In this pastel-coloured world, friendly forest animals dwell. They need your care and attention to help ‘The Tree of Happiness’ grow. If it wasn’t already obvious by now, this is vey much aimed at younger gamers.
For ‘The Tree of Happiness’ to sprout, it’s up to you to gather happy feelings.
This is achieved by feeding, petting, and playing with the fuzzy little critters in the titular forest. It’s a mini-game package, essentially – there are 15 games to play in total, along with the opportunity to rustle up some food, all in the name of increasing happiness. Icons pop up above characters’ heads which guides you with their needs. There’s always help should you need a pointer.
You can take turns when fishing, item matching, racing, and playing the rhythm-based games, or up to three other players can join in.
The forest animals (rabbit, mouse, squirrel, hamster, porcupine, flying squirrel, degu, capybara, and a beaver) are each a different colour, which helps to make them easily distinguishable. They can be personalised with accessories, and it’s possible to decorate the forest too.
This is a cheerful game and perfect for kids and adults who enjoy quick-fire mini-games. The tutorials can drag, though, which is a slight annoyance if your child has a short attention span – like mine.
There are plenty of reasons to return and replay, which makes this highly recommend for kids who are yet to advance onto games more complicated. I even enjoyed the music, which plays quietly in the background, so as not to drown out the adorable squeaks and squeals.
Developed by Aksys Games, Cuddly Forest Friends is out now on Switch for £35.99. Available both digitally and at retail. In the words of Homer Simpson: “Look at those funny little whiskers.”