Barely Left the Ground
Pack a bag and take flight! Join Tsuki on his worldwide adventures and make friends along the way in Tsuki Adventure 2 from developer Hyperbeard. Explore five gorgeous destinations based on real-world locales, including Aris, Sapphire Bay and Lake Taho. However, sightseeing won’t be the only activity available to you on your trip. Earn carrots by hooking fish, catching bugs and growing veggies to buy tons of souvenirs while on your globe-trotting journey. With this seemingly stacked itinerary often plagued by interruptions, this cozy, point-and-click adventure game might make you wish you’d stayed at home instead.
The Bare Necessities
Tsuki Adventure 2 begins with a short homage to Willy Wonka. Our adorable bunny protagonist settles down in his treehouse to a yummy snack. As Tsuki opens his chocolate bar, he discovers a foil ticket wedged inside that promises unlimited trips to anywhere in the world. Next thing we know, he’s packed his bags and promising to write his furry friends. As players disembark, they’ll notice that the controls are straightforward—simply tap to interact with objects and animals.
After leaving your teary-eyed found family at the gates, you’ll cut to arriving at your first destination—Ola. There you’ll walk through a very brief tutorial, opening letters from your pals and memorializing important moments in your travel journal. You’ll also receive letters that contain carrots from your farm back home, sent by your friend and house-sitter, Moca. These carrot letters serve as log-in bonuses, rewarding players who return to the game often. Once settled into his hotel room, Tsuki ventures out into the city.
At this point, players must go to the shop to purchase a fishing rod before heading to the pier to fish. Tsuki Adventure 2’s fishing mechanic feels pretty standard for most mobile games—tap to drop your line, then wait until you get a bite (signaled by an “!” above Tsuki’s head), and finally, tap to catch. After reeling in your first fish, you’ll return to the shop, sell your haul and purchase a net for catching bugs. Next, players will receive a letter from the developer explaining they’re free to explore, urging them to purchase items for Tsuki to use and make plenty of friends while traveling from city to city. From this point forward, players can forge their own path.
Fun, Friendship…Ads?
Tsuki Adventure 2 could be a fantastic game, but its ads and wait time between flights make the overall experience tedious and boring. Once they arrive at a new destination, players can expect to wait around two days before flights are available to the other locales. This wouldn’t be a problem if there were more activities to do in each city. Each city features four or five areas for players to explore, including a special landmark, a hotel area, an airport, a fishing area and a shopping district or two. While combing the town, players will encounter other furry NPCs to befriend, though interactions usually amount to a quick conversation. Beyond getting chatty with the locals, you can purchase items from shops or collectible figures via the blind box vending machines. Most items don’t do anything special; however, they count towards your overall progression for certain achievements.
If you find yourself barely scraping by for carrots, you can fish, catch bugs and raise produce to sell for a meager return. None of these tasks are especially difficult (all can be done with a simple tap and a little patience), but they’re also not particularly fun, either.
Perhaps the most annoying aspect of Tsuki Adventure 2 is its approach to air travel. Once a flight opens up, players must wait eight hours before their plane lands. In the meantime, there’s little to do in-flight beyond interacting with the plane. You could speed this process up, but it’ll cost you—either watch eight, 30-second ads or shell out real-world cash for a Club Moon Membership. This membership cost $9.99 and shortens travel time to two hours, which feels like a really bad value, given that you’re not exempt from watching ads. That’s extra.
Jet Lagging Along
It’s a shame Tsuki Adventure 2 forces players to wait or endure extended ad breaks because beyond that glaring flaw, the game manages to get a lot of things right. From its adorable cast of characters to its soothing soundtrack to the emphasis on mindfulness and community, I admire what the game set out to do. I could see this game sticking its landing with certain players, but for this rabbit, it was a bumpy ride.
