Welcome to Sandy Island, Bionaut! This is the first of three islands you must help save by cleaning up litter to give the friendly “Bankimals” back their habitat. You will begin in Kiwi Cove, with Kiwi the parrot as your guide through a tutorial of sorts. This tutorial is pretty explanatory of the gameplay and also rigid in that it doesn’t allow you to start doing your own thing; you must complete the steps provided. Your progress in any given area is tracked in the upper left portion of the screen where it shows your current tasks. Follow the steps Kiwi gives you and finish cleaning the area and rescuing the Bankimals here. When you’ve done that, you’ll get a nice “Area Cleared” message. After clearing Kiwi Cove, the first area of Sandy Island, a Caretaker Bot will appear and state that they’ll take care of the now cleared area. A short cutscene will play where the crabs you’ve saved have created a new land bridge to the next area. Before you head over, look around for any coins left by the base of trees you cleaned. I finished Kiwi Cove with 52 coins in total.

Note: Throughout the game I’ll list my totals after each area (except for a few that I forgot to record my totals). If your numbers don’t match exactly, don’t worry. Just make sure it’s in the same range and that you unlocked any and all achievements listed to that point.

Right across the bridge you’ll meet the Coin Deposit Machine and create a new bank account. You’ll need to make a pin (I just used – don’t steal my money please lol). As you clean up the litter and goop and new Bankimals appear, you can speed up their feeding process by sucking up the plant food and then shooting it at the ground in front of them. They would still eat on their own, but this helps fatten them up quicker. By the time I cleared Kiwi Cove and the second area Cave East (the cave with the snails next to the Coin Deposit Machine) I had collected and deposited 75 coins. You want to make sure you always deposit any coins you have since there are two achievements related to total deposited coins.

Now go back to Kiwi Cove and purchase the next area for 70 coins. You’ll now have access to Tax Creek and as soon as you’ve entered some pesky Litterbugs create a rockfall and trap you in this new area. Once you clear the first palm tree in this area, thus granting you a coin, you’ll be introduced to Tax Bot who takes 10% of the coins you collect to help maintain and improve the island. You can use these funds to do things like empty the island Recycling Machines. Access the funds by interacting with the Tax Machine, which is the large purple guy on the right wall from where you entered Tax Creek. Before you can collect and use your first Tax Token, you’ll want to clean off the nearby Recycling Machine and then shoot litter into it until it’s full. At this point the Recycling Machine will direct you to use a Tax Token. By collecting this Tax Token (suck it out of the Tax Machine with ) and shooting it into the full Recycling Machine you’ll have earned your first achievement:

Use tax to empty recycler

After you use the Tax Token to empty the Recycling Machine, the recycler will blast off and shortly return ready to accept more litter. Focus on cleaning up the litter and goop in this area before doing anything with the Bankimals yet. As you continue clearing Tax Creek and depositing your coins into the Coin Deposit Machine you will eventually unlock:

Deposit 100 gold doubloons

Once you’ve cleaned Tax Creek, including the small area on the other side of the pond, help the Bankimals eat their fill by collecting and shooting their desired food at them. The counter in the upper left of your screen will tell you how many you have left to save in this area, which includes bursting them to collect their coins. The anteaters can’t really be fed this way so just focus on coconuts for the crabs and bamboo for the red pandas. When you get the “Area Cleared” message and have done a final sweep for any missed coins around the vegetation you’ve cleared, then purchase the next area for 100 coins. I finished Tax Creek with 149 coins in the bank and 16 tax credits in the Tax Machine.

The third area of Sandy Island is Rhino Rock. Toward the back of this area is a pink egg, one of Kiwi the parrot’s lost Nest Eggs. There isn’t an achievement for collecting these, but feel free to pick it up anyways by walking over it to collect (they are too fragile for your trash collector).

Note: Throughout this walkthrough these eggs will be referenced a handful of times, mainly as visual indicators to make sure that you’re following the correct path. However, this guide won’t cover where and how to grab them all. If you want to 100% each island (unrelated to achievements) then you will need to gather all of the eggs.

In this area you’ll clear some seed plots, which will trigger Kiwi to tell you about Pigby’s Store accessed through your menu. To clear Rhino Rock you’ll clean up the vegetation per usual but also buy, plant, and water two Rhinoberry seeds to save the rhino Bankimal. The rhino is an Apex Bankimal, which is a type you can ride and use to get into new areas. First, you’ll have to feed it some rhinoberry fruit. Start by shooting some at it from a distance, then Kiwi will tell you to shoot some into its open mouth. After you’ve befriended the rhino and popped it for 50 coins you can now mount it with . While mounted on the rhino you can use to charge or sprint and knock through the rock barriers that separate the different areas. You can simply follow the red arrows to continue to the next area or, if you’d like, feel free to explore for other barriers. For example, there’s a wall that can be knocked down by the rhino in the Tax Creek area to the back-left of the pond with the bamboo plants.

