Summary
As a shoot-first-ask-questions-never kind of gamer, cosy games just aren’t my thing.Stardew Valley,Animal Crossing,Story of Seasons,Coral Islandand anything else that has youcollecting resources, building up a home, and making eyes at your companion of choiceall bore the pants off of me, no matter how hard I attempt to get into the chillaxing spirit.
MinecraftandTerrariaare the only cosy games that I’ve gotten into in the past, and that’s mostly because I focus on fighting and looting while leaving the building and resource management to everyone else.
While you could blame my inability to get snug on my Zoomer brain and diet of energy drinks, turkey dinosaurs, and vapes, the real reason is that I need something exciting and concrete to keep my attention instead of just vibing. Maybe I’d enjoy them more with some Subway Surfers on the side.
Squirreled Away, however, has finally given me the hook I was looking for in a cosy game, and now I’m wondering what I’ve been missing out on this whole time.
Who Knew Squirrels Were So Speedy?
My first impressions weren’t that positive, mind. When I walked into my preview for Squirreled Away atGamescomand heard that it was part of the genre that I’ve just spent two paragraphs whinging about, my heart dropped a little. That instantly changed when I actually started playing.
As the excellent name implies, Squirreled Away has you taking control of unarguably the best woodland creature - the squirrel. While lots of cosy games put you in the paws of an anthropomorphic animal, Squirreled Away is closer to Stray, Little Kitty Big City, and Dog’s Life in that it lets you play as the animal itself.
Squirrels aren’t exactly the most exciting or skilled beasts on the planet, so I didn’t know what to expect at first. But it turns out that they make for a perfect protagonist. After spawning into my home tree from a forest area, I leapt as far as I could and discovered that our squirrel hero has the jumping prowess of a kangaroo and the surprising speed capabilities ofSonic the Hedgehog.
I spent a good five minutes just bounding around from tree to tree and speedily climbing everything in sight. My squirrel tech experience only got better when Far Seas co-founder Jesus Lappalainen and lead artist Linnea Thydell pointed out that I had a glider and spring shoes (which are usually late-game unlocks), turning my time in the forest into a permanent fast-paced game of The Floor Is Lava.
Although I loved Squirreled Away’s base speed, Thydell and Lappalainen informed me that the final game is going to slow things down a bit. Here’s hoping there’s a toggle for zoomies mode.
Squirreled Away Lives Up To The Name
Although my squirrel’s speed (a sentence I never thought I’d write) was a little ridiculous, Squirreled Away’s movement feels incredibly fluid and satisfying once you get the hang of it. Even without using the frankly overpowered equipment, it was a blast sprinting around as a little critter and jumping from tree to tree without a care in the world.
I could have just spent my whole preview mastering my squirrel tech and exploring the forest, but I was eventually nudged into seeing what else Squirelled Away has to offer. When you’re not roaming around at the speed of sound, you’re able to choose to gather resources for crafting, dig for materials, and even do a spot of fishing if that’s what your fuzzy heart desires.
Those simple tasks that would usually put me to sleep, or have me begging for a gun (not Squirrel With A Gun, that’s a different game) were a lot more interesting thanks to Squirreled Away’s engaging movement. I didn’t mind doing menial tasks one bit when it was mixed in with fast-paced platforming, which is the type of hook I’ve been looking for in the genre.
Squirreled Away also has a bit more direction than other cosy games thanks to the missions that are given to you by your fellow rodent. One kingly squirrel wanted me to climb to the top of his stone castle (the only material that you may’t freely climb up) to find a golden acorn, while another asked me to get rid of a roaming dog and then use a pickaxe to dig up some resources.
I didn’t get to see it for myself, but Squirrelled Away supports multiplayer so you and a few friends can explore the forest together.
None of the tasks were particularly challenging, but they were all good fun and kept me doing what I love the most — prancing through the forest. My demo was fairly short and only showed off a few of the things you can do in just one of the planned areas for Squirreled Away’s 2025 launch, but it was enough to know that I wanted a whole lot more.
