Mothergamer Plays Asfalia: The Cranky Volcano and Panic at the Mansion

 *Note: I received both games for free for my honest review. Thank you to Funtomata for the Nintendo Switch game keys!

Since both games are short, one about an hour and the other just a few hours, I'm reviewing both of them in this latest review. Let's start with the first game, The Cranky Volcano. We're introduced to Charlie as she rides her bike home from school. This is a nice way to show off the cute art and give a brief tutorial on how to move the cursor in the game for this point and click adventure. 

Meet Charlie.

Interact with everything, because there's a great chance to get some pretty nice stickers for Charlie's sticker book. Charlie will also find items she can use later that go into her satchel. After fully exploring the yard, Charlie is able to go into the house and talk to her dog Baya and go upstairs to her room to explore. This is another area to get some stickers. 

Cute stickers.

Charlie wants to play with Baya, but Baya doesn't want to play. Baya is resting and it seems like she's not feeling well, but Charlie being a child doesn't necessarily understand this and gets angry and frustrated by this and starts shouting. This is really well done in showing that sometimes kids don't quite know how to regulate their emotions and how that can affect their behavior. It's at this point that Charlie gets transported to a magical world known as Asfalia. 

Charlie explores Asfalia.

Asfalia is delightfully weird and colorful with many whimsical characters that Charlie can talk to and help in the form of some puzzles. The puzzles aren't too complicated because the entire story itself is geared towards young children explaining anger and emotions to them in a wonderfully creative way. The volcano rumbles every now and then showing the urgency of getting things sorted quickly. The game also autosaves when you enter new areas which is fine, but you only get one save slot.

The voice acting in Cranky Volcano is very well done making it feel like a storybook come to life which is a lovely touch. Cranky Volcano doesn't overstay its welcome and I finished it in an hour and got to appreciate the adorable ending. 

A fun party in Asfalia.

Next up is Panic at the Mansion. We are with Charlie once again and her four puppies having fun playing at the park. This is a point and click game as well so there is a short tutorial about how to move and interact with things. The sticker book is back so again you can get some really nice stickers for it.

Charlie has fun with the puppies. 

There's voice acting in this one too and again it's very well done. There's a slight change in the art style too making it a bit more vibrant than the previous game, but still keeping all the whimsy and cute charm. Charlie can play one more game with the puppies and then a storm suddenly breaks out and the puppies run away. Charlie starts looking for the puppies commenting about how scared they must be because of the storm which introduces quite nicely the discussion of fear, being scared, and facing those fears.

Just like the last game Charlie is teleported to Asfalia, but it's in a different area. Charlie meets Lily a tiny flame from a fallen star. Charlie and Lily both don't like the dark and there's a little segment where Charlie can find moonstones to feed Lily so she can shine very brightly. Lily and Charlie team up to find the lost puppies and off they go to try and find a way to the place they were last seen, a mansion at the top of a hill.

Charlie and Lily meet a cute ghost. 

Charlie and Lily meet some interesting characters like a talking knife who really loves cheese and video games or a Chimera that can't tell when someone is in disguise. These add a touch of humor that everyone can enjoy and Charlie can help all of them out with various things. There's a lot of back and forth to previous areas unlike the first game, but I didn't mind because I was having fun seeing where Charlie and Lily's adventure took them. There are a few puzzles, but again nothing terribly challenging since the games are family friendly and keeping in mind young children playing it. 

Solving a puzzle. 

Charlie and Lily discover things about themselves in regards to fear and what it means to find courage even when you're scared. It's a lovely gentle way to teach kids about expressing their emotions in a constructive and mindful way. The lovely voice acting and charming art that looks like a hand painted storybook really helps that to shine in a fantastic way. Panic at the Mansion is also short, but that's not a bad thing. I finished it in about three hours and loved the ending. Both games are fantastic and very well done. The fact that Funtomata worked with child specialists such as emotional coaches because they wanted their games to teach children in a fun and thoughtful manner has me really impressed with them and I hope we get to see more of Charlie and more games like this that are fun and educational for everyone. I'm glad I got to check out The Cranky Volcano and Panic at the Mansion because they were such a wonderful and charming journey with brilliant voice acting and wonderful art. Overall, both games are worth your time if you like short but sweet learning adventures with just the right touch of whimsy. 

