Welcome to EXPlay, (Explain & Play) the review series where we care not for scores but tell it how it is when it comes to every game we get our hands on, whilst also taking the time to include some lengthy gameplay, to give you the reader, the chance to shape your own impressions and views whilst watching and reading.
In this explanatory review, we’re covering My Little Universe by developer Estoty:
My Little Universe (The Explanation)
My Little Universe starts off with you stranded on a small planet in the tutorial stage that shows you the ropes. Before you begin your journey you either make the decision to attack manually or automatically. I chose automatic, which will save you a lot of button presses. Ultimately though, the decision is yours and can be changed in the settings.
Once you are on the starter planet you will need to collect a variety of items farmed from the trees and rocks around you. If you repair your ship, you will be launched into the next planet to forage for items. Where the game mixes things up is in how you discover new tiles by costing your found resources.
As you unlock more and more hex-shaped titles the planet’s surface opens up to displaying more areas to forage like trees, rocks, and gems, along with some areas introducing enemies, bosses, and NPCs that will help you expand your inventory and ability to sail on the water.
Your character is equipped with an axe for cutting down trees, wheat, and more. Those items can be exchanged for wooden planks, coins, and other resources. Your pick axe lets you break the various rock types you come across. Eventually, you will encounter enemies during your quest to reach all of the planets. You will need to use your sword to finish off enemies and bosses you encounter. There are multiplayer elements to the gameplay. You and three others can jump in to gather resources and work together in split-screen co-op fighting enemies and bosses across each planet.
As you gain more and more resources you can upgrade your tools. A cool feature in My Little Universe is that rocks and trees will respawn after a few seconds so you can farm resources easily enough, though high-costing items will take you a while to purchase.
The various planets also have portals that will take you to smaller areas within the worlds which will typically lead to mid-sized boss battles and unique arenas where you unlock new or rare resources you need to upgrade your character and their tools. Along the path, you may also come across planet-specific costumes you can wear. These typically cost a lot of coins which you can gain by defeating enemies and trading resources with NPCs.
Overall, My Little Universe plays like a chill RPG-lite game with simple graphics but the hook of going planet to planet and upgrading and unlocking more tools to help progress the main story. I really enjoyed my time with My Little Planet and plan to continue to play the game as its pickup and play gameplay loop is enticing and overall relaxing.
If you are looking for a resource management and exploration game that is light on puzzles and combat My Little Planet is an enjoyable romp across the universe.
My Little Universe (The Gameplay)
Game Specifications:
Developer: Estoty
Publisher: Saygames
Platform: Nintendo Switch (eShop)
Category: Adventure, Simulation, Action, Multiplayer
No. of Players: 1-4 (Single System)
Release Date: NA|EU: October 5, 2023
Price: $14.99
File Size: 863 MB
Nintendo.com Listing
