We’ve been having a fine time exploring the tropical islands of the Limbo Archipelago in Lou’s Lagoon but have found ourselves stuck (literally and metaphorically) a few times. So, to save you some of the head-scratching we experienced, here are some of the tips and tricks we’ve picked up along the way to help you find the materials you need, get quests moving and make the most of your time in Lou’s Lagoon.
If you haven’t yet read our review of Lou’s Lagoon, get to it.
Make Upgrading Your Gadgets A Priority
In Lou’s Lagoon you have five gadgets – the builder, fishing rod, glider, scooper and swirler, which each have four different levels. Upgrading them to higher levels unlocks the ability to collect more materials, which means you can fulfill more orders and progress in the main storyline.
In order of priority for upgrades we recommended: swirler, scooper, glider, fishing rod, builder.
If you find yourself unable to progress, spend time collecting what you need to upgrade them – it will not be wasted time.
Using Your Glider
You’ll want to get around with ease and that means making use of the tools at your disposal.
The obvious use of your glider is to take advantage of the updrafts from the fans on Gleam Reef, which you activate using Groove Herb.
However, you can also use it when jumping from high places to travel further. Simply press the X button while in mid-air to activate it and glide your way to those harder-to-reach spots.
The Job Board
The Job Board can be found on Lou’s Island and, unsurprisingly, lists all the available jobs.
Completing jobs is important for earning spark cores, which are used to unlock new craftables. You will find that some jobs cannot be done straight away as you haven’t unlocked the craftables needed yet but don’t worry – there is no order they have to be completed in.
To Return Quickly To A Familiar Place Use ‘I Am Stuck’
Got stuck? Megabit (publisher) and Tiny Roar (developer) have your back.
Available from the menu, the ‘I am Stuck’ option helps to get you out of a tight spot when you can’t move. You’ll find it extremely useful.
But it also has another use. If you are exploring an area and want to quickly return to a familiar location, such as next to your seaplane or the entrance to a cave, you can use it for this purpose as well.
Using Information In The Lexicom
The Lexicom is super helpful.
It lists items in three groups: craftables, buildables and materials.
The materials list is by far the most useful. It tells you where to find each material, even those you haven’t yet discovered. For those you have discovered it also tells you which gadget you will need to retrieve it and what level it needs to be at.
To find the information for materials that you have not yet discovered, look on the machines (like the refinery). It will tell you what materials you need to make craftables, plus what gadgets and level you need to collect them.
Sometimes it can be difficult to remember exactly what materials or craftables you need to make a certain item, so there is the option to pin one item to the screen to remind you what ingredients you need.
Droning On
You will craft the drone machine pretty early on in the game, so it’s a good idea to get using it straight away.
Once you have discovered a material, you can use your drone to collect this, meaning you don’t have to travel to different islands.
This is particularly useful for things that are in short supply and tricky to locate, like tyres that can only be found using your scooper on Boulderia.
Fishing Tips
It will come as no surprise to discover that fishing is included in Lou’s Lagoon.
You can fish on the shores of the islands by casting off using RT. The same button is used to wiggle the float to attract a fish and then cast it in. The fish will try to get away, but moving the left thumbstick in the opposite direction to its movement will keep it on the line.
Different fish yield different scales, of which there are 12. Spend some time upgrading your fishing rod, and you’ll find that it will allow you to catch different types.
The location of each type of scale can be found in the Lexicom.
With your level 1 rod you can catch copper, bronze and silver scales, which allow you to make a lot of the craftables you will need at the start of the game. To grab those, just wiggle your float if the fish you want is near by – you can tell what type of fish it is from its colours and markings:
- Copper fish – orange with blue markings on its back
- Bronze fish – pale orange with red stripes
- Silver – dark blue with an orange fin
Get The Radio Towers Fixed Quickly
Each island has a broken radio tower. Once you have found one, talk to Bobster the building crab and he will tell you what materials you need to fix it.
Fixing radio towers is key to getting around, as they unlock autopilot to that island, which provides instantaneous travel and stops the need for tedious flying there in your seaplane. This will make travelling to and fro islands to collect materials much quicker and make the quests easier.
It will also unlock more jobs for you to complete, which earns you cash and other rewards.
To select autopilot, go to the map and select the island. Do not try and do this when you are in your seaplane though – it won’t work.
Your Inventories
You have one inventory on you at all times – your zipper. The number of slots is painfully small at first which limits how many different types of material you can hold at once.
Your seaplane does have storage though, so use this to store items that you don’t need immediately. To access it, stand close to the plane.
To increase the size of your zipper you will need to complete quests. You will also find slots hidden in treasure chests scattered across the islands.
He Ain’t Heavy – He’s My Ore
You will need a lot of heavy ore to make power sources – some for a main quest and others for upgrading your glider and swirler.
The only place it is found is on Lou’s Island and once harvested takes a few days to grow back. It is expensive to buy so make sure you harvest it regularly from the cave from the start of the game.
Making Sweet, Sweet Shellings
Shellings is the currency used in the Limbo Archipelago and you will need it to upgrade your gadgets and also buy materials, if you don’t want to harvest them yourself. You can trade with Jackie from her boat on Lou’s Island or Tanglebloom Town, or the travelling sales-charney Bartir on each island.
A quick way to get some cash is to use your scooper to collect golden potatoes hidden under the beach and grass around Jackie’s boat on Lou’s Island. Each potato sells for 15 shellings and you can easily rack up and sell 84 in less than a minute.
A slower but more productive choice is to gather driftwood and scrap wherever you go. Once you have maxed out your inventory slot (99 of each), which you can get to reasonably quickly, make refined wood and metal in your refiner. These are made quickly and sell for more than the raw materials so if your refiner isn’t being used for anything else, get it working on these.
The selling prices of all craftables can be found on the machines.
Hopefully, these tips will help smooth your way as you navigate the world of Lou’s Lagoon. Have you found any other useful hints or tips? Let us know in the comments – we’d love to hear what you’ve discovered.
You’ll find Lou’s Lagoon available from the usual digital stores right now. It’s playable on Xbox Series X|S and PC through the Xbox Store.
You use the scooper to get items underground, not the glider.
Thanks for spotting that – corrected.