New simulation game Ooblets has given an adorable dance-filled twist to the genre, combining features players know and love like farming, creature collection, and card-based battling into one sweet package. The game is infinitely cute and can be incredibly relaxing, truly encapsulating some of the best elements of the cozy game genre. While the game isn't perfect, and some players may find its tone too saccharine, Ooblets is an overall delight that will have many hooked almost immediately.
Ooblets is truly sweet to its core, from its two currencies called Gummies and Wishies to the tiny creatures players collect as they explore the colorful land of Oob. Even the game's vocabulary is deeply cute, from businesses called things like Manatwee to crops called Sweetiebeeties. Players will find themselves encountering several familiar tropes throughout the game that have been given new life through the game's indomitable cuteness, and while the initial barrage of adorable quirkiness can be a bit overwhelming when players begin the game, it evolves into a lovely environment to be in.
When players arrive in Badgetown - the game's main hub where the player takes up residence - they will be able to choose between several different clubs and its associated Ooblet in a process akin to picking a starter Pokémon. From there, players will be introduced to the run-down shack and rubbish-filled yard that is their new home, which like many games of the genre is offered for free with the expectation that players will help fix up the town. This introduces players to two of the three main mechanics of Ooblets: farming, and quests.
However, the third pillar of gameplay in Ooblets, Ooblet collection, is arguably the most important. Ooblets are the tiny creatures that are grown in the player's garden from seeds they acquire after winning a dance battle with the creature, which will in turn slowly be assembled into a team to be used in bigger dance battles down the line. Players will log their Ooblet collection in their Grumboire - a play on grimoire - and can customize their names and dress each Ooblet in different accessories for even further adorableness.
Ooblets takes the deck-building elements of games like Hearthstone into the realm of dance, with each type of Ooblet bringing different card-based moves to the table. This makes Ooblet collecting and team building especially satisfying, as each new Ooblet allows for a new set of sick dance moves, as well as other more skill-based cards like those that add mechanics like Hype and Fluster. Although battles start incredibly easy, rarer Ooblets will be more of a challenge, as will battles with fellow Ooblet owners as the story progresses. Each newly-grown Ooblet can be scanned at the science building called the Lernery to earn Gummies, and figurines of scanned Ooblets can be crafted to be placed in Town Hall for a further element of collection.
Outside of battle, Ooblets are used for a myriad of tasks around players' farms as well. Players can build Oobcoops in Ooblets that function similarly to the Junimo Huts of Stardew Valley, allowing some of the Ooblet team to stay home and perform different jobs like weeding, watering, and harvesting crops. They can also operate machines like the Crunchster, which transforms crops like Muz and Sweetiebeeties into Muz Flour and Froobtose. Players will utilize their crops for everything from cooking to fulfilling bulk orders from a company called Plenny's. There can be a slight learning curve to adjust to the game's farming vernacular, but overall the twists to the typical formula do more good than harm, and building a successful farm full of Ooblets is deeply satisfying.
In Ooblets, Badgetown is in danger of being disincorporated by the Ooblet High Counsel, and players will embark on a series of quests for Mayor Tinstle in an effort to rehabilitate the town. As players help repair things around town - which mostly involves collecting materials - they will unlock things like Gimble's hot air balloon which allows travel to exciting new places, and a Dance Barn that's home to daily tournaments. Players can even unlock their own storefront which they can upgrade and decorate just like their home. The story the game tells through its mainline tasks isn't particularly deep, but the nature of the game doesn't necessitate a deeply philosophical narrative, and Ooblets is self-aware enough to sometimes amusingly comment on the shallow nature of some of its quests.
Badgetown is populated with 16 characters players can build relationships with, all of whom provide a host of entertaining dialogue as well as the occasional side quest. Just as progression works in titles like Animal Crossing, relationship rewards are to be had in the form of earning Friendship Stickers, each of which is accompanied by spoils like Gummies and instruments. One of the only annoying elements of Ooblets is the rigidity in the position players must be in to speak with some characters - for example, if a player walks behind a shop counter to speak with the owner, after opting to talk to them their character will jog all the way back around to the front of the counter before conversation begins.
Like many simulation titles, Ooblets provides players with a host of constant upgrade options to keep them coming back. Wishies, which are earned through things like badge collection and Nook Miles-esque daily tasks, can be used on things like machine blueprints, increases to player energy, and increased store stock and Ooblet population. Additionally, rotating Ooblet-based challenges for an area called the Wildlands where players can set free excess creatures help expand the area and gives players access to rare resources.This means earning both Gummies and Wishies is important for different reasons, as is obtaining a wide variety of Ooblets, which makes for incredibly addictive gameplay.
The only feature of Ooblets that falls flat in terms of forming a satisfying gameplay loop is fishing - or as the game calls it, sea dangling - which is used to reel in useful items from the water. Unlike the fishing mechanics in most video games, there is no player component to successful sea dangling - players simply cast their line, wait for a few moments, and automatically bring in whatever was caught, which makes for ver repetitive gameplay with no element of skill. Furthermore, there are no water-inhabiting Ooblets to be found, which is quite disappointing.
While the visual style of Ooblets is incredibly pleasing, with fantastical landscapes and uniquely-designed creatures and characters, the same cannot always be said for the game's soundtrack. That's not to say it's all bad - some parts of the title's music, particularly that during dance battles, is quite catchy and will likely have players bobbing along in their seats. However, the general in-game music grows repetitive quickly, rarely changing from the same song.
Despite these few flaws, Ooblets is an incredibly strong title that combines several genres into one deeply cute and satisfying experience that stands on its own. Ooblets is not a game to be strategically min-maxed or sped through, and the lack of stakes in the game - particularly the fact Ooblets can't die - is incredibly welcome, encouraging players to take their time. Ooblets is hands-down one of the most unique simulation games of the last several years, and offers a truly creative new take on cozy gaming.
Ooblets is available for Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via the Epic Games Store. Screen Rant was provided with an Epic Games Store digital download code for the purpose of this review.