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Ooblets is a farming, creature collection, and town life game where you build up your farm, befriend townsfolk, grow ooblets, and have dance-offs. The premise itself is fun, imaginative and just the salve to soothe the gamer’s soul in these troubled times. Developed by Glumberland, a small independent game studio in Seattle run by Rebecca Cordingley and Ben Wasser, Ooblets allows for escapism with its whimsical design while also offering all the elements of other life simulators.
In the game, you grow crops on your farm and sell them in town all while building a team of ooblets that you can level up. Additionally, the game adds personalization in the way of styling your character in different outfits and accessories. You can also compete I dance-offs to earn new ooblet seeds and win tournaments. Plus, you can also decorate your house and move it from a shack to farmhouse. Given the context of the game, we thought it best to look for two perspectives from our games team to tackle the title and answer a few questions on what players can look forward to when they pick up the game. Check out some of their Ooblets highlights below:
Ooblets pulls you in with cuteness
Derrick: The art design looked vibrant and unique. And as a fan of Pokemon, I enjoy most games that allow me to collect creatures. I’m also a fan of farming and simulation. I remember seeing the first trailer and knowing this was up my alley.
Kate: I love farming games. While simulators add a level of responsibility as you play, and can sometimes feel like chores they also offer a structured escape with the task of just living. Throw in an adorable art style and pastel world, and Ooblets immediately seemed like just the game I needed to make it through the rest of 2020.
Ooblets turns the relaxation factor up to 11
Derrick: There are a lot of games to compare Ooblets to. Pokemon, Stardew Valley, and Animal Crossing. Ooblets definitely feels like it’s a love letter to gamers who enjoy those games, with relaxation, cranked to 11. It’s great to see an indie title take inspiration from other games and genres and create something that stands on its own.
Kate: One thing that every simulation game has in common is that tasks you see as fun at the beginning of the game, quickly become tedious chores and can prevent you from logging in. So far, each and every piece of Ooblet gathering and simulation mechanics are entertaining enough to keep that tedious nature from hitting. To be honest, Ooblets comes at the perfect time for those looking to relax. It’s never stressful when it comes to gathering or even acquiring currency, and who doesn’t need a good dance break now and again?
Dancing…That’s it…That’s reason #3
Derrick: Dance Battles! I’ve never seen this in a game before. Most monster catching/battling games you battle via fighting. However, Ooblets keeps it peaceful and brings joy, laughter. The way to perform your dances is similar to Slay the Spire gameplay.
Kate: One of the most unique mechanics of the game is that it’s a simulation that brings in a deck-building for the dancing elements of the game. Similar to Pokemon, you can challenge ooblets that you meet on the island to dance battles, the difference being that you have to have adequate resources to enter the battle. Dancing is relaxing, cute, relatively easy, and works in tandem with the need to collect resources. This combo makes a dynamic element of the game instead of just an adorable reprieve from farming.
Beauty that still offers functionality
Derrick: Artstyle is vibrant and the characters are always dancing. It’s relaxing, funny, and joyful. You definitely can get lost in this peaceful world.
Kate: My biggest worry was that the highly stylized art would detract from the gameplay. That said, while the human movements are awkward, they all work with the larger world. Additionally, while the dance battle animations are repetitive, they’re too cute to fault and as you grow more ooblets and your squad expands, the battles take more strategy. Finally, the world is like pure joy come to life and with the relaxing music, this is a game, that is beyond easy to plug into and not move for a whole day.
Overall, when we got together to write our highlights, these were the top four that overlapped. This isn’t an exhaustive list of all the reasons you should play, so, just know that there are more. Take our word for it and grab yourself a copy of Ooblets and relax, farm, and dance this week on the little island filled with adorable creatures.
Ooblets is available now on Xbox One’s Game Preview on on PC via the Epic Games Store.
Kate is co-founder, EIC, and CCO of BWT. She’s also a Certified Rotten Tomatoes Critic, host, and creator of our flagship podcast, But Why Tho?. She also manages all PR relationships for comics, manga, film, TV, and anime.