Donut Create Push
Allow me to fall into the trap of talking about what this game isn't.
I had high hopes for Donut County, a Katamari-style game where you control a hole that grows as things fall into it. Only, it's not done in the style of Katamari at all, not really. It's more of a puzzle game with Katamari trappings. Sure, Katamari games are split into discrete levels, but this goes even further, with fairly minute levels containing a couple of puzzles involving a specific set piece. There's no freedom to explore or tackle environments on your own terms; this game has a linear story to tell. It's a narrative Katamari, a Narratamari.
I want something specific when I play a game of this type: I want to grow bigger by collecting/consuming things that are smaller than me, in a largely open environment. I've never seen an open world game of this type, but I would love that. The Tasty Planet games have a problem that might be specific to me in that it's supposed to be about a blob of goo getting bigger and bigger, but each level starts the blob at a different size, negating any feeling of progress. Donut County does a similar thing, starting with a new hole for each level. I just want to get bigger until there's nothing left to eat. Hole.io does it well by having a limited number of large-enough levels and giving the player a time limit that compliments the size, ensuring difficulty in achieving the goal of eating everything. Each game gets close, but fails to meet my wants in different ways. For the record, The Wonderful End of The World came closest. Donut County has its story, but from a gameplay perspective, it's the most disappointing "one of these" I've played.
