Twinkleby is a cozy building simulation game developed and published by Might and Delight. You visit islands and construct houses that people want to live in. As time passes, you learn about their wants and must purchase items to fulfill them. As more residents are satisfied, you unlock more islands to decorate which are larger and can accommodate more residents. If they are happy, residents give you map fragments that let you access unique islands.
The game creates a fantastic cozy atmosphere that lets you build the houses of your dreams. Any decorative attempt helps you proceed, promoting your creative freedom. As you create homes, prospective residents arrive to enjoy your creations. By decorating houses, improving the local environment, and satisfying residents, you gain Stellars to buy new decorations, creating a cycle that rewards your creativity. You build the homes that you think your residents will enjoy and do your best to satisfy them.
Twinkleby’s strongest aspect is the emphasis on creative freedom. There are no wrong answers and your only limitation is your current inventory of decorations. Residents are accepting of almost every decorative choice you make. It’s also easy to reset your designs by throwing everything off the island.
However, the early game is slow as it takes time to earn the Stellars necessary to express your creative freedom. The flow of Stellars begins to slow down eventually, forcing you to wait for Stellars to literally fall from the sky. It is nice to know that you never run out of money and can’t make a bad purchase. But the wait takes time as you don’t unlock methods of getting new Stellars right away. It’s certainly a game where you take your time in every sense of the word.
The art style is cute and cozy with a range of decorations to suit your tastes. While your inventory is limited early on, eventually you can create the interior design of your dreams. Your residents also interact with your creations such as watering plants, reading books, or eating food. If your residents are satisfied, they break into song and reward you with map fragments or new decorations. The interactions are adorable and motivates you to do your best across islands.
After a few islands, repetitiveness sets in as decorating island homes is the only activity. You can find chests to unlock or search for new islands but those activities revolve around decoration. If you love decorating homes and doing nothing else, this game is perfect for you. But with nothing else to do and no activities to break the monotony, the appeal wears off after some time. It may be best to play in short bursts to avoid burning out too quickly.
If you are ever displeased with your creations, you can literally throw the house off the island. It’s funny but also returns everything to your inventory perfectly. Changing residents also works the same way; you throw their bags off the island and a new resident arrives to replace them. The animations are funny but it’s great to have an easy reset if you feel your creations aren’t satisfying.
There is a benefit to resetting your decorations because future decorations allow you to pursue new designs. You eventually control the weather and can even discover rare residents. You are also encouraged to revisit previous islands and use newer decorations to make their homes even better. While it’s not endless replayability, the chance to improve on your former creations without consequence is another creative strength.
Twinkleby is nothing but decorating houses and it performs that beautifully. Even if you aren’t an experienced designer, it’s easy to drag and drop furniture to create a passable house. There’s also value in revisiting old creations when you have experience and improving on your design. The early game is slow and there’s nothing to do but decorate houses, but if the budding designer in you needs a new challenge, Twinkleby is hard to pass up.
Victor reviewed Twinkleby on PC with a provided review copy.
