Donut County

Developer: Ben Esposito
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
Release: 2018
Platform: iOS, PC (played), PS4, XOne, Android
Genre: Puzzle

At first Donut County feels like a Windosill--i.e. a pleasant tactile experience--that lacks the courage to stay in its wordless standalone toy-ish sandbox form: the story bits feel intrusive and the player will often spend more time reading than actually playing the amusing levels.

It’s a good thing then that both characters and plot are engaging enough for the player to care about them--to the point the levels act like a “pleasure delayer” and ultimately make the comebacks even more enjoyable.

Deliciously inviting.

The short campaign (around 2 hours) per se doesn’t pose a problem; but the game would benefit immensely from some Free Play, Sandbox or Level Maker modes of sorts since the mechanics--nailed so gracefully--are there already, begging to be played with more often.