Once you get back to Kiwi Cove and break through the wall that the big red arrows are directing you to, you’ll be on Turtle Beach and encounter one of the Litterbugs that created those rock walls earlier. These little guys will steal your coins! Blast them with water or suck them up and shoot them into the ocean to get rid of them. Because we know these little thieves are lurking about, be sure to collect coins immediately upon receiving them in this area and going forward in the game. Also, clean off the Recycling Machine and Coin Deposit Machine here. You’ll want to activate the bank with your pin and be sure to keep depositing your earnings. While you’re cleaning up Turtle Beach you might hear a change in the music. This means there’s a Litterbug around and you have to blast it with water or shoot it into the ocean. Litterbugs will now be a regular part of gameplay, so be sure to always have your water tank full to blast them whenever you hear their music start up. During your time on Turtle Beach you should unlock:

Earn first interest on your savings

You will also likely fill up the Recycling Machine here and when that happens run back to Tax Creek to get a Tax Token to empty it. You will regularly use Tax Tokens to empty recyclers so, to save on backtracking, I’d advise you to always carry at least five (if not a full stack). I used two just in Turtle Beach. Eventually Kiwi will tell you about how you can change the color of Bankimals you’ve already rescued by shooting them with a paintball you can buy from Pigby’s Store. Kiwi will keep reminding you so just purchase the paintballs for 1 coin and shoot one of the Bankimals you’ve saved to appease the parrot. When you’ve got the “Area Cleared” message for Turtle Beach you’ll see the turtles you saved form a stepping-stone bridge that leads to a key. Do one last sweep for coins then grab the key and unlock the nearby gate. I finished Turtle Beach (plus my earnings from Rhino Rock) with 248 coins in the bank and 38 tax credits in the Tax Machine. Again, it would be smart to start carrying Tax Tokens on your person.

As soon as you’ve unlocked the gate, you’ll find you’re blocked by another rock barrier. Summon the rhino from your menu by pressing , and then for the rhino. Once you’ve smashed through, you’ll be in Wallow Hole Way. Here you’ll be introduced to Pigby’s Fruit and Seed Exchange. As you’re clearing this area, you’ll find there are six plots where you can plant seeds. You’ll need to buy three Star Fruit Tree seeds and three Grassball Bush seeds from Pigby’s Store in your menu. Plant seeds in all six plots then water them and collect the fruit to sell to Pigby. Now because you’ll have filled up the Recycling Machine in this area but probably have loads extra litter to deposit, run back to the previous areas to get rid of the trash. I had to run all the way back to Tax Creek where I also picked up a couple of extra Tax Tokens to empty the Recycling Machine in Wallow Hole Way. If you end up going back for Tax Tokens as well, by the time you get back to Wallow Hole Way the Bankimals should be mostly full and ready to pop. Around this time, you should also unlock:

Earn 50 Tax Tokens

After popping the Bankimals and depositing the coins you should get a notification that you’ve saved 500 coins total. This is a good milestone reminder since we need to save 1,000 for an achievement. When you’ve got “Area Cleared” the hippos will make a path for you. They do sink into the water so make sure you time your crossing correctly to get over to the island with the key.

With the key in hand you can unlock the next area, Croc Beach. Toward the back of this area is a new bot, the Tax Builder machine, covered in goop. You can’t use this machine until you save all the Bankimals in this area so, if you haven’t already, clear off the Recycling Machine and get to cleaning. In this area, there is some litter on the two beaches near the water’s edge that are easy to miss. You’ll fill up the Recycling Machine before you’ve cleared the area, but you should still have a Tax Token to empty it. If you don’t, just run back to Tax Creek and grab a couple. While you’re cleaning up Croc Beach, Kiwi will tell you that you can put funny hats on Bankimals you’ve saved. Like with the paintballs we bought earlier, open up your menu then access Pigby’s Store. Here you’ll want to purchase a hat. I bought one of the hats that cost 25 coins, and this popped:

Spend 100 in Pigby's Store

You need to buy seeds to finish this area, so if you don’t get the achievement from buying the hat it should unlock after you buy all the seeds. You’ll need to buy two Snap Lilly seeds and two Hogberry Patch seeds. Plant, water, and collect coins from the Bankimals. You can run back to Wallow Hole Way to deposit your coins. When you’ve got the “Area Cleared” message you’ll hear from the Tax Builder that it’s ready to be used (but it will cost Tax Tokens) and you’ll also see the crocodiles make a shortcut back to Tax Creek for you. Take the shortcut, retrieve 30 Tax Tokens, then take the shortcut back and use the tokens to build the bridge. By doing this you’ll unlock:

Use tax to build a bridge

I finished Croc Beach (plus my earnings from Wallow Hole Way) with about 470 coins in the bank and 46 tax credits in the Tax Machine (after taking out the 30 needed for the bridge).

