Developer: Toadzillart
Platform: PC (Reviewed)
Genre: Casual
Publisher: Future Friends Games
Whimside is a creature-collecting idle game. This game is developed by Toadzillart and published by Future Friends Games. Whimside takes inspiration from games like Pokémon and Rusty’s Retirement. Whimside is currently only available for PC.
Whimside is a single-player game that sits at the bottom of your PC screen. Whimside welcomes you into its cosy, whimsical world through the charming presence of Toadz, your little, cute guide. Whimlings, adorable creatures with both common and legendary variants, wander freely, and you have the ability to capture them. Unlike most ‘catch them all’ goals, Whimside allows players to delve into creature breeding to unlock rarer traits and progress to newer biomes. Every combination of traits is like a puzzle piece, encouraging you to build a diverse, vibrant collection. Whimside’s world is full of small, magical discoveries.
Controls in Whimside are refreshingly simple and approachable. The tutorial walks you through each function step-by-step, making it easy for players to jump in. You can easily swap the game to a different monitor or minimise it to the small hover icon of Toadz, which, when hovered over, provides a nice summary of completed tasks. The game runs seamlessly over other windows, making it ideal for casual multitasking. Even placing markers on specific Whimlings to track them in the world is effortless and intuitive.
Visually, Whimside is quite a lovely sight, featuring pixelated sprites that are vibrant and nicely detailed. The animation style is irresistibly cute, from Whimlings roaming across your garden to Toadz panicking whilst moving him across the screen. Gardens can be decorated with unlockable items as you explore, adding a personal touch to your space. On the audio side, the game offers a surprisingly robust sound system, complete with customizable notifications so you hear alerts for events like a legendary appearing or an egg hatching, even if the game is tucked away on a second screen. It did take some getting used to familiarising myself with the various notification sounds, but it is quite helpful once you can differentiate the tunes.
The premise and gameplay feature set Whimside apart from other idle desktop titles. Now, personally, I have never been a fan of idle desktop games because after some time, you tend to neglect that the game was even running in the first place, but the concept of being able to capture varieties of Whimlings brings out my inner Pokémon catcher. Whimlings roam in and out of the world at their own pace, so spotting the one you need often takes patience (they come and go on a whim, after all). Whimside also allows players to delve into breeding mechanics, which allow you to combine the traits of two Whimlings you have captured, which helps you work toward completing your collection. What I liked a lot was that to open the next biome, there would be locked gates that required you to capture specific Whimlings with characteristic traits, allowing players to pace themselves towards a goal.
Additionally, you can also complete quests that require capturing certain Whimlings, which is a great way to earn gems. Rarity of the Whimlings also influences gem production in your garden. Also, the more affectionate you become with your pet (petting them every two minutes), the better the production.
Whimside was the perfect balance when it comes to a slow-paced, low-pressure game where you can easily enjoy it while carrying out other tasks. For the price, Whimside offers a surprising amount of value and gets players to invest quite a lot of time. My only complaint with the game was a minor visual quirk. If your desktop taskbar is not locked, the game appears to be ‘floating’ rather than sitting at the bottom of the screen. It is quite a small thing, but I felt it was noticeable. Overall, Whimside is a fun, cute game where you have the ability to personalise your space, name your Whimlings, capture as many as your heart desires, become more fond of your pets, earn germs, and discover new places all through the comfort of the game, sitting on your desktop.
Whimside is a game that allows players to slow down and build a collection that feels unique to yourself. Whether you’re breeding for the final rare trait or just watching Whimlings frolic across your desktop, this game is a cosy game worth your time. So be sure to check out Whimside!
Overall: 8/10
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