Xoo: Xeno Xafari was created by indie developer Andi Hagen (also known as A. Hagen and Willy Elektrix) and released in 2020. The game is an expanded sequel to a shorter title of the same name that appeared on the 1999: Megallenium 6-in-1 Mega Cart compilation project, wherein multiple developers contributed a series of mini-games from a theoretical ‘lost’ NES game. Hagen has created a variety of games,  including RPGs and visual novels, since 2011 and also authored an original sci-fi TTRPG called Xenopolitan in 2021.

Located somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle, the mysterious Xoo Island is teeming with a variety of alien life the world has never seen. Dubbed Xenos, the creatures inhabit various areas on the island. The player character (Rubia, Constance, or Sheryl) is on a summer vacation on Xoo Island, and seeks to complete their Xenodex by observing all of the Xenos on the island. Guided by the sentient robots who also inhabit the island as tour guides, the player character explores the various locales on Xoo Island while collecting various goodies.

Xoo: Xeno Xafari is a collectathon-type game where the prime objective is to observe the variety of Xenos inhabiting the different biomes. The player has an energy counter in the upper corner of the screen that counts down during each step. Once energy is fully depleted, the player character automatically returns to their campsite for the evening and the day ends. Other campsites are available in each biome, minus the underground one, allowing the player to start the days in different locations. The game offers a bunch of extraneous collectables to gather, including merit badges, video game cartridges, and crane game prizes, which can be obtained from specific locations, or some of the robot NPCs who spawn in random locations. The player character also has stats that can be increased by survival guides, which increases the likelihood of getting collectibles or successfully exploring past certain roadblocks.

There’s a whopping 270 Xenos  to find, and a good chunk of them can only be seen once the player purchases specific exploration tools from their campsite computer (the island conveniently has wifi!). Maps and lures can also be bought to ascertain the locations of Xenos or increase their spawn rate, respectfully. To obtain money, the player can collect eggs of differing rarities and sell them to make cash. While exploring, nuts can be foraged and consumed to increase the player’s energy for the next day. The player will also receive character-specific emails on their computer as the game progresses.

Xoo: Xeno Xafari is a game for a very specific subset of people, and it mostly comes down to the question of “do you enjoy reading monster lore codexes in games or examining environmental objects for weird descriptions?” Having recently finished Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories and that game mentioning the availability of “creamy and chunky mayonnaise” varieties in a supermarket, a game full of goofy and or/funky alien descriptions was up my alley. Hearing that Hagen authored a full-blown TTRPG made a lot of sense since the variety of Xenos and their ‘dex entries feel very akin to creatures from an RPG. The Xenos themselves run the gamut from “strange but harmless” to “this abomination could probably kill you where you stand” and everything in between, and managed to get consistent laughs out of me. Some of the non-Xeno writing is also surprisingly good. There’s a series of collectible journals that tell a story of a Xeno researcher who eventually falls in love with one of the island’s robot NPCs, that is less ridiculous and genuinely sweet in context. Since I played  as Rubia, who likes video games and her boyfriend, I also enjoyed the emails she receives from her worried mother and bored boyfriend, and the cute storyline that unfolded as I progressed with Xenodex entries. 

Xoo bluntly describes itself as a chill walking simulator, and its NES/MS DOS-style graphics definitely evoke classic RPGs without the combat. There might be some appeal to the monster taming crowd here as well, if someone cares more about having an expedited collecting experience over theorycrafting a team for fighting. However, the minimalist gameplay can get repetitive quickly, leading  to only playing the game for an hour or so at a time. Xoo also tows a line between ‘satisfying collecting of things” and “grind-y/RNG-heavy slog” at times. It takes a while to amass a decent amount of money from selling eggs to purchase items. Failing some of the stat checks for items or exploring will also gradually get more tedious, especially once the player has their character’s stats raised to increase the overall success rate. Around the end while searching for the last ~25 or so Xenos to complete the Xenodex, I started getting frustrated with the Xenos not spawning in their map spaces despite having the stacked effect of multiple lures, so I would end the day early and starting new exploration days until the Xenos I needed spawned.

Xoo tries to alleviate some of the potential frustration of general exploration by having the Xenos only spawn in set areas, and the maps will  say which biome map areas have completed Xeno sightings. Unfortunately, it can sometimes take a while to get the Xenos to spawn in the first place. I was able to complete the Xenodex in < 10 hours, so it is understandable Hagen had to pace the game out so people weren’t finishing too quickly.

Pros: Genuinely funny and entertaining writing for Xeno and item descriptions as well as extraneous things like the emails. Satisfying as an expedited monster-taming/collecting experience. Has annoyingly catchy chiptune tracks that play amongst the different biomes. Legitimately refreshing to play as a sort of short RPG-lite with wacky flash game energy.  

Cons: Money grinding is never not a struggle. RNG frustrations ranging from skill checks later in the game to waiting for Xenos to spawn. The central game loop can get repetitive quickly. 

Xoo: Xeno Xafari is available for PC via Steam and Andi Hagen’s itchi.io page. I’ll also add that I played 100% of the game on the Steam Deck and Xoo is compatible with the Deck despite being listed as ‘unsupported’. An Android port was previously available but was discontinued by the developer due to the time involved in updating the game for later versions of Android. Xoo demonstrates the power and value of condensing core gameplay experiences from lengthier genres into a compact and enjoyable package. I enjoyed chipping away at Xoo as a nice wind-down game at the end of a workday and am eager to check out Hagen’s other work in the future.