Take to the skies in this cozy indie game exploring an archipelago with a seaplane

One of the coziest games I had the opportunity to play at Summer Game Fest was Lou’s Lagoon. This game from developer Tiny Roar (Into the Emberlands) follows the story of your Uncle Lou, who went missing without an explanation. You take over his air delivery service that connects an archipelago of vibrant islands. Explore these islands for materials and build structures, then take to the skies to visit other islands, take on aerial challenges, and deliver packages. I don’t typically enjoy these kinds of life simulator games, but once I hopped on the plane, I immediately knew Lou’s Lagoon had something for me.

Lou’s Lagoon is a cozy game with so much to explore, from islands to the airspace above them

Your Uncle Lou played a significant role in uniting all the islands of the archipelago. Flying the seaplane allowed people to send messages, packages, and even travel. Lou also apparently helped build structures like radio towers, giving everyone the ability to communicate directly. During my twenty-minute demo, one of my tasks was to help rebuild a broken radio tower, thereby reconnecting the island to many others. I was working alongside an overconfident lobster NPC, but I remembered it was for everyone, not just for him.

Everything from the character to the plane is customizable in Lou’s Lagoon. I am a big fan of the jacket the protagonist wears in the trailers, so I may use it when I create my own character. The seaplane can be painted in many ways, all kinds of color combinations, and of course, some splashing waves and roaring flames. This all adds to a game that is already comfortable with the player approaching it however they want.

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The mystery of your Uncle Lou’s disappearance is always there. You can keep your eye out for clues, track them down specifically, or just relax, enjoy island life, and build a home for yourself. On the main hub island, you can build a home for yourself. As long as you have the resources, there’s no limit to what you can build. I didn’t have much time, but I decided to build right on the beach.

The perfect tool.Lou's Lagoon, Developer: Tiny Roar

Lou’s Lagoon introduces a useful vacuum tool that can pull resources to you, so you don’t need to spend time picking up each individual item. This device can then be rearranged to build, utilizing the collected resources. The player also has a double jump, turning some of the exploration into a 3D platforming challenge. But when the player uses that double jump, they use a device mid-air to blast themselves a little higher. Then, I also noticed that if the player falls from a height, there’s a short animation of the character breaking their fall with the same device. It’s a small, unnecessary detail, but it goes a long way towards making this world feel real and lived-in. The character doesn’t just magically avoid fall damage; there’s an in-world reason for it.

Take on challenges while flying between islands.Lou's Lagoon, Developer: Tiny Roar

My favorite part of the demo was exploring the skies with the seaplane. Usually, you’ll have a destination in mind once you’re in the air, but there are tons of distractions. I probably tried four or five times to fly through a small ring. It takes a lot more control and precision than you might think. I look forward to further exploring this part of the game. In my short time at Summer Game Fest, it feels like I barely scratched the surface.

One of many vibrant locations.Lou's Lagoon, Developer: Tiny Roar

Thanks to Tiny Roar and Megabit Publishing for the opportunity to try out Lou’s Lagoon. Unfortunately, the game does not have a release date yet, and a demo is not available either. But hopefully we can learn more about this cozy exploration game sometime soon. You can wishlist Lou’s Lagoon on Steam to keep up to date.

• indie games
• life simulators
• Summer Game Fest
• cozy