Asfalia: The Cranky Volcano Review (Switch)
Summary: Asfalia: The Cranky Volcano is a charming if limited point-and-click adventure that feels tailor-made for children around seven and up. It’s a breezy, colorful game with an important message, but one that ends before it fully finds its footing. Kids will likely love the zany characters and sticker-collecting, while parents will appreciate its gentle life lesson. It’s not the deepest or most polished adventure game out there, but it is a delightful one that shows plenty of promise for future installments.
3
Crabby Crusade
Asfalia: The Cranky Volcano turns a child’s bad day into a colorful journey of discovery! Asfalia: The Cranky Volcano is a point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Funtomata and first released on PC via Steam on January 23rd of 2023. It has now made its way to the Nintendo Switch on October 30th of 2025. Aimed primarily at younger players, the game tells a whimsical story about emotions through light puzzle-solving, colorful characters, and an imaginative world. While it may be too straightforward for older audiences, it carries enough heart and charm to make it a worthwhile pick for children and parents looking for a short, story-driven experience.
The game opens with Charlie, a young boy eager to play with his dog Baya. When she isn’t interested, his frustration boils over into a tantrum. Suddenly, Charlie finds himself transported into Asfalia, a magical land where his emotions quite literally shape the world. At the center of it all is a rumbling volcano, a reflection of Charlie’s anger, that has been causing troubling earthquakes and bothering the inhabitants around it. It’s a setup that feels both imaginative and instructive, offering kids a way to see how feelings like crankiness and anger can affect others around them. The story moves quickly, almost abruptly, from Charlie’s room to Asfalia, but that rapid shift helps keep younger players engaged without dwelling on setup.
The narrative unfolds through a series of lighthearted encounters with Asfalia’s quirky residents. Charlie helps a giant cactus scratch an itch, rescues a “toot bird” stuck in a toad’s mouth, and assists a red-headed hermit dwarf with fixing her key. Each interaction emphasizes problem-solving through kindness, humor, and empathy. The dialogue is lively and often jolly, with a touch of irony and cultural references sprinkled in that adults may quietly appreciate. The voice acting is especially strong by being expressive, warm, and fun to listen to. It often feels like you’re watching a Saturday morning cartoon. It’s one of the game’s highlights and goes a long way in making Asfalia feel inviting.
From a gameplay standpoint, The Cranky Volcano is extremely simple. Charlie moves between locations by tapping or pointing on the screen, and puzzles are solved automatically once the right item is found. This design keeps the pace smooth and ensures kids don’t get stuck, but it also makes the experience feel too straightforward at times, even compared to classic children’s adventure games like Pajama Sam or Spy Fox. The first half of the game hints at light puzzle-solving, but by the second half, progression mostly involves using items in obvious ways without much thinking. Parents hoping for a bit more problem-solving depth may find the design lacking.
One of the more frustrating elements comes from the controls on Switch. The game requires players to use the touchscreen for interactions, which can feel clunky. Although the right stick can be used to move the pointer, interacting still demands touching the screen and sometimes it doesn’t register properly. This leads to awkward moments of tapping repeatedly or cycling through objects until the game finally responds. For children, this inconsistency can be especially aggravating since the game explicitly tells them how to interact, but doesn’t always deliver on its own instructions.
Still, there are thoughtful touches to keep kids engaged. Collectible stickers are hidden throughout the world, encouraging exploration and replayability. Finding them all unlocks a short playable epilogue teasing the sequel, Panic at the Mansion. Beating the game also grants access to a chapter select, letting players revisit their favorite scenes or hunt for missing stickers without replaying from scratch. These features add welcome longevity to what is otherwise a very short experience. Most players will finish the story in 1-2 hours and possibly a couple more for the younger inept gamers.
Visually, The Cranky Volcano shines with a hand-painted, storybook aesthetic. Its pastel colors and playful character designs call to mind classics like Alice in Wonderland. The art direction is soft, approachable, and perfect for its target audience. Combined with the inventive soundtrack that’s adventurous, playful, and varied enough to stand out, the presentation feels polished. The game’s introduction, in particular, plays like the opening of a children’s animated film, immediately setting the tone for a charming journey.
Where the game stumbles is in its conclusion. The story ends rather suddenly, wrapping up without reinforcing its emotional lesson or giving Charlie a clear resolution. The message that it is okay to feel cranky, but also important to understand and manage those emotions comes through (to a degree), though it would have been more effective with a more thoughtful ending. For example, even a small moment of apology to Baya or a clearer objective carried into the sequel could have made the closing feel more complete. Instead, it cuts off with a “to be continued” that may leave kids and parents wishing for just a little more.
Final Thoughts?
Asfalia: The Cranky Volcano succeeds in what it sets out to do, which is to provide children with a gentle, humorous, and engaging adventure about emotions. Its bright visuals, energetic voice acting, and funny cast of characters make it appealing for kids, and its themes of empathy and emotional understanding give it some real value for parents. At the same time, its VERY short runtime, overly simplistic design, abrupt ending, and occasionally clunky controls make it harder to recommend at full price, even if that full price is just $10. For families looking for something to play together, or for children eager for an interactive storybook experience, it’s an easy recommendation.
About the Author
Nay Clark Gaming holds a special place in my heart and I never stop talking about video games. I really love all types of games and have an interest in games that have complicated stories and lore because I enjoy untangling the mystery of it all. When I'm not gaming, I unsuccessfully try to control three amazing and incredibly bright kids.
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