The name “Adorable Adventures” may not inspire much confidence, sounding uncannily similar to Switch eShop shovelware, but you only need to play it for a minute or two – or perhaps even just glance at the screenshots – to discover that it has been blessed with a modest budget. This is evident not just in its softly spoken male narrator, who sets the appropriate tone, but also in its visual prowess.
A dense and richly detailed nature park provides the setting, blessed with rolling hills, freshwater streams, tall waterfalls, and mountain ranges offering picturesque views. While alluring visuals aren’t a reason alone to become invested, they definitely help draw you in here.
This grassy plain is home to Boris – a fearless juvenile boar, who’s headstrong and determined. After discovering that their doting mother has become trapped inside an old stonewall bunker, they set out to find their six siblings and free her. But there’s a problem: Boris is unable to trace his sibling’s scent until sniffing and blocking all other smells in the area. This puts a novel twist on the usual ‘collectathon’ platformer formula, as rather than locating spinning/glowing/floating objects, you’re instead tracking scents of various flora, fungi, and, uh, poop.
After discovering a handful of examples of each, the scent can then be blocked, allowing the air to permeate with the whiff of a sibling. Each is named and introduced by the narrator, and they all have a basic fetch quest to complete before they join Boris’ cause. One needs help planting a mushroom patch, while another is seeking something to illuminate a dark cave. Siblings then join Boris throughout the rest of his adventure, able to smash through the barriers intended to keep players inside a location until it’s time to move on. Over the course of 2-3 hours, you’ll journey across moors, mountains, and even an area ravished by wildfire – which still has a few smouldering spots to extinguish.
Every area has around a dozen scents to find, along with other wildlife such as rabbits to befriend, plus a few novelty items including shades and a rubber duck. Many of these are fun to play around with, such as the harmonica that makes a delightful ‘toot’ every time Boris jumps.
Checkpoint races feature too, which are trickier than you may expect as Boris slides to the left and right when cornering, adding a pleasing sense of momentum. Set times can be tricky to beat, usually requiring a couple of attempts. Other optional diversions can be found if you search every area completely, which is something that’ll likely occur through natural progression. The achievement/trophy list is likewise designed to extend the replay value, with numerous playful quests to partake in, including discovering the secrets of a mystical mushroom circle. Seeing everything – a task that also gradually fills a sticker book – will take almost as long as the main quest.
While exploring and tracking down the six siblings is an enjoyable pursuit, Adorable Adventures is pretty ‘one note’ regardless of its occasional diversions. You are, for the most part, following scents before sniffing out the next. The wildfire area puts a minor twist on the proceedings, but that’s about it – there’s nothing here edging into puzzle solving territory, with only navigational skills coming into play. As something intended for a younger audience, though, it more than succeeds. Parents can let their children run wild for a few hours without fear of something sinister creeping in, or things suddenly becoming too complex. At a time when kids’ games can be months apart, and usually have a quickly outdated license attached, Adorable Adventures is a breath of fresh air.
Wild Sheep Studio’s Adorable Adventures is out now on PS5, Xbox Series and PC. Published by PQube.