chest and find Wilson the volleyball. Once you’ve found him, he sits by the campfire and keeps you company, alongside the dog, when your days get a bit lonely. 

There is a lot to love about Restore Your Island, and the screenshots on Steam offer a glimpse of things that will come later in the full release, such as new tools and locations to clean up. The demo has limited tools and only one island, but you can easily spend a few hours removing the trash and bringing life back to the patch of land.