Island-hopping sandbox title Nifty Island has only been live for a few weeks, but the Web3 gaming world is already talking up a storm about its combination of building tools and user-created games.

Decrypt’s own initial hands-on review said that Nifty Island’s beta release was, “living up to my expectations and exceeding them in some ways,” highlighting its “flexibility, simplicity, and affordability” and visual and aural appeal.

Other reviews agreed, with Bankless calling Nifty Island, “the kind of metaverse experience the NFT space has been calling for since 2021,” and adding that, “The game modes are all fun, in-game quests abound, NFTs from dozens of different collections are usable as avatars, and every player gets a free island to customize.”

Nifty Island’s wealth of user-generated content was spotlighted by multiple reviewers; YouTuber SpikeReacts said that Nifty Island, “isn't just any Web3 game, it's a community full of artists, gamers, and builders,” while Decrypt called it a “builder’s paradise,” pointing to the impressive array of “epic worlds” that creators had already built.

“This is objectively a good game,” said Rug Radio creator Threadguy during a stream. “I think Nifty Island's one of the coolest things out there right now, 'cos they have a working product.” He added, “Not only is it out, it's fucking good. People are having an incredible time on it.”

What is Nifty Island?

A 3D social multiplayer game in the vein of Roblox or Fortnite, Nifty Island challenges players to complete quests, interact with friends, and build their own environments and games in real-time.

Nifty Island has also partnered with over 300 different NFT collections, enabling players to use their PFPs in-game, and allowing the game’s creators to use the collections’ IP to create inspired avatars and buildings.

Every Nifty Island player gets a free island space to make their own, crafting the environment to their liking. Players can also take part in competitive PvP arenas, including deathmatch, capture the flag and battle royale modes.

Players collect in-game “blooms” that can be redeemed in order to mint NFT rewards, while an upcoming airdrop of the game’s ISLAND currency will reward players who own certain NFTs and whose wallets demonstrate active engagement with the game.

Nifty Island is keen to avoid “professionalized farmers,” and has tailored the airdrop to incentivize authentic players rather than those who are just grinding to earn potential rewards.

Gamers can download Nifty Island for Windows or Mac computers, and login with a crypto wallet, an email address, or a Discord account.