Pilo and The Holobook (Nintendo Switch) Review

Pilo and The Holobook is a throwback to the early days of adventure games, with its low-challenge, hover-over-everything gameplay, where the narrative and characterisation take centre stage. It is also a game clearly aimed at younger gamers, with colourful visuals and a cute-as-nails protagonist to latch on to. That said, those same qualities make it a game that can capture the attention of older gamers just looking for a cheery, cozy way to pass an afternoon.

Pilo and The Holobook drops you into the shoes of young fox Pilo, who is an apprentice explorer to Professor Chiron. Testing the professors latest inventions usually falls on Pilos shoulders and after the Professor decides to turn their little home into a rocket ship and blast them off into space, it’s up to Pilo to explore the galaxy for him. To aid in this momentous task, the Professor hands Pilo his latest invention, the titular “Holobook”, used to catalogue all of Pilo’s discoveries. What begins as a simple assignment turns into a much larger quest to help restore balance to the galaxy from a corrupting force known as “Tar”.

At its core, Pilo and The Holobook is a game about the joy of exploration and the wonders that come along with it. It’s about connections made with new worlds and taking on the responsibility of helping out others even when you don’t have. It also appeals to your inner obsessive collector as you attempt to catalogue every discovery across the galaxy.

Pilo’s journey will take him across a handful of planets and different environments, all affected by the mysterious dark matter substance called Tar. Where the Tar comes from and why it keeps regenerating is the games biggest mystery, along with how it led to the downfall of those planets.

Gameplay-wise, Pilo will have to scan everything he comes across with the Holobook. Every scanned item, be it a creature, plant, or piece of architecture, is replicated in the book as a sticker that you can plop down on the pages and move around at will, with each planet having it’s own page and a clear number of items to scan. When you’ve scanned enough items, you’re awarded a planetary sticker to plop down on the books main page. Some stickers come with descriptions that tell the planets story, but most are simply there to appeal to your collectathon urgings.

There is some extremely light puzzle-solving thrown in that’s unlikely to flummox all but the youngest players. Pilo and The Holobook is as mechanically simple as it gets. And that simplicity, along with some fun writing, is the games biggest strength – at least for me. It’s a cozy time that doesn’t ask too much of you, either physically or mentally, yet remains an engaging experience through the sense of exploration and wonder that it effortlessly manages to convey.

To keep you engaged with Pilo’s journey, developers Mudita Games have paired some fun writing with truly gorgeous hand drawn and painted 2D art. The characters are lovingly designed, rendered, and animated, but it’s the environments themselves that are the visual star. Whether it’s the wreckage of an abandoned planet, or the back of a space whale you’re running across, the 2D artwork is sumptious and detailed. The visuals look consistently charming and crisp in stills as they do in motion.

If you’re looking for a gorgeous adventure game that is simply about relaxing and enjoy the journey, then you should give Pilo and The Holobook a go. It’s simplicity and ease may may put off those looking for more of a challenge, but for everyone else – especially the younger gamers in your household – it may just be that low-stress breath of air you were looking for in an increasingly agitated world.

Pilo and The Holobook was reviewed on Nintendo Switch using a code provided to gameblur by the publisher. It is also available on PC, Xbox One/Series S|X, and PS4/5.