Xoo: Xeno Xafari

About

Xoo: Xeno Xafari is a single player casual role playing game. It was developed by Willy Elektrix and was released on August 6, 2020. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Xoo: Xeno Xafari is a new style of collecting RPG. Wander a beautiful, deserted island and search for alien creatures!

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

100%

Audience ScoreBased on 32 reviews

graphics6 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

Charming, funny, and imaginative writing that brings creatures and items to life with humor and personality.
Relaxing, low-pressure collectathon gameplay perfect for casual play and unwinding, with a unique island setting and vibrant retro visuals.
Diverse and memorable alien creatures and collectibles, along with engaging NPC interactions and emails that add a cozy atmosphere.

Repetitive and grind-heavy gameplay loop with frustrating RNG mechanics affecting creature spawns and character progression.
Limited interactivity and simplistic game mechanics, lacking variety or deeper gameplay elements, leading to boredom in late game.
Technical issues such as mismatched item descriptions, limited unique sprites, problematic full-screen mode, and absence of achievements.

gameplay
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
68%
16%
The gameplay centers on simple exploration and collecting creatures/items with minimal challenge, relying heavily on RNG-based mechanics that can feel repetitive and grindy. While the charming visuals, writing, and atmosphere uplift the experience, the lack of meaningful player choices and shallow progression lead to pacing issues and tedium over time.
- “The gameplay loop is simple: wake up, go rambling, pick up eggs, look at xenos, talk to robots, and explore the map.”
- “Xoo: Xeno Xafari is a fast-paced collect-a-thon set on a deserted island full of alien life with a gameplay loop and art style that harken back to the 16-bit era of gaming, and immediately when I loaded into the game I knew I was in for something special.”
- “Gorgeous retro aesthetic, clever writing, and a satisfying mechanic where you can only explore part of the island each day, but you can set your camp in different areas.”
- “There's no real gameplay here; you just walk around picking up items and sighting creatures, and what items and creatures show up is based on RNG that's affected by your stats, which you can only increase with books that are also RNG-based.”
- “Summary: with adorable visuals and incredibly hilarious writing, Xoo’s opening hours are a treat, but the game is really weighed down by extremely repetitive gameplay and chance mechanics that turn it from fun to tedious by the end.”
- “Some locations and collectibles are blocked off by a chance mechanic that only gets slightly less frustrating over time.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
10%
30%
The graphics in Xoo: Xeno Xafari feature a charming retro aesthetic reminiscent of NES and Game Boy Color styles, with vibrant, color-coded zones and unique flora and fauna that blend cheerfulness with a slightly twisted vibe. While the limited animation sometimes results in repetitive visual elements, the thoughtful level design and appealing art style create an engaging and visually pleasant experience. Overall, the graphics are praised for their nostalgic yet fresh look, contributing significantly to the game's charm.
- “Gorgeous retro aesthetic, clever writing, and a satisfying mechanic where you can only explore part of the island each day, but you can set your camp in different areas.”
- “Xoo: Xeno Xafari is a fast-paced collect-a-thon set on a deserted island full of alien life with a gameplay loop and art style that harken back to the 16-bit era of gaming, and immediately when I loaded into the game I knew I was in for something special.”
- “The art style in this game is just wonderful, it's super easy on the eyes while not looking so basic that it feels samey.”
- “The game's limited graphical style also limits these creatures to a two-frame stationary animation, so be prepared to see lots of weird wiggling monsters.”
- “The graphics are a mix between NES and Gameboy Color and very charming.”
- “Xoo: Xeno Xafari has a gameplay loop and art style that harken back to the 16-bit era of gaming, but the limited graphics reduce the animation quality.”
humor
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is widely praised for its clever, absurdist writing and funny character dialogue, especially through the numerous collectible descriptions and in-game emails. Players appreciate the lighthearted, comedic tone that makes exploration enjoyable, though some note the humor is best experienced early on before gameplay repetition sets in. Overall, the humor is a standout feature that brings charm and frequent laughs to the experience.
- “The best part of the game is the lore of the xenos and the collectibles, full of absurdist humor that made me laugh out loud several times.”
- “Everything from the xeno descriptions to the emails I got consistently made me laugh out loud, which often isn’t the case with video games.”
- “This game is absolutely jam-packed with it, with 240 xenos of various types to find, each with their own funny description, plus coins, merit badges, journals, eggs, claw machine prizes, fossils, gems, weird video games, and even emails from your friends and little decorations for your camp which change based on which character you're playing.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
38%
The music is generally praised for its charm and chiptune style, enhancing the game’s fun and engaging atmosphere. However, some players find it occasionally too frantic or repetitive, leading them to play with music off or substitute their own soundtrack. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a positive but sometimes polarizing element of the experience.
- “It's a fun little exploration game with a ton of funny characters and description, with a fun chiptune soundtrack to boot.”
- “The dialogue for the characters is nice, the music is cool, the descriptions for the collectibles and the xenos are nicely written and many are funny, and the xeno designs are really cool.”
- “Don't let yourself get frustrated just because it takes some time to track down every last little thing-- just relax, explore and enjoy the island with its great music, fun graphics and awesome writing.”
- “My only pet peeve is that the music is too frantic and clashes with the relaxing atmosphere of the game (so, I play with sound but without music).”
- “My only pet peeve is that the music is too frantic and clashes with the relaxing atmosphere of the game (so, I play with sound but without music).”
- “About the only thing I can't comment on is the music, since I'm usually playing it on mute while something else is on, but it's still fun and engaging.”
story
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
28%
43%
The story is conveyed mainly through scattered letters and emails, offering intriguing but unresolved narrative threads that fail to develop fully. While the game's mechanics align well with its thematic aims, the overall story feels sparse and disjointed, leading to a dry and unengaging experience for many players. The lack of meaningful character development and story progression diminishes the impact and replay value of the game.
- “You get a little bit of story from letters from home (which vary depending on your starting character) and notes sprinkled throughout.”
- “Thematically, I think the game mechanics tie in well with the story it's trying to sell you.”
- “It's mostly just walking around an island to do some very basic fetch quests and puzzle solving to read humorous texts.”
- “Thanks to the email system, I got to hear from people back at home. The ones that talked to me had fascinating story beats that I thought were going to be literal game-changers but ended up not going anywhere or resolving in any satisfying way.”
- “Well before the end of the game’s 10-hour runtime, all of the emails stopped, and with it, the story.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game tends to become tedious and repetitive, especially towards the end when searching for the last few collectibles, which is compounded by a lack of motivating features like Steam achievements.
- “This may seem like a first world problem, but the lack of Steam achievements also didn't feel great for a game that required a lot of grinding.”
- “It gets tedious towards the end of the game when you're trying to find the last few xenos, so do look out for that.”
- “Xoo's opening hours are a treat with adorable visuals and hilarious writing, but the game is really weighed down by extremely repetitive gameplay and chance mechanics that turn it from fun to tedious by the end.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The atmosphere is praised for being special and charming, enhanced by engaging side-stories through in-game emails. However, some find the music too frantic, conflicting with the game's otherwise relaxing vibe.
- “The atmosphere was really special, and the side-stories via the "emails" were charming.”