A fun little party sticker. 

*Asfalia: The Cranky Volcano and Asfalia: Panic at the Mansion are available to play on the following platforms: Nintendo Switch and Steam 

*Update: Funtomata reached out and let me know there's one save slot per Nintendo Switch profile so each child gets their personal save and on PC/Mac you have unlimited save files. 

*Join the Mothergamer community on Twitch where we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Ghost of Yotei An Epic Journey

 I loved Ghost of Tsushima so I had been counting down very excitedly for Ghost of Yotei. The setting takes place 329 years after the events of Ghost of Tsushima in the area of Mount Yotei in Ezo. From the beginning Ghost of Yotei grabs your attention with the introduction of a woman entering a village and the villagers warning her not to interfere with someone known as the Snake. We are then introduced to this woman who is Atsu explaining her reasons for targeting the snake and the group he's a part of the Yotei Six and their leader Saito and it's very much full on justified revenge. Erika Ishii does an amazing job as Atsu right from the start and I instantly liked Atsu. Obviously the fight with the Snake happens here and this allows the game to give a bit of a tutorial on the game controls and Atsu's fighting skills. It's a great start to everything with a badass duel and setting up the beginning of Atsu's status as the Onryo a vengeful spirit seeking vengeance for past wrongs. 

Atsu searchs for the Snake.

There's an interesting back and forth between the past and the present in Ghost of Yotei. When Atsu returns to her family's home, she can switch back to the past showing memories of her childhood with her family. You get to see what Atsu was like when she was a child alongside her brother Jubei as well as seeing what her parents were like. I loved the minigame of forging swords with Atsu's father and then learning to play the shamisen with her mother. It's smartly done giving us this insight and allowing us to get to know her family and become emotionally attached to them. We see that Atsu and her family were happy, that there was understanding, and love. 

Atsu as a child with her brother Jubei. 

I was happy to see that the open world here is just as beautiful as it was in Ghost of Tsushima. The vibrant colors of flowers, the wind guiding us, and of course there is photo mode in the game. I was also delighted that this game also had plenty of accessibility options including being able to change the difficulty settings of the game and they also included Kurosawa mode where you can play in black and white. They also kept in the foxes and fox shrines. I loved finding all the foxes and of course petting them. I spent a ton of time in photo mode because the stunning vistas and different areas are gorgeous. 

Enjoying the view. 

There is no level grinding in Ghost of Yotei which makes sense because Atsu is an entirely different character and this is a new story and it's hers. Instead, Atsu has an arsenal of various weapons at her disposal and as part of her journey she picks up some new ones and learns how to wield them. Unlocking skills in her skill tree for each weapon requires finding shrines all over the world map which encourages exploring everywhere. Depending on what type of enemy she's fighting Atsu can switch weapons easily to turn the fight to her advantage. I quite enjoyed this combat system because it made battles feel intense and I was having fun with it figuring out what I needed for certain fights like defeating a guy who was twice Atsu's size and when I figured it out and won I felt pretty darn excited about it. 

I loved exploring in Ghost of Yotei and I always love doing side quests in open world games like this. Atsu meets so many interesting people and this comes full circle with what is called her wolf pack. These are people who Atsu cares about as well as friends she makes along the way who can help her with different things like improving her armor and weapons or replenishing tools she uses. Atsu can set up camp and if they can, one of them will show up and sit with her and help her out. 

My personal favorite was Atsu meeting the Ainu people. For those who may not know, the Ainu are the indigenous people of Japan and are considered the native people of Hokkaido. I loved that they were included and that it was done in a thoughtful and mindful way. Apparently the devs made a point of traveling to Hokkaido and meeting with an Ainu cultural advisor, met with the Ainu and learned about their culture, their items, and had advisors directing them on how to best accurately and respectfully portray the Ainu in the game. Atsu interacts with an Ainu kotan (Ainu village) and there are several quests she can do with them. She also meets with some of their merchants on her travels and is able to trade with them. I loved this part of the game and honestly, I wished there had been more with them because the Ainu are an incredible people and I loved hearing their stories, their songs, and listening to their explanations about their day to day life. I would find myself visiting with them often throughout the game. 

Atsu chats with the Ainu. 