The bridge leads to Primate Playground. Once in this new area Kiwi will tell you that you need Gornana seeds, which the parrot wants you to barter for. Since Kiwi is at the back of this area, worry about clearing all the rubbish and goop first. You can run back to Croc Beach and Wallow Hole Way to deposit some of the litter to make room in your collector for seeds that you’ll need to plant. Before you talk to Kiwi, you’ll want to gather at least one of each (and you’ll need at least seven total fruit): star fruit, bamboo shoot, drumstick. The drumstick can be found on Croc Beach, the star fruit in Wallow Hole Way, and the bamboo shoot in Tax Creek. Gather the items, making sure you have a grand total of at least seven.

Note: These barter stations will appear in various areas going forward and Kiwi will always want three separate types of items, and a larger total amount (around 7 – 15). I always made sure to get at least one of each item, but later in the game I found that Kiwi accepted a trade after I’d only provided two types of items (but a lot of those, like 10+). It may be that you can get away with only grabbing one or two types of Kiwi’s desired items but know that this walkthrough will always instruct you to get all three types just to be safe.

Once you’re ready, approach and speak to Kiwi at the back of Primate Playground and barter. Upon shooting all your gathered fruit into the open cage by Kiwi you’ll unlock:

Barter with Kiwi

Plant the two Gornana Tree seeds that Kiwi gave you and water those. You’ll also want to buy, plant, and water three Monkey Nut Tree seeds from Pigby’s Store. One of the new Bankimals that will appear is the gorilla. Like the rhino, this is an Apex Bankimal that you must first feed from a distance, then shoot food into its mouth to befriend it, after which you can mount and ride it. Instead of smashing through obstacles, the gorilla can climb vines (you’ve probably seen plenty in the different areas we’ve cleared). Before you go on any climbing adventures, I recommend finishing Primate Playground until you get the “Area Cleared” message. You can go back to Tax Creek using the shortcut to deposit your coins and at this point I had 564 coins in the bank and 64 tax credits in the Tax Machine. Now, go back to Primate Playground, mount the gorilla, and climb!

In this new area, Tree Tops, your goal is to find the Gold Key. If you spied it earlier, you’ll remember that it’s on top of Rhino Rock, which is where we’re headed. At the top of the vine you climb up, take the left path, and when you get to the pink Nest Egg, go to your immediate left. You’re at a fork. To the left is another Nest Egg. To the right is where we want to go. This path is a new area called Waterfall Way. Go around the waterfall to the right. In a little nook here is another Nest Egg. Following the linear path down you’ll find another Nest Egg. You can jump down here. Go across the land bridge and continue on land all the way to Wallow Hole Way where you’ll see some vines right next to the Coin Deposit Machine. Climb up and turn left to see the Gold Key. Collect the key and a short cut scene will show you where you need to go to use it (right about where you jumped down earlier).

Head to the gate and unlock it with the Gold Key, giving you access to Slime Trail Cave. The Recycling Machine here is around to your left by the beach. It’ll fill up so you can head back toward the gate you came through and use the Recycling Machine right by the climbable vines here. You can also go to Tax Creek and grab a few Tax Tokens to empty the recycler in Slime Trail Cave. When you’ve cleared the litter and goop away from the last vegetation in the area a Mega Bug will appear. Simply blast it mercilessly with water until it dies. It will probably only manage to vomit one palm tree by the time you get rid of it, so nothing too challenging here. Once you get the “Area Cleared” message, go back through Cave East and deposit your coins. I finished Slime Trail Cave with 653 coins in the bank and 53 tax credits in the Tax Machine (plus an additional 10 on my person).

Upon clearing Slime Trail Cave the crabs you helped will have lowered down some vines you can climb. Approach them and summon your gorilla with , then . There’s a Nest Egg right at the top of these vines and across the water lies the Exit Bot. You have saved Sandy Island, the first of three Savvy islands that need saving, so we’re off to the next adventure!

My stats for Sandy Island were 94% completion, 1125 coins earned, 0 debt, 101 tax paid, and 12 Nest Eggs found. As long as you got all the achievements mentioned so far, don’t worry if your stats aren’t exactly the same. I had not unlocked the achievement for depositing 1,000 gold doubloons yet, despite my totals showing I earned 1125 coins (some of it is probably interest accrued).