A new must-play demo has landed on Steam, and it’s one I’m so thrilled to see arrive.
Woodo is an upcoming cosy game from indie studio Tiny Monks Tales, consisting of just two developers.
It’s described as a “cosy diorama puzzle game”; players will essentially assemble wooden scenes, piece by piece, following the coming-of-age tale of Foxy and Ben as they do so.
I had the chance to attend a preview of the title at 2024’s Gamescom and let me tell you, it was easily one of my favourite sessions of the entire event.
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The cosy genre has become a tad stale with a few too many repetitive farming sims for my liking.
Woodo feels wholly unique though, with its beautifully realised textures, calming soundtrack, and low stakes approach to puzzling.
In my original preview of the title, I said this: “What most impressed me about Woodo is just how alive the scenes felt. First of all, everything is beautifully textured so it really does feel like you're building a wooden model. The scenes are 3D and you can rotate and zoom in and out to your heart's content. What’s more, extra smaller puzzles are revealed upon completing certain areas.”
I continued, “Say that you finish placing the wooden blocks required to build a cupboard, that cupboard may then spring open, allowing you to build the contents inside. In another instance, I placed a plate onto the table opening up a mini puzzle which tasked me with piecing together the components of a cupcake. Slowly, item by item, the scene would grow in vibrancy. I cannot stress enough just how heartwarming and joyful this process is.”
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One year on, I’ve been hoping for an update on its progress and one has now arrived.
While Woodo is due to launch on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, it’s players on the latter platform who will benefit from early access.
Woodo remains without a release date but a free demo has now landed on Steam and I highly recommend you give it a go.
It’ll give you the opportunity to build two of the game’s dioramas - and it looks as if players are loving doing so.
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Woodo’s demo already has ‘Very Positive’ reviews.
“Very enjoyable, casual game. Plays kind of like a hidden object game. And there are just enough sneaky placements and similar objects to keep it from being too easy,” wrote one player.
“Extremely cozy and satisfying cute demo. Will buy the full game,” added another, while one player said, “This was so sweet, and surprisingly clever! Loved it!”
I’m so glad to see Woodo receiving so much praise. Hopefully that cross-platform release date isn’t too far away!
Topics: Steam, PC, Indie Games