Mythwrecked Ambrosia Island Preview: A Cozy ‘Friend ‘Em Up’ Adventure With the Greek Gods!

Whilst I was at WASD x IGN in September this year, I was lucky to preview Mythwrecked Ambrosia Island. If this is the first time you’ve heard of the game, let me give you a quick rundown. Mythwrecked Ambrosia Island was announced last year with the below trailer. It has been developed by UK based Indie Developer, Polygon Treehouse, who you might know from their previous game; Röki.

Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island quickly attracted attention as a relaxed and enticing looking puzzle game. It was also novel for its modern portrayal of the Greek Gods who inhabit the island. When the opportunity emerged to play the game’s demo, I wasn’t going to turn that down! Read on to find out about my experiences with the demo and conversations I had with the game’s Creative Director, Alex Kanaris-Sotiriou.

Mythwrecked Ambrosia Island will be available on Steam from Summer 2024. If you would like to preorder it, you can do so on their Steam page.

Story – A Lost Soul Helping Other Lost Souls

Contrasting the cast of gods in Mythwrecked Ambrosia Island, you’ll be playing as the very mortal Alex. Through her attire and her dialogue, we quickly learn that Alex is an adventurous backpacker with an open heart.

The game starts with Alex washed up on the shores of Ambrosia Island following a mysterious storm. Getting your bearings, you start exploring the island and quickly learning that this is no ordinary island. You then learn that the island is inhabited by the Greek Gods who have all drifted apart and lost their memories for some reason.

After finding shelter, you make it your mission to help these wayward gods and discover the mysteries of this Island. Whilst I did not get the meet the full pantheon in this demo, I did get to meet Hermes, the messenger of the gods.

I spoke with Creative Director Alex (not to be confused with the character) about the concept for the game. Originally, the main motivation for the game was to be on vacation on a tropical island making friends. The team took inspiration from Greek islands for the setting. From there, they naturally decided that the island inhabitants you can befriend should be the Greek Gods.

When asked about the characters, he said he wanted them to appear modern but recognizably the characters they’re based on. He also spoke of wanting them to be more relatable and approachable than classic depictions of them. Each of them were uniquely flawed and had their own issues that Character Alex can help them work through. This ranged from anger issues in the case of Aries, anxiety in the case of Hermes and poor work-life balance in the case of Hephaestus.

For more on the gods, check out their page on Mythwrecked Ambrosia Island‘s website.

Gameplay – A Nice Mix of Exploration, Puzzle Solving and Making Friends

Progressing the story of Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island involved a lot of exploring and doing quests to help the gods. By helping the gods, you can increase your friendship level with them until it reaches a new tier. Reaching new tiers unlocks more dialogue options which progress the story, unlock more of the island and more.

In the demo, I found myself helping Hermes feed seagulls and recover his memories by recovering precious items. On its own, it felt quite satisfying helping Hermes out and going from anxiety-inducing stranger to trusted confidante. But it also meant unlocking perks, some essential for the story and others that were just a nice extra. Once you reach a high enough friendship tier, you can also exchange Ambrosia Fruit you find around the island for additional perks.

So much to see and do on Ambrosia Island. Where to start?

Exploring is also very satisfying. Not just because of the varied and beautiful environments, but because of the puzzle mechanics. Creative Director Alex spoke about the whole game as a multi-part puzzle box. There are a few times where you find an area sealed off and realize that you need something else in order to progress. Shelving that detail away and finding the thing you need is very satisfying. Creative Director Alex described the intended feel of the game to be one of ‘Frustration Free Adventure’. Certainly my experience was nice and relaxed, free from any stress or peril.

There were also a lot of accessibility features to make sure that everyone can enjoy this game. These include non-dialogue captions for the hard of hearing and keyboard mapping for anyone with dexterity issues. Talking to Creative Director Alex, it really seemed important to him and the team that everyone have the ability to play and enjoy this game.

Even in this short demo, there were so many satisfying extra things to discover. Searching around, you can find journal notes from a previous visitor to the island, that shed a light on its mysteries. There are also lots of decorations you can find to really make your home base feel more lived in! 

Graphics and Sound – Bright, Beautiful and Wholesome

Mythwrecked Ambrosia Island has a similar gorgeously rendered art style to Röki. Though while the latter had a dark and cold aesthetic to match the story and setting, Mythwrecked Amrbosia Island embraces the brightness and warmth of its idyllic island setting. Even without doing anything in particular, just wandering around enjoying the sandy beaches, the sound of the waves and the sight of ornate ruins is a real treat for the senses. 

There are all kinds of small visual and audio touches that really help the island come to life as well. Vegetation will rustle and move around you as you walk through it. Pots and bushes will jingle, while crabs and lizards scuttle away as you approach. Even the characters will say a greeting as you pass by. All this really makes you feel you’re part of a living, breathing world.

Rather than having full spoken lines, the characters speak in text with a short audio from their voice actors, similar in style to the Legend of Zelda games. This helps the ambient nature of the game as you can read dialogue in your own time, while the audio and facial expression helps set the tone. Observant listeners among you may recognize Character Alex’s voice actor as Elle Osilli-Wood, television presenter and all round excellent spokesperson for the games industry.

So ambient are the game’s graphic and sounds that there is a feature that actively encourages you to just sit and enjoy them. You can find various chill out spots around the island complete with blankets and cushions. Interacting with these will have Player Alex take a rest and play one of the many collectible cassette tapes in the game as the camera gently pans around the area. These cassette tapes contain wonderfully chilled out tracks that you can find throughout the island. Creative Director Alex saw this feature as something you can use while you’re putting dinner on as background sights and sounds. I would have certainly used this feature more if I wasn’t playing this as a demo at a games convention!

Mythwrecked Ambrosia Island was previewed on PC in a demo provided by Polygon Treehouse at WASD x IGN.

For more on other great games demoed at WASD x IGN, check out this piece on Abi’s Top 5 Games from the event.