The main story itself is great. As I said before, Erika Ishii did an amazing job voicing Atsu. The entire voice acting cast are fantastic and I would just stop and talk to everyone. I felt for Atsu when she was going through the rage and trauma she felt and this is showcased really well with a wolf that sometimes appears to Atsu who she helps sometimes by exacting revenge on hunters who are killing wolves. I truly felt that in a way the wolf represents Atsu's anger and it's a smart choice because I loved that wolf, but I also understood that shared rage about the unfairness of bad people getting away with causing harm because of an imbalance of power. However, I also appreciated the brief moments of peace and joy that Atsu had such as quietly playing a song on her shamisen or taking the time to stop and pet an adorable fox. It adds a level of much needed balance when I would explore or take a little break from the intensity of the main story. 

Atsu pets a cute fox. 

There is even a beautiful nod to Jin and Ghost of Tsushima in one of the Tales in the game and it hit me hard with the emotions and I found myself teary eyed at those nods to him and references to his story. The Tales were some of my favorite things about Ghost of Tsushima and I'm glad to see they had them here in Ghost of Yotei and some of them were heartbreaking, but also connecting to Atsu with the theme of familial love especially between a mother and daughter. It's wonderfully done and the rewards for doing these are worth it as they range from different styles of armor to weapon upgrades. 

I loved every minute of Ghost of Yotei because of the great storytelling with the main story and some of the side stories tying everything together. Learning about the past of the Yotei Six was also intriguing because you come to realize it's not necessarily one sided and Saito himself is quite the egotistical villain. I absolutely despised his character especially when it was revealed how self serving he is multiple times throughout Atsu's adventure. There were far too many great moments in the story to count and some of them wrecked me emotionally, but it made for an epic journey for Atsu right down to the finale and I'm so glad I got to experience all of it. 

Atsu takes a moment. 

*Ghost of Yotei is available to play on Playstation 5

*Join the Mothergamer community on Twitch where we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Mothergamer Plays Simon the Sorcerer Origins

 *Note: I received the game for free for my full honest review. Thank you to PRHound and Smallthings Studio for the Xbox game key!

* I'm not the best at puzzles so I did play the game with a full guide. Gamespew made an excellent step by step walkthrough guide which you can find here: https://www.gamespew.com/2025/10/simon-the-sorcerer-origins-walkthrough/

It had been ages since I played a Simon the Sorcerer game so I was delighted to get a chance to play Simon the Sorcerer Origins which is celebrating thirty years of Simon the Sorcerer. The original Simon the Sorcerer games were point and click adventures on PC and Chris Barrie brought Simon to life with his comedic timing and wit. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Chris Barrie was voicing Simon once again in Origins. Origins is a prequel with events happening before the first game introducing us to Simon who has moved to a new neighborhood with his family.

Simon in the new house.

This gives you a chance to learn the tutorial about interacting with things, combining items to make something useful to solve various puzzles. It feels familiar in a good way, think Discworld meets Monkey Island. The humor is very British and quite funny with Simon's sarcastic wit. The art style is cute and while the animation can sometimes be a little clunky, it doesn't detract from the fun of the game. 

It doesn't take long before strange things start to happen and Simon is whisked away to a strange world with magic, strange wizards, and even more fantastical creatures. There's a prophecy of sorts and Simon has to figure this out while also trying to find a way back home.

Simon meets Calypso the wizard.

There is fast travel in the game with a hilarious joke about giant map pins. It definitely made having to go back and forth between areas much easier and there is a ton of back and forth through the storytelling and for many of the puzzles. 

Map with map pins.

There are a lot of puzzles and sometimes it was not always obvious what to do which made me grateful for the guide I was using because sometimes a solution was not always clear to me and many times the instructions could be a bit vague. Simon would make a comment that would give small hints about what to do next. The puzzles weren't too bad and not terribly frustrating which I appreciated. 

Simon tries to solve a puzzle. 

I was constantly amused at Simon breaking the fourth wall with his commentary on the ridiculous situations he found himself in during his adventure. Chris Barrie does an excellent job voicing Simon and I found myself laughing often at Simon's antics such as roasting a talking painting's terrible poetry. I really enjoyed Simon the Sorcerer Origins because of the great way it approaches the storytelling. The game doesn't overstay its welcome, I finished it in about six hours and the ending is all wrapped up nicely setting up the events of the first game. It's a nice nod to the series while also introducing it to people who have never played Simon the Sorcerer games before. I had a blast with it and I would be thrilled to see them continue more of Simon's adventures. 

