WITH Island brings stress-free casual games to iOS, coming soon to Android

• WITH Island: Relaxing Games is exactly what it says on the tin
• A casual offering with plenty of idle minigames to play, it’s out now on iOS
• Coming soon to Android, what’s the appeal of this pastel-infused meditative experience?

When it comes to mobile I think one of the more unusual things I’ve seen over the year or so I’ve been with Pocket Gamer is how many profess to be stress-free. And look, there’s a big difference between “exciting and action-filled, leaving you feeling happy” and “stress-free” as the latter I associate more with tea blends than gaming.

But WITH Island is as close as I think you can get to embodying that, for better or worse. Set on the back of a gigantic, sky-faring whale this series of minigames, collectathons and other idle fare is out now on iOS, soon to come to Android.

You may remember me covering this last week, and having now had a chance to see more of the gameplay I’m still somewhat iffy on it. For one thing, yes, I still do detest pastels. But by that same token the more I see of it the more I kind of get the appeal.

Cool, calm and collected

Let me be clear, this is the fuzziest, most dreamlike game I think I’ve seen thus far. Which can be a positive or a negative depending on your position. But either way, I think this is a release that’ll appeal to a very narrow segment of people. Not that they’re necessarily wrong for liking it but, well, it’s not quite my cup of team.

But if you’re looking for something that’s so much the inverse of edgy that it’s practically a sphere, maybe WITH Island is what you’ve been looking for.

And if you enjoy our occasional asides and observations, maybe you’d like to listen in on the latest edition of the Pocket Gamer podcast to hear more about what we think of the world of gaming in general.

Or check in on what we’ve spotted and go in-depth on with new series Ahead of the Game, this time focusing on Capybara Go!