Lil Gator Game is a short and sweet open world adventure game that accomplishes everything it sets out to do. You play as a young gator who loved frolicking with his sister through the imaginary world she made up when they were younger. However, now that she's gone off to college, your sister no longer has time to make believe. She's home on break and you want to play as the hero of legend from your games of yore. So, you and your friends team up to create a wonderful world she can't refuse.

If you're at all into video games, chances are you've played or are at least familiar with Nintendo's blockbuster open-world modernization of the Legend of Zelda games: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. In these games, Link - the legendary hero - is able to climb up any mountain, swim through bodies of water, and traverse large swathes by a variety of creative movement mechanics, none more iconic than the glider. Lil Gator Game is heavily inspired by the Zelda open-world games. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that Lil Gator Game is extremely concise Zelda minus combat and consequence.

What do I mean by this?

Extremely concise Zelda: As the young gator, you navigate a lush open world you can climb, swim, glide, and slide your way around. Along the way, you encounter friends who give you quests. When you complete their purposely simple objectives, you progress the game's story. The quests can be completed in any order, and as you complete them you collect items and abilities that make exploration more enjoyable.

Minus combat and consequence: Combat in Lil Gator Game is hitting cardboard monsters that your friends have set up to gain crafting materials that allow you to make cosmetic upgrades to your loadout. The monsters don't hit back. There is no health bar. You never take damage, even when falling from great heights. The largest consequence of running out of stamina while scaling a cliff is having to try to scale it again. In this way, exploring Lil Gator Game's world is pure chill enjoyment. The game nails this.

But it's not all rainbows and unicorns. As the story progresses, the young gator reflects on the nature of he and his sister's relationship. He matures and realizes what he can do to help her feel more loved. The game pulls off a poignant vignette on youth and growing up and what it means to look back on one's childhood memories. It highlights the enduring bond between family and friends. It's a heartwarming feel-good game for the ages.

My only dings against Lil Gator Game are that it includes a number of fetch quests that are - by design - pretty vapid, and the game is so playable and lightweight that I sometimes felt a bit uninvested. That said, the fetch quests that I didn't like were seconds long and often led to hilarious dialogue moments. Meanwhile, the lack of investment in such a fun-for-fun's-sake kind of experience feels silly to levy as a complaint. You play Lil Gator Game for the joy of exploration in a kind and colorful world, not to min-max your hero or survive high-stakes encounters.

The game's music is fun and light, its art is perfectly on-theme, and exploring the world feels great. Lil Gator Game is also very well written. I started off skimming the dialogue while mashing the continue button. However, when I started to realize the quality of the game's writing, I slowed down and was very glad I did. There is such care in every detail, and conversations are often quite funny. Much like the exploration of its world, Lil Gator Game's dialogue is best savored slowly, moment by moment, letting it all sink in.

There's an argument to be made that Lil Gator Game is perfect. It nails its theme, goals, and gameplay through and through. For it to have earned a ten, it would have had to have moved me in a way that I just didn't feel, however. For fetch quests and this slight lightness in emotional impact, I give it a 9/10. Still, I'm tempted to say it's perfect.

If you like Lil Gator Game, you should play A Short Hike. You'll be glad you did!

Where it shines:

• Chill exploration
• Fun for fun's sake
• Reflection on youth

Where it fades:

• Fetch quests