Simon breaks the fourth wall.

*Simon the Sorcerer Origins is available on the following platforms: Steam, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, and Nintendo Switch

*Join the Mothergamer community on Twitch where we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Mothergamer Plays Spindle

 *Note: I received the game for free for my honest review. Thank you to PRHound and Wobble Ghost for the Nintendo Switch game key!

Right from the start you can see the nods to classic Legend of Zelda games in Spindle. The art for the game is hand drawn and it's wonderful. For me it brought to mind playing old school adventure games when I was a kid and that nostalgia hit hard in the best ways. The initial introduction is interesting, but doesn't really explain a lot and that's the point. It's a mystery we have to solve. It's a dark and stormy night and you are woken up by a cute talking pig and you are Death. It's an intriguing set up as you and your pig companion try to figure out what is going on in the world.

Death and a cute talking pig.

It's obvious things have gone very wrong when you discover the soul of an old man is not with his body. Spindle isn't just about death and how we deal with it, it's about understanding the nuances of balance and it's up to you and your pig companion to restore that balance while unraveling the mystery that caused the chaos. Charon is a constant presence offering advice about where to find the lost souls as well as trying to help figure out what's going on. 

Meeting Charon. 

It's up to you to explore the various towns, talk to the people there to get information, and of course explore the dungeons and solve puzzles to get to where you need to go. I love puzzles, but I'm not the best at them and it can take me several tries to figure out the solution. Spindle definitely had some tricky puzzles, but nothing that was too frustrating. I was having so much fun with the game and story, I was very determined to solve those puzzles and when I did I felt so proud of myself for figuring it out. 

I did have a couple issues with the game. There was an issue at one point with stuttering frame rate on the Switch. It was quite noticeable, but once I closed the game and rebooted it was fine and there were no issues. There was also a glitch with a puzzle where it was not working correctly, but again rebooting the game solved the problem. The last one was gameplay with the world map and I do feel it is a lack of accessibility. The map is very detailed which is great. However, some of the colors are so similar they tend to blend together and the fact that I could not zoom the map in at all made it challenging for me to navigate my surroundings and figure out where to go next. There was a lot of backtracking for me because of getting turned around and that was a bit frustrating. 

World map in Spindle. 

Those issues aside, I really enjoyed Spindle. I liked the story and how it kept me guessing with reveals I didn't see coming. I appreciated the way the villagers in each town just accepted Death and his pig as normal and asked them for favors or helped them out with little clues here and there. I also loved the little nods to taking a moment to just be with things like being able to go fishing and fill up a fishing encyclopedia with all the fish you find. 

The biggest thing for me playing Spindle was the power of connection. Throughout the story, Spindle showed how each of us is connected whether it's through family, friends, community, or just finding common ground with a kindred spirit and how even in death that connection never truly goes away as long as we have empathy and compassion for each other. It's a powerful message told beautifully through the charming art style, amusing bits of humor, and in depth emotional moments through each character you meet. Spindle isn't necessarily a story about death, it's about life and how we navigate it and find that balance from the beginning right to the end. It's beautifully done with a gentle thoughtfulness and I appreciated the journey. 

Having a relaxing time fishing.

*Spindle is available to play on the following platforms: Steam and Nintendo Switch

*Join the Mothergamer community on Twitch where we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

 

Mothergamer Plays Sopa Tale of the Stolen Potato

*Note: I received the game for free for my honest review of the game. Thank you to Future Friends Gaming and StudioBando for the Xbox game key!

Sopa introduces us in a very cute way to Miho and his Nana. Right away I loved the cute art style for the game as we play as Miho running to the kitchen to talk to his Nana. They're both adorable together and Nana reminded me so much of my Lola (Filipino grandma) and my grandmother which made me smile. Nana wants Miho's help making her soup and needs him to get a potato from the pantry to make the soup extra tasty.

Nana and Miho.

