Gilly and the Isle of Sorrow

Gilly and the Isle of Sorrow is one of those games that really stands on the shoulders of all the games that came before it. It’s a little Eyeland, a little Life’s Too Short 2, a little Resonant Tale. But it’s also fully its own thing. It’s a piratey adventure with “Zelda-lite” combat. It’s about an hour long with checkpoints to save your progress. And it’s fully a Pulp game, but in a way that Pulp games really couldn’t have been made just a few short years ago. Gilly stands on the shoulders of giants and breathes rarified air. The only caveat? It’s just one part of a much-larger whole, so we really have to hope that the developer had a fun enough time making this to give us the rest of the story someday!

The game description describes it as good for a casual gamer, and I could see that. But it’s also very video game-y, with tropes that are well-understood by someone who’s a seasoned gamer (like maybe someone that has their own Playdate website). Still, despite a few alcohol and death references, it could probably be played, understood, and completed by nearly all ages. Do young people have Playdates? It’s kind of a console for 38-year-olds.

Anyway, this is a game with a world that’s just big enough without you needing your own map. The exploration and puzzles and finding the items you need to advance are all pretty clear. It’s not challenging, although there is always the chance you’ll run out of life if you’re bad at combat (it’s got a really stick-and-move flow to it), and there are plenty of opportunities to heal. It all feels good and correct, but it just feels like there should be a little more.

There was a sort of prequel released for free as part of Ledbetter and Friends’ Ware-Wolf Campfire Stories compilation, but it feels like it cuts off right as things are starting to get good. One of the things about the Playdate is that there’s room for games of all different lengths, but this is more Life’s Too Short – which is set in a small house and makes no overtures that it’s a larger game than it is – and less Resonant Tale. The thing is, it feels like it has Resonant Tale scope and world-building, but you don’t get to see the whole thing… yet. Is this what people felt like when they saw Empire Strikes Back? I have my fingers crossed that the series continues and we get to see the rest of the mysteries! As it is, this is a great way to spend an hour on a too-warm and sunny winter afternoon. And I know it’s billed as “pocket-sized,” but the world and the story it wants to tell are so much bigger. I’m eagerly awaiting the rest.

(Released February 10, 2026, on Catalog and Itch. Copy provided by developer.)