The Indie Informer

It doesn’t take long to go from hitting the start button to understanding everything you need to know about Gourdlets. The user-friendly game offers a range of building blocks to construct whatever landscape the player’s heart desires. With no deadlines or restrictions, Gourdlets offers a pressure-free experience that invites you to spend hours transforming the world.

Opening the game, I find a set of train tracks crossing an expansive body of water, like a pixelated Spirited Away. But rather than otherworldly beings, the train transports cute Gourdlets. These Pikmin-like bipeds travel one-by-one onto, what is at first, a small, undeveloped island. A quick tutorial teaches me how to select various blocks — including grassy or sandy ground, trees of different sizes, and simple buildings — and place them in the environment.

My humble island soon grows to include a little seaside retreat complete with a pier, a bustling downtown with ample shopping, and a relaxing park dominated by a wishing well. The coolest thing about creating spaces is watching the constant stream of incoming Gourdlets interact with it.

The plant-looking tourists break out fishing poles on my welcoming wharf as soon as I am done with it. And I’m also delighted to find Gourdlets poking into the shops and humming in the shade of a giant oak while exploring the town square. It encourages me to experiment with other elements to see what they’ll make of it.

Though it doesn’t take long to figure out, Gourdlets offers players the tools to play for hours. I can imagine getting lost in making the perfect location for the game’s adorable inhabitants. And because Steam is currently hosting its Base Builder Fest, players can check out Gourdlets’ free demo right now. The digital event only lasts until January 30, so now’s the time to start building.