Miho goes to get the potato and that's when things go a bit odd. The pantry seems to magically extend and when Miho finally gets to the sack of potatoes, there's a naughty purple talking frog with a bad attitude stealing the potatoes. A hilarious scene ensues with Miho and this frog playing tug of war with the potatoes and the animation for this is very well done. The frog makes off with the potatoes and Miho discovers Nana's pantry is a portal to another world with lots of talking frogs in a very busy market. 

Miho at the frog market. 

Miho has to solve a few problems here and there as he tries to get back the stolen potatoes. It's an adventure game with a mix of puzzles in the form of find a use for free ant grease to helping a vendor not be attacked by hungry seagulls. The puzzles are simple and encourage you to interact with everything and talk to everyone giving little hints along the way if you're not sure what to do next which is pretty nice. I found myself laughing at some of the humorous dialogue especially at one particular moment where one frog is shocked to discover potatoes are real. 

Frogs aren't the only individuals Miho meets on his adventure and I had fun looking around and talking to everyone. I loved all the references to South American and Latin culture and it made me notice some similarities about my own childhood as a Filipino kid especially in our celebration of family, community, and food bringing people together. 

Miho meets new people.

Sopa isn't a very long adventure, I finished it in about three hours and that's not a bad thing because of its overall charm. I enjoyed every minute of it because of the creative storytelling, the interesting characters, and the fun humor in ever interaction. It was a great short, but sweet adventure and it is absolutely worth your time, so don't miss out on this truly wonderful indie game. 

Miho is a very sweet and kind boy.

*Sopa Tale of the Stolen Potato is available to play on the following platforms: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Playstation 5

*Join our community on Twitch where we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Mothergamer Plays Dredge

 I had never played Dredge before so I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked it up to play. The only description I had from friends was Eldritch horror fishing.  It absolutely delivered and I ended up buying the whole game and both the DLC chapters The Pale Reach and The Iron Rig. First, let's dive in. I do like horror movies and games a lot. However, I'm a very big chicken and scare easily. I was delighted to find that in the accessibility settings Dredge had a setting known as peaceful that allowed me to turn off the scary, but still enjoy the macabre ambience of the the game. Basically I could see the creatures, but they wouldn't attack me and this also turned down the nighttime anxiety setting. 

From the start I was hooked playing as the nameless fisherman who is taking up the job to be the local fisherman in a small coastal town known as Greater Marrow. Things take a turn and the fisherman crashes his boat somehow. The details are vague, but hey the mayor of the town is happy to loan you a boat and let you work to pay off the loan for the boat. 

It begins!

The game does a great job of getting you started right away on the fishing aspect. You have to make money to pay off that boat loan after all. It's very easy to follow with showing how the different fishing hooks work as well as showing where the local shipyard is so that you can make upgrades to your boat with things like a stronger hull, bigger crab pots, and my personal favorite a bigger cargo hold for all those fish. You need a variety of fishing rods for the different types of fish. For example one fishing rod is meant for shallow water fishing, while another is meant for deep ocean fishing to catch heavier sea life like sharks. There's a bit of a mini game for the fishing with moving a ball around in a circle dodging obstacles and the cargo hold completely reminded me of Tetris. You have to flip, move, and maneuver the fish and items you find to fit perfectly in that grid. I made many a fish Tetris joke while I did this. 

Fishing isn't the only thing you can do because some of the townsfolk will ask you for favors such as finding a lost object or needing driftwood for a building project. You also need the wood as well as metals for increasing the strength of the hull on your boat. You have to find spots that sparkle indicating that this is a location where you can dredge for these items. This too has a bit of a mini game attached to it which is easy to follow. Since I was playing on the casual setting, it wasn't too frustrating if I messed up in a mini game which I appreciated.

Fish Tetris time! 

With the peaceful setting Dredge still manages to deliver a sense of wrongness and unsettling energy throughout the game and the storytelling. Seeing the abnormal fish, crabs, and some people clearly influenced by something not human, something other, and definitely not of this world creeped me out a lot and brought forth many questions like why did the people of the town insist on living in this area? You get a vibe right from the start that things are off and things are not as they appear to be. 