Skip Game Offers

Buy Xoo: Xeno Xafari

Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like Xoo: Xeno Xafari

83%5kreviews

Donut County

2018

Casual Action Adventure

+15

95%1.4kreviews

Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip

2024

Open World Role Playing

79%1.5kreviews

Ooblets

2020

Open World Role Playing

85%1.2kreviews

Wytchwood

2021

Open World Role Playing

+10

90%3.5kreviews

The Darkside Detective

2017

Casual Action Adventure

+16

More games like Xoo: Xeno Xafari

Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Xoo: Xeno Xafari is a casual role playing game.

Xoo: Xeno Xafari is available on PC and Windows.

Xoo: Xeno Xafari was released on August 6, 2020.

Xoo: Xeno Xafari was developed by Willy Elektrix.

Xoo: Xeno Xafari has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players. Most players liked Xoo: Xeno Xafari for its graphics but disliked it for its gameplay.

Xoo: Xeno Xafari is a single player game.

Similar games include Donut County, Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip, Ooblets, Wytchwood, The Darkside Detective and others.

Xoo: Xeno Xafari

Platforms

About

Buy Xoo: Xeno Xafari

Xoo: Xeno Xafari

Xoo: Xeno Xafari

Videos

Games Like Xoo: Xeno Xafari

Donut County

Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip

Ooblets

Wytchwood

The Darkside Detective

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the genre of Xoo: Xeno Xafari?

What platforms is Xoo: Xeno Xafari available on?

When was Xoo: Xeno Xafari released?

Who developed Xoo: Xeno Xafari?

Is Xoo: Xeno Xafari well received?

Is Xoo: Xeno Xafari single player or multiplayer?

What games are similar to Xoo: Xeno Xafari?