Goofball City
What a funny little game. I love it. This is in many ways the polar opposite to Gorogoa, which is very stern and serious and lacks characters altogether while still establishing character thru setting. That said, the games both build worlds that feel "lived in" and contribute deeply to your enjoyment of the fiction. The handful of puzzles here are very simple but fun to complete.
You play as a hole that needs to consume everything on the map. You get bigger as you consume, so you have to get the little bits then the big bits. Occasionally you have to think about how to unlock the next bigger bit, or strategize teh order of consumption, but for the most part you just gobble. It's fun and mindless and nice to look at. The levels are nicely detailed and help a lot in the characterization.
A long list of animals make up the cast, and you spend the game visiting their homes in order to "delivery them donuts", which is to say, gobble them up. They aren't too pleased with you, the raccoon who controls the hole. The present day takes place in the bottom of one of the holes and the whole county's populace takes turns giving you a piece of their mind. The exposure to each character is brief, but once paired with the look inside their living space and the many details and quicks included therein, the characterization becomes complete and you get to know them. It's a fun approach.
The game is very short but memorable, and you really wouldn't want to play it for that much longer. Get it on sale. Everyone should check it out if they enjoy having fun and goofing off. If not, try Gorogoa instead, which is also great but severely more dour in tone and with more thoughtful challenge.
3.5/5