This really shines through when the sun goes down. A weird fog rolls in at night and you start to see things out of the corner of your eye. The panic meter goes up a little slower on peaceful mode, but it goes up gradually making you question if you really saw that giant lamprey or if there really are all these eyes watching you. A few times I almost dashed my boat on rocks that seemed to come out of nowhere. It's details like this that really add to the disturbing aspects of the game's storytelling in the best ways. It kept me on edge every time I realized it was nighttime and that meant a heightened sense of danger.

I always feel like someone's watching me! 

I learned very quickly to not be out at night for too long and find the nearest port so I could rest until the morning. I did enjoy that there's an encyclopedia for all the fish you catch including the Eldritch horror fish. I spent a lot of time collecting all the different types of normal and abnormal fish and sea creatures. I also kept looking for clues about what could have possibly happened to cause all this. There are five different areas on the map to explore and as the story progressed I was curious and horrified at the same time. With each new reveal, each new secret, I was floored by how alarming it was and it absolutely fit the Lovecraftian horror genre perfectly. 

The other side of that is for all the scary things, there were also some lovely moments of peace and beauty. The game does have photo mode which I always love in games especially with the fantastic art style of Dredge. I was sailing along during a rainy day in the game and a pod of dolphins happened to be swimming by. I thought that was very cool and took a screenshot of that immediately. Dolphins weren't the only creatures I saw. In one area I saw Orcas and another Humpback whales. It's a nice touch of normal and whimsy added to the game which I loved.

Dolphins swimming by. 

There are some puzzles in Dredge that are part of the story and while I'm not always the best at puzzles, these weren't too frustrating and I was able to figure a lot of them out without too much hassle. I became obsessed with finding out the secrets of the main story with the fisherman and the people of  Greater Marrow. The elements of the story are subtle and as the mystery is uncovered a little at a time I was always on the edge of my seat excited to see what else I could discover. 

Dredge does a great job with the overall storytelling and intermingling connecting side quests with it showing with great finesse how certain things are tied to each other. I was fascinated and invested until the very end and the story itself fully delivers. Not just that, it's fun to play. I took my time with it especially with the fishing because even the fishing itself was fun. I had a blast just exploring new places to see what they were and to see what new things I could find. I can't say enough good things about Dredge because it really is well done. It hit all the right notes for me in regards to a disturbing scary tale, while also mixing in some gorgeous art and fun side quests. I'm actually playing through it again getting any of the fish or creatures I might have missed for the encyclopedia. It's that great of a game and I'm glad I took the time to check it out.

What a gorgeous view! 

Dredge is available to play on the following platforms: Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Steam Deck, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Android, iOS, iPadOS, and MacOS

*Join our community on Twitch where we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

 

Mothergamer Plays Herdling

 When I saw the trailer for Herdling I was already in love with how cute the creatures were and the artwork. I knew I was going to try it out for myself. I did make a point to check the accessibility settings and I saw one that greatly pleased me and I highly recommend it. You can turn on immortality for the creatures known as Calicorns so they don't die. They can still get injured, but this prevents animal death which I was grateful for.  From the start, the artwork for Herdling is beautiful looking like a picturesque story book come to life. The game starts by introducing us to a young child who is homeless sleeping under a bridge in a nameless city. The city itself looks practically abandoned and foreboding with the only light source being dumpsters lit on fire and there are empty cars everywhere. We don't get to know what happened in this world because that's not what the story is about. In a few moments the child runs into a creature that looks like a combination of yak and goat with its face stuck in a bucket. 

This is where Herdling truly begins. The child can pick up a nearby stick and get the bucket off and we discover the creature is called a Calicorn. There is then a prompt to not only tame the Calicorn, but we can name it as well. I was fascinated by how adorable the Calicorn was and was delighted that we could also pet it. Then there is a minor tutorial showing that the child must guide the Calicorn with the stick towards the exit out of the city. It took me a minute to figure out how to move the glowing white marker in the direction of where I wanted the Calicorn to go. Once I figured it out, it wasn't terribly difficult and I guided it and discovered two more Calicorns that I tamed with the help of the first Calicorn and named them and then continued guiding them out of the city. 

Taming my first Calicorn. 

There is a very lovely and interesting moment where as we got closer to the exit, there was a painting on a building wall that the Calicorns stopped and looked at. It was a painting of Calicorns in the mountains. Suddenly, the painting glowed a brilliant gold and the fur on the Calicorns glowed the same brilliant hue. I realized because there's no voice acting, the story is told through the actions and art so this was the Calicorns telling the child that this is where they need to go, the mountains were home. It's such a lovely detail and showing that there's a touch of magic to the Calicorns themselves. 

