The Island: Castaway 2 HD has very similar graphics to its predecessor, The Island: Castaway HD, but this time, the game focuses mainly on the islanders instead of the castaways. There are lots of little details on the island, such as clams and logs resting along the shoreline as crabs (or multipedes, as the islanders call them), scurry into the surf. Blue and red quail (leap-quicks) dot the landscape, while grunting boars will attack you if you get to close to them. The marshlands are dotted with both water lilies and alligators (teeth-a-lots), so don’t take too much time admiring the beauty and if you stop to pick up a glowing mushroom in the cave, you can be sure the caves’ resident snakes will attack you. There are also unusual little items to be found hiding among the foliage such as butterflies, snails and seashells. If you pick these up, you can earn achievements, since one of the strangers on the island is a doctor and needs them for his research.

The background music is a pleasant tribal tune that becomes darker when there is danger near. Other than that, your sound effects get the job done such as the clacking of an ax on a dead tree or the grunting of a boar in pursuit. The voices, however, are more than a little cheesy and some are pretty grating. The game’s central character, a young villager named Yati, has a pleasant sounding voice, but some of the other islanders are rather over the top. My favorite is the tribe’s main cook, Tambusi, but she sounds like she’d be more at home in a French Quarter restaurant in New Orleans than on the lost island. The strangers to the island run the gamut from the European (German maybe?) sounding scientist, to the skittish cook Gilles, to the oafish brute Olaf and even the sleazeball Agnelo. The only one that sounds somewhat normal is Corc, who I think is Irish, and then there’s Scotty the monkey. The others are a little absurd.

The Island: Castaway 2 HD is actually a prequel to The Island: Castaway HD that places you in the role of Yati, an island orphan. He is trying to find his way as far as what his role in the tribe should be and it’s tough since his father disappeared several years before and his mother passed away. Part of his storyline is not only discovering what became of his father, but what his chosen vocation should be. Yati also suffers from strange spells that involve him fainting and having weird, prophetic dreams while unconscious. As he works to discover why the spirits communicate with him in this way, he will unravel a dangerous plot and be in a position to save his tribe.

The Island: Castaway 2 HD is a game that is all about collecting items and going on fetch quests. The people of the island, as well as the strangers on the island, will give Yati tasks to do to move the story along. Some of these tasks will be designed to help him decide on a vocation, such as hunting with Bomani the Hunter or learning the art of the shaman from Roho. You will learn to pick up fruit, as well as hunt animals and catch fish to create nutritious recipes that will both nourish Yati and can be sold for pearls, the game’s currency. Yati will also pick up herbs for seasoning dishes and creating powerful potions that will help him run fast, provide him protection from dangerous animals, see hidden magic items, see the realm of the dead and finally, teleport around the island. There are several stands throughout the island where Yati can exchange food and craft items for pearls and also buy items he needs instead of hunting them all over the island. Some quests will actually earn him pearls from other islanders and these help to fill his coffers.

The Island: Castaway 2 HD is not really difficult at all since you are simply performing tasks. However, if you don’t stock up on food, you could find yourself in a precarious position if you are in a location without a good source of food and you are low on health. Since there are some dangerous areas of the island that you must travel through to complete quests, it’s a good idea to keep a nice supply of food handy or even some dishes because they provide more nutrition. If you find yourself caught with low health, you may not be able to eat enough apples to regain your health if a boar is snapping at your heels. If you run completely out of health, you will wake up back at the camp, having lost some of your goods. It’s a drag, but it’s also a good reinforcement for not letting yourself get too low on health. There is no difficulty setting in The Island: Castaway 2 HD and you can take as long as you like to perform your tasks, but your health will drain all the while. I find it helpful to wander around the island picking up goods in between or during tasks so you have a nice stash.

The Island: Castaway 2 HD has a map of the island that you can access to help you with your current tasks. In addition to displaying the tasks at the bottom of the main gameplay screen and repeatedly scrolling through them, you can also look at the map to get an idea of who on the island is waiting on you. Everyone is represented by stars and initially, the map is covered by clouds. As you move around the island, the clouds clear and you can see the different areas. Blue stars simply represent people on the island, while a red star indicates someone waiting on you to complete a task. Yellow stars indicate ongoing tasks for that person, while a green star shows that you should return to them because you have the necessary items or have completed the task.

You’ll also go fishing which is accomplished by digging up worms, then casting the bait out into the deep water. When you see a fish tugging the line, you tap to reel it in, but if you tap too quickly, you could lose the fish. Sometimes, I pulled up a boot or seaweed and a few other times, a shark fin appeared and stole my bait. Funny stuff. You can learn to make arrows and use them to hunt boar and you can also use a net to catch crabs and quail by tapping them, which throws the net. You’ll earn tools like a hoe for digging up worms and useful for planting seeds to grow "earth foods" and you’ll get an ax to cut down trees and make logs.

In addition to Yati’s red health bar, there’s a sunlight bar underneath it. If you fill your bar by simply being outside before entering a cave, you will have a small circle of light around you which will help you move through the caves. Just another helpful thing you learn from the shaman.

There was one point when Yati was talking to Roho learning from him and the game froze on me. The fire animation was still going, as was the background music, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t get the game to move past this animation. I ended up having to restart the game which was frustrating, so hopefully you won’t encounter this bug as well.

Overall, I didn’t find the storyline for The Island: Castaway 2 HD as interesting as the previous game, but the gameplay is very much the same and I enjoyed it. That being said, if you enjoy fetch quests, you’ll like The Island: Castaway 2 HD.