Developed and published by PaiBand, Restore Your Island is a new eco-friendly life sim coming to PC and later to Nintendo Switch, with a release planned for Q4 2025.
Restore Your Island invites players to bring a small deserted island back to life by cleaning up trash and restoring its natural beauty, in a relaxing and contemplative experience. We tried the demo on PC to see if this digital paradise can truly capture our desire for sustainability and slow living.
A grabber, a bucket, and a lot of patience
The demo of Restore Your Island welcomes us to a small island covered in garbage. You start armed only with a telescopic grabber. Collect the trash piece by piece and drop it into the bin. Each recovered item can be sold to earn money for upgrades. You can buy recycling bins, a sand sifter, and later, a radar. The radar helps locate hidden materials beneath the surface. The pace is slow and intentionally meditative. It can feel a bit repetitive during the early stages. Watching the island slowly recover is satisfying. Clear waters return, and animals like turtles and crabs come back. It all conveys a genuine sense of progress and environmental care.
The four-legged companion
Joining you in your cleaning efforts is a faithful dog, though for now he’s not very useful. You can pet him or feed him, but these interactions don’t currently affect gameplay. In fact, your furry friend often gets in the way while you pick up trash, and there are a few small bugs, like when he keeps moving while stuck in a sitting pose. That said, his presence adds warmth to the experience and hints at greater potential if the full version introduces features tied to his well-being or bond with the player.
A small world (still) waiting to grow
From a visual standpoint, Restore Your Island features realistic and pleasant graphics that fit well with the game’s soothing tone. However, the demo is limited to a single island surrounded by the sea, and environmental variety is still minimal. During our PC test, we noticed some loading issues (with the sea occasionally appearing late) and a few minor glitches. At this stage, there are no decorations or character/animal customization options, but it’s likely that such features will be added later in development.
Conclusions: a promising idea that deserves to grow
The Restore Your Island demo presents a project with good intentions and a positive message, though it’s still in an early phase. The idea of combining a relaxing environmental management sim with the satisfaction of watching nature heal works well, but the gameplay needs more variety and goals to stay engaging. If PaiBand manages to expand the upgrade system, introduce new islands, more interactions, and a more dynamic sense of progression, Restore Your Island could become one of the most original and meaningful cozy sims of 2025.
