Lil Gator Game is the first game by MegaWobble, and it is a gloriously wholesome adventure through an entirely non-violent, consequence-free child’s imagination. You are a little alligator child whose sister has grown up, but the little alligator still wants to play the make-believe games they always used to play together. So, the entire game is based on the idea that you need to try and get your big sister to stop doing her “adult things,” which is a college assignment in this case, and come play your game, but to entice her, you need to make a cool game!

So, you are set free in a relatively big open-world map with no real direction about where to go, and you need to traverse this big island full of other kids who have joined in on the game. You need to look for these kids and do whatever thing they want you to do for them to join you. This could be something simple like showing them how to go fast on the water or it could be something a little bit harder, like a time trial race. However, none of it is particularly difficult as the game is not meant to be a difficult thing.

This means that Lil Gator Game is essentially a mini-game type game in which you simply need to do various odd jobs here and there. There’s no real direction to it, and that may put some people off because you’re never really told where to go and must instead find as many new friends as possible and convince them to join the rest of the kids in the central park where they can build a giant cardboard fort and town for everyone to play together, and hopefully convince your big sister to join you along the way.

If you want a challenge, Lil Gator Game is not the game for you. If you want an enjoyable romp through a pretty open world, then it is for you! However, Lil Gator Game is also a game with fantastic traversal mechanics. You unlock various items as you progress, and many of these items allow you to traverse the world in a variety of ways.

You get a sword and shield early, but there are no actual enemies to fight, and you instead use your sword to destroy cardboard cutout enemies, and “killing” them gets you some more crafting paper to build some new things. The shield, on the other hand, is not for defense, and instead serves as a vehicle of sorts. You can hop onto it and ride it at any time. You also get new “shields” along the way, including a skateboard. Lil Gator Game is a child’s imagination run rampant.

The little alligator character has the most adorable running animation as they sprint around the world, but then you can do a spin, jump onto your new shield, and bounce your way over the water surface to reach another island. The traversal is seamless but does take some getting used to. Lil Gator Game also includes various other traversal mechanics, such as the upgradable climbing ability that allows you to climb literally anything, from trees to mountains to walls. At first, your climbing is very limited, but as you upgrade it, you can climb higher and higher structures. And, of course, when you jump off a high structure, you can use a parachute to glide around. You also can’t die. So, even if you do hit the ground hard, no worries!

You also find other traversal and general abilities in Lil Gator Game. You generally get these by either finding them or by completing tasks for kids or the few adults dotted around, and they include things like bubblegum that can let you float, a dedicated rag doll function that lets you drop to the ground and roll around like a dead Dark Souls enemy, or a toy gun that lets you shoot the few “enemies” suspended by balloons.

Lil Gator Game is fun. It’s just fun. You have a big world to explore, friends to meet, and great abilities to constantly attain that allow you to travel around the world in new and interesting ways. As you get new friends, your central town grows and expands, but there isn’t much to do in it, and it instead just gives you some new things to climb and some kids to chat to while they fulfill their roles in the fantasy make-believe story that you’re all playing.

In addition, Lil Gator Game has a surprisingly poignant narrative attached to it. You’ll play most of the game without experiencing that poignancy and will instead be playing this make-believe game while trying to get as many friends together as possible, but the story takes a heavier turn and explores themes like nostalgia, the pains of growing up and following dreams, and the sadness that comes with leaving one’s childhood behind. Although there are also small bits and pieces around the map that reveal the games you used to play with your sister, but they mostly form part of the background.

Lil Gator Game is a rather lovely little story interspersed with a fluid traversal system that will have you jumping from one tree to a mountain top, and then gliding down to a house and helping the owner out with the cardboard monsters some kids put on his roof.
 

This is a game with no cynicism, but, and this may be one of the only critiques, it is also a game with no real navigation mechanics. The world is rather big, and the kids who can be your friends are dotted all over the place. It’s easy to miss one, and you may end up looking around forever to find the random, and very small things, the game wants you to find. There’s also no real way to track what you have and haven’t done, but the map is also split into distinct areas that have landmarks to help you find your way, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble. However, if you are very accustomed to maps, Lil Gator Game does not have one. You need to learn your way around the world.

Other than that, Lil Gator Game isn’t a very long game, and will take 3-4 hours for standard completion, but those few hours are a good time that should make you smile. The game perfectly captures the way kids play and how quickly they’ll become your friends, such as by humoring a child who claims they’re invisible or helping someone get their mom off their phone so they can have the tea party they planned. It’s cute, it’s wholesome, and it’s highly recommendable.
 

Justin van Huyssteen (@LC_Lupus)
Senior Editor, NoobFeed