Huglings

Huglings casts the player as a Hugling, one of the small inhabitants of a storybook-style island whose village has been disrupted by nearby goblins. It can be played alone or cooperatively with up to four players. The story follows the Huglings as they restore their village, meet its residents and investigate the cause of the goblins’ unusual behaviour, with the aim of improving relations between the two groups. Problems are resolved through kindness rather than fighting, and the main story takes around 8 to 12 hours to complete.

Day-to-day activities include gathering resources such as wood, stone, flowers and berries, crafting furniture, fishing and growing crops. Harvested produce can be sold to unlock new furniture and decorations. Players can furnish and decorate their own house inside and out, including a garden, and in multiplayer a group can decorate a shared house together. Locations on the island include a lakeside lookout, a market, an underground mine, mountain paths with a rope bridge, flower fields and a goblin village populated by unusual plants and animals.

Characters can be customised with options such as hairstyles, hats, cat-ear headphones, backpacks and colour choices. Players can pick a pet that follows them around the island, and the village has animals that can be fed and looked after. After the main story, play continues with decorating, farm expansion and daily quests, and seasonal updates are planned. The game was made by a two-person team, programmer Marcell and game designer Karina, and is their first release.