As a ’90s child, I was imprinted with various pop-culture phenomena that have been imprinted in my brain for the rest of my life. Two of the biggest were Pokemon, which continues to be just as successful as it was back then, and Tamagotchi, virtual pets that swept the nation by storm, but aren’t as culturally relevant today. Combining my love for both of these Millennial icons, Weyrdlets turned out to be more than just a game, and something that I can easily see myself diving into daily beyond my review.
Lo-Fi Creatures To Work To Is The Main Draw of Weyrdlets
The idea behind Weyrdlets is something rather simple, but surprisingly effective — a virtual pet that can hang out on a unique & customizable island, as well as on my desktop while I was working on my next big project. I tried to split my time evenly between these two modes so I could experience everything that Weyrdlets could toss my way and found that both had plenty of pleasant surprises to offer.
In the Island Mode, my little creature known as a Wagyu by the name of Hammuburga could roam freely while I decorated the inside of their little home using coins that I received from spending time with it. Cleaning up after it is as simple as using a scooper to clean up messes, I need to give it baths and food — it’s all the fun of taking care of a pet but without having to pay vet bills. As long as I keep up its health and happiness, it pays me back via digs which grant me treasures that I can use to purchase more goodies for not only its home but for Hammuburga, too.
I’m an absolute sucker for customization features in video games, and Weyrdlets offers plenty of customization options for nearly everything that I could interact with. No matter if it was new pieces of furniture for the home, windows, beds, flooring, walls, if I could think of it, it’s likely here. Alongside the house customization features, I can also deck out my Wagyu in a variety of different outfits and clothing options — although it’s just got a baseball cap and a teddy bear backpack on for the time being.
If I’m looking to speed up the process of claiming rewards, or I just want some time away from the little fella, I can send him on adventures by clicking on the boat in the corner of my island. This instantly whisks me back to Desktop mode while my Wagyu fishes for two hours to drum up rewards and knowledge, and I’m once again free to work on anything and everything in between — yes, I’ve got Hammuburga running around as I’m writing this review.
No matter if I was playing on Desktop mode or Island mode, which could easily be swapped between with a couple of quick clicks, I was entranced by the lo-fi soundtrack that the team at Weyrdworks put together for Weyrdlets. It’s punch, catchy, and helped enhance the experience in my eyes. If I wasn’t feeling the tracks, I could also turn off the music without hassle.
Weyrdlets’ Desktop Mode Is Better Than I Expected
As I work in Desktop Mode, Hammuburga runs freely around my screen. Yes, there are times where it can be distracting, but right-clicking on it while in Desktop mode will give me a variety of options to choose from, including the option to stay put where it is. This way, I can focus on the task at hand and ensure that I’m getting as much work done as I need to. Or, if I’m playing something else, I can keep Weyrdlets running in the background so my little dude can see what I’m doing — yes, even other Steam games so I can keep on leveling up Hammuburga and unlocking more items from the shop.
Items are locked to progression, and the only way to keep on leveling up my creature is to have Werydlets running at any given time. Thankfully, it’s surprisingly less distracting than I would have originally thought — maybe it’s because I grew up in the era of Clippy and Bonzai Buddy and just missed having an obnoxious creature on my screen at any given time. Alongside the adorable little guy scampering around on my screen, I can also set a variety of tasks that I need to complete while I’m doing my general work for the day. While I wish there were prizes linked to completing these tasks that I’ve created, I could also see this being abused rather quickly by players eager to get their Weyrdlet up to the highest level possible as quickly as they can.
If I found Hammuburga to be obnoxious after a while, I could toggle off its visibility, allowing me to work unhampered by the creature roaming the screen for a little while. Digs could still be recorded, granting more rewards and Shinies (money in the Weyrdlets world), but where is the fun in leaving them invisible all the time?
To be completely honest, I was never truly bothered by my Weyrdlet making its way around the screen — if anything, it was an endearing and adorable addition to my day. Sure, there were some times when it inconveniently got unhappy or just a little too hungry, but that was solved with just a few clicks and I was back to doing what I was doing once before.
Stay Weyrd, Y’all
There were a few small nitpicks that I encountered with my time experiencing Weyrdlets, but thanks to a quick and dedicated team of developers, a lot of my issues were resolved before I even had a chance to properly complain about them. The development team is active on Discord, and willing to help players out rather quickly, and that was something that I was incredibly thankful for right off of the bat.
Weyrdlets is set to be a community-driven game, and as such, requires either a Weyrdworks account or a connection through your Steam account. While multiplayer functions like playdates aren’t a thing here, the option to send messages in bottles to other players around the Weyrd world will be available once the game does launch. I do hope that multiplayer continues to be fleshed out because I would personally love the option to have my Steam friends Weyrdlets come to visit my little guy.
All in all, Weyrdlets wasn’t what I was expecting, but it’s something that I grew to quickly adore having on my PC. Booting up the game and immediately getting to work with this adorable little dude hanging out with me brings a smile to my face, and I hope the team continues adding even more features to fully flesh out the experience.
Verdict: Recommended
Weyrdlets will be available on June 23, 2024, exclusively on PC. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review. Reviewed on PC.
Published: Jul 22, 2024 11:00 am