Although Ooblets was released as a beta game on other platforms in 2020, the official release on all platforms (including the Nintendo Switch) was on Sept. 1. I had never played the beta version, but I did pick up the full game on launch day and I’m glad I did.
Ooblets is one of the cutest and coziest games I’ve played, which says a lot considering my self-proclaimed title—cozy gamer. It feels as if everything in Ooblets was designed to be comfortable, cutesy and relaxing. It really has everything you could want in a cozy game. The characters are adorable, the materials you gather have silly names and precious designs and the other characters have a lot of personality. What sets Ooblets aside from other cozy games is the Ooblet creatures.
Ooblets are tiny little creatures that love to dance. You can interact with them and eventually grow your own. They follow you around everywhere and can even complete simple tasks for you. The biggest personality trait of the Ooblet creatures is that they absolutely love to dance. The way to acquire new Ooblets is to compete in dance battles. However, before you can ask for a dance battle you need certain materials that are prompted before the start. If you win the battle, you are given an Ooblet seed, which you then water and tend to for a few days. The battles are formatted in a turn based card game. You win by reaching a certain number of points first (the points needed to win range depending on how many Ooblets you have with you in the battle at the time).
Ooblets is easy to get lost in as you are quite literally creating a new life in a different world. Your character has moved from their hometown of Ahroh Island, a place where Ooblets are banned. Your character has decided to leave everything they know to start a new life, a life full of Ooblets. Once your character arrives, you are greeted by Mayor Tinstle. Tinstle allows you to stay in an abandoned farm house in exchange for work.
There are many different things you can do and although you are given tasks to complete, you can really just do whatever you want. Some of the tasks include gathering materials, fishing, talking to citizens and adding to your farm house. There are a handful of different stores to shop at and you are in charge of your own farm. Eventually you are given the task of cleaning up a woodland area that will one day be an Ooblet sanctuary.
Some smaller details that I enjoyed were the customization. Considering you could put a lot of time into Ooblets I enjoyed getting to name and design my character the way I wanted. There aren’t too many clothing or hairstyle choices at the start, but more options can be unlocked and bought later on as you progress.
Another detail I enjoyed was the menu dialogue options. The responses on menus are perfectly on brand for the content. For instance, instead of a typical response like “finished” or “quit” the option is always “Dunnit.” There are cute little quirks similar to this sprinkled throughout the game. It is easy to tell that the game was created with attention to detail and it really does enhance the experience when playing.
Although Ooblets is simple, it is really easy to get lost in. There are so many little things to love about it and I would be listing things for quite some time if I were to try. Cozy gamers everywhere are sure to love this game and grow attached to their cute little Ooblet lives.