Finally, we made it out of the city and onto a vista of a plains with farms in the background and a train going by. The sunlight was dazzling and the sky lighter and the Calicorns fur also seemed to brighten as if saying that yes, outside of the city in the open with grasses and trees is better. I agreed and ran with my Calicorns discovering you can make them stampede to run faster and their fur changed to the most beautiful primary colors, like a lovely rainbow. Sometimes the Calicorns would get sticks in their fur and I would have to clean them out and then I would pet them all. There's a nice subtle touch that shows when the Calicorns are happy that they're cared for that involves their horns glowing for a moment in those same bright colors. 

Taking a break with the Calicorns.

There are environmental puzzles as you go on your journey such as having to push open a gate to make a ramp for the Calicorns to climb up. You don't have to do this alone however, as many of the puzzles are designed to get the Calicorns to help you. One gate was huge and as I pushed, all the Calicorns lined up beside me and helped to push it open so we could go up the ramp and camp for the night. There's so many cute games throughout Herdling with the child and the Calicorns. You have to find sticks of firewood when you're at a camp site and some of the Calicorns will point them out to you. At some of them, there's a colorful yarn ball and you can throw it and a few of the Calicorns will play Fetch with you. I really enjoyed this and just cuddling with all of them. If a Calicorn is hurt, there are little bushes with bright blue berries on them. You can feed these to the Calicorns to heal them and the berries also build up the stampede gauge as well as strengthening your bond with them. You can also hang cute and colorful ornaments on their horns. I loved all these little details that added to the storytelling.

Petting a little Calicorn on a boat ride.

Crumbling cliffs or narrow paths were not the only dangers my Calicorns faced. Sometimes we would run into some pretty scary predators and the only thing I could do was get them to stampede so we could run quickly to a canopy of trees to hide or through a cave tunnel to escape. Luckily, there were always blue berries nearby so I could heal any of the Calicorns who were injured. There were moments at the campfire where a spirit that looked like a Calicorn would appear in what seemed like dreams, guiding the Calicorns up the mountain. Other times the spirit would appear in front of us on a path and I would find a Calicorn that was hurt nearby. I would help them, tame, name, and the other Calicorns in our herd would joyfully greet them. I started to realize that this spirit was of a Calicorn that had died and it was trying to help and guide them on their journey home to the mountains. It's such a nice and bittersweet element to the story itself.

The spirit in a dream. 

I loved traveling through the different vistas with the Calicorns. Going from the plains to a verdant forest and then through a dangerous, yet beautiful snowy mountain pass was interesting. There are of course puzzles throughout each area that the Calicorns can help with, but I was glad that the puzzles weren't overly complicated and not frustrating. Many were very much open a gate here, figure out where a key stone is for a door, or hiding behind boulders to brace against strong mountain winds. 

I was able to find all 12 Calicorns and as the group gets bigger it definitely adds a layer of challenge with having to keep them all together. I would have to stop often just to do a head count and make sure none were missing. These were also moments I could stop and clean the sticks out of their fur, give them a little rest break, and pet all of them. Any time one of them fell or got hurt, I would be very worried about them and rush around looking for the blue berries to heal them. It was so easy to become attached to the Calicorns because of their cuteness and their varying personalities. One of my favorite ones, their personality was affectionate and every time we stopped to camp they always wanted to play Fetch and have lots of cuddles. 

The music in the game is fantastic matching the mood and vibe of each area perfectly. With each new area the bond between the child and the Calicorns grew to the point by the time we were nearing the end of our journey there was a deep love and trust between them and the story shows this in how much they look out for one another and help each other. Herdling shows that bond in such a wonderfully thoughtful way highlighted through the artwork and music creating a perfectly told story. The game itself is not terribly long, I finished it in seven hours and I loved every moment of it. Herdling is truly an indie gem that is worth checking out because of how well all these elements blend together and I know I will be playing through it again because that's how great the game is.  

Gathered together around a campfire.

*Herdling is available now on the following platforms: Steam, Epic Games Store, Playstation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch

*Join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer