Ooblets

Ooblets was provided by Glumberland for review. Thank you!

Since Ooblets was revealed and released in 2020 in Early Access, I fell in love with its adorable style and relaxing gameplay loop. There seemed to be no pressure in everything you did, and with its Pokemon-esque monster collecting with dance battles instead of actual fighting, I knew this would be an amazing game to play. Unfortunately, it was released on Epic as a timed exclusive, which stopped me at the time due to wanting everything on Steam. But now, the game is on Steam, and it is everything I had hoped.

First, the visuals. Everything is so cute. From the faces of each human to the designs of the Ooblets, all the way to the overall aesthetic of the world and buildings, everything is adorable and appealing to look at. Even the names of each Ooblet are just so delightful. Sometimes, I have found myself just walking around the town, wildlands, and my farm, just to relax to the music and get lost in the sights. And this is further complemented by the cozy gameplay loop.

First, we have the farming. The farming is similar to other games like Stardew Valley, where you will get seeds and have to plow and water them daily. There is a day/night cycle with limited energy each day, but I didn't feel the pressure to do everything while getting the resources to complete tasks. There are also some nice little mini-games to take away from the core gameplay loop, and getting new clothing and furniture to make the character and home I want is great. With a couple of changes, we can really enjoy the game on the Steam Deck.

Ooblets - Steam Deck Performance

In most scenarios, Ooblets runs incredibly well on the Steam Deck. While we can't hit max settings at 60 FPS, which gets around 54 FPS in the main town with a 20.5W battery drain, we can get really damn close with a quality build and save a ton of battery with our recommended build.

The game does drop a little when in the towns, especially when seasonal events are going on, and there can be some minor stuttering throughout the bigger areas, but it is overall very stable. Battles tended to be tougher depending on the spot you are having them, but they can be stable with the right settings!

Recommended Build

In the end, I felt that the battery-focused build was the way to go. It does require some compromise with framerate, but the visuals still looked fantastic even when set to "Simple." At the 40hz/fps lock, we can get a TDP limit of 5 and keep the battery drain largely under 10W for over 4 hours of battery. In most areas, we could even reduce to a TDP of 4, but the Halloween cauldron and some larger areas could drop a bit, so setting it to 5 helps.

Quality/Framerate Build

Ooblets performs quite well across the board, and if battery life is of no concern, setting the quality to "Beautiful" will keep 60 FPS. It does tend to drain more in specific parts of the town, going up to 19W, but it keeps 60 FPS admirably.

Accessibility

Ooblets does have some accessibility options specifically, including a larger UI, which is great for the Steam Deck, Vignette filters, camera zoom, lighting, and toggling farm mode. You can also change the language, controls, audio sliders, and even turn off seasonal content if you'd prefer.

The game does support 16:10 resolution, so there are no black bars, and it fully supports controllers and cloud saves.

Conclusion

Ooblets is the game I hoped it would be and more. It is extremely relaxing, really adorable, and filled with charm. The gameplay mechanics are sound, and the loop is enjoyable, but the visual aesthetic is what makes Ooblets so much fun to be a part of. Going around a pastel-like world filled with cute creatures with even cuter names is wonderful. And with how well it can run on the Steam Deck, even with minor compromises, make this a great game to get for your portable PC!

Our review is based on the PC version of this game.

If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out the rest of the content on SteamDeckHQ! We have a wide variety game reviews and news that are sure to help your gaming experience. Whether you're looking for news, tips and tutorials, game settings and reviews, or just want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, we've got your back.