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Adorable Adventures only needed one static image to pull me in. That picture of a baby boar, sitting there wide-eyed and ready for adventure had me hook line and sinker. Upon further digging, what sat behind that big snoot of his was a gaming experience like no other, and one that shows what a little precious idea can become with time, love, and a developer that doesn’t leave any part of the playing experience unpolished. What starts off as a simple gathering quest quickly becomes one fantastically pleasing romp through an amazing nature wonderland.
Boris Brings the Family Together
Playing as Boris, Adorable Adventures gives you the chance to live out everyone’s dream of exploring a luscious, scenic landscape as a baby boar with a keen sense of smell. Upon taking your first tender steps into the title, you’ll soon discover the main gameplay loop of the experience, which is using your nose to find and follow scent trails that lead you to new and interesting discoveries. These could include flowers, trinkets, and most importantly, your siblings. The goal of your adorable adventure is to gather your six other baby boar buddies so that the seven of you can free your very patient Mother, who seemingly has no qualms with you scootin’ around as much as you like before attempting her rescue. This is great news however, as the game provides you with a fun set of side tasks to take on as you find and fulfill your siblings' various needs.
Figuring out the system of smelling and finding objects was a bit confusing at first, as you’re told to follow and find your first sibling’s scent, but other unknown ones keep overriding it. Luckily, there’s a nature guide narrator that comes in throughout the game to give pleasant, brief commentary to your little tale of exploration. The opening tutorials also do a wonderful job of guiding you along while still letting you feel the joy of experiencing Boris’ happy nature and the stunning surroundings you’ll be dashing through. Thankfully, the tasks of finding and smelling a certain amount of each specific flora or fauna you encounter didn’t ever become too annoying for me, as the experience is designed to be one where running around these hand-designed areas of the well-laid out map never gets too repetitive or boring.
Finding Your Own Way
Discovery and whimsy are all highlighted in everything Adorable Adventures tries, from the different little challenges you’ll face, to the different biomes you find yourself trotting through. There’s one section of the map that features a more devastated nature environment, and probably presents the most “difficult” of the tasks, as your nose is handicapped by the oppressive dust that covers the forest floor. It provides a stark contrast from the neighboring rocky and woody landscapes, but is equally as visually impressive. You’ll also be faced with different “racing” adventures, which have your little guy drifting like a bat out of hell around the grassy routes, trying to achieve goal completion times. These were honestly quite difficult, and I appreciated the chance to hone my boar breakneck speed expertise without feeling like it was necessary to continue the game. You’ll also be able to find these track cameras throughout the lands. Each of them has a scenic vista that they’re designed to shoot from a specific angle, which you’re meant to find and place them at. This emphasis on learning, capturing, and traversing your surroundings all felt very natural and appropriate for a game where you’re meant to be taking in the land and adapting to being an adolescent animal. Plus, with this being a cozy game, the option to either pursue these more time-consuming tasks or proceed with finding your siblings at your own pace was a welcome opportunity.
There are a few more little “tasks” that you can take on throughout the nature reserve as well, each with their own special “badges” that you earn for finishing them. Like I mentioned earlier, the main way of navigating the game is through the use of smell and tracking objects and animals. Each of them has a certain number of them you need to identify in the world to get their special goal sticker. Some of these stickers also come with special hats that you can don to make Boris even more adorable. I didn’t think it was possible to make Boris cuter, but seeing a cute red poppy flower perched atop his little noggin managed to do it. The game makes sniffing out exactly what you want quite accessible once you know what you’re looking for, and searching around the world is often rewarded with small toys or new findings. Smashing your head into a trash can may knock out a bauble, or locating a mysterious ruin could inspire you to experiment with placing flowers at their base. Even the ways of satisfying or saving your siblings gets creative, whether that’s deducing what smell to search for specifically, or finding an inventive way to rescue them from something scary.
Brought to Life
Exploring the world around you is fun, but what makes it enjoyable is how beautiful it all is. Every tree, leaf, crag, waterfall, and vista is so purposeful whilst also feeling so, so natural. Add to this the fact that you’re able to be deeply entrenched in it all because of your small stature and you’ve got a recipe for something truly unique in the ways of cozy, casual gaming. The game ran incredibly smoothly for me, without any noticeable frame drops or issues. The lighting, shadows, colors, and forest guide feel of the user interface combine to present a wholly complete offering to the player.
Sounds As If You're There
I haven’t mentioned it yet, but that’s because it truly does deserve its own highlight. The sound design is immaculate in Adorable Adventures. Music is interspersed expertly, with a focus on highlighting the occasion or environment you’re in, with purposeful usage. It is playfully cheery when called upon, but just as quickly can bring speed and focus to your gameplay when you need to move quickly. Just as impressive is the way the team brings to life the many sounds of nature. If Boris’ nose is this good, his ears are even moreso, as we’re treated to the smallest of footfalls, the meekest of squeaks from nearby creatures, and the dynamic swishing of passing gusts of wind or nearby displaced plants.
In Conclusion
There is no part of Adorable Adventures that has not been treated with the utmost of passion and love, and it is impossible to miss how well designed every element is. From the gameplay design, to the overall feel of being Boris surrounded by his growing family group (a “sounder” is what a group of boars is called, by the way!) Adorable Adventures epitomises what a cozy game should be, to me. You’ve got goals and you’ve got things to do, but you can do them as comfortably as you like while being enveloped in a world that fulfills all of the senses it can with the most pleasant of flowing feelings. Being Boris for an evening was an adventure well worth taking.
