I came in expecting a game like A Short Hike, but Smushi Come Home carves out its own identity as a super fun and neat little game. It took some ideas from a short hike in world design, dialogue style, and customization and made them its own. Smushi is fun and unique to control. The climbing hooks shine as something cool I have not seen from a 3D platformer before. The scenarios Smushi finds himself in are fun, and the dialogue is charming. I really like how the game is split into three areas that each have their own stories and styles. The spring region does a good job of getting you started and introducing things. The Fall area is probably my favorite. It has lots of fun characters, challenges, and views. The lake is great too. I am a sucker for these types of island-hopping sections in games. The capybara family coming back together is great. The music bangs, and I particularly love the sound that chat boxes make when advancing text. Also, the song for the Autumn area is very pleasant. You can tell there is a lot of quality-of-life stuff in this game that helps guide you to points of interest which made 100%ing it very fun. I enjoyed reading about new mushrooms and augmenting my mushroom cap throughout the journey. Smushi is the goat too, a lot to learn from that little fungus.

Overall, I came away very impressed by this game. It's got a ton of heart and individuality packed into it. It certainly rises above its inspiration to create a really cool world and game.

Smushi Comes Home manages to stand out in a suddenly very crowded cosy game marketplace (even within the A Short Hike-like subgenre) thanks to some well crafted overworld hubs that invite exploration, along with a steady stream of upgrades to your traversal abilities.

It's generally just a chill game that doesn't outstay its welcome. As pleasant as they are to whoever they meet, Smushi does just want to get home after all, although I don't blame anyone who wants to stay in a particular area for a bit longer just to vibe for a bit.

You play as Smushi, a little mushroom who lives in the forest by a lake with their siblings. But then Smushi is suddenly snatched up by a bird and carried away far from home. How do you get back? Have an adventure, meet new friends, and find the way back home eventually.

Visuals

Smushi Come Home is done in a 3D low-poly style, and it's very cute! Smushi and their siblings are the cutest little mushroom buddies, and you'll meet lots of other cute little critters along the way.

The environments are simple, but they look full and lush without being cluttered. It's pretty easy to navigate and remember where you are in relation to other landmarks without too much need for the map.

Sound Effects + Music

I really liked the music in Smushi Come Home! It's very chill and very cute and never got annoying.

There's no voice acting, just little bleeps and bloops for dialogue. Smushi does have a cute little jumping noise though.


Gameplay + Controls

Smushi Come Home is a 3D exploration game with platforming and puzzles. It's everything I adore in a cozy game. Smushi travels through multiple environments on their journey back home. You'll meet new friends who need help along the way, which are also the key to progressing through each area.

As you explore, Smushi will gain new items and abilities, such as gliding and a sword to cut through vines. If you stumble upon an obstacle you can't get through, just keep going and you'll find what you need soon enough. Some backtracking is necessary to find everything, but it's not too much of a hassle.

There are also smaller mini games scattered throughout. These vary in mechanics and goals, but you'll want to do them for the great rewards!

Replayability

Smushi Come Home has a built in Speedrun Mode, so it already has multiple playthroughs in mind! You can keep exploring after Smushi makes it home in order to clean up any tasks and secrets you didn't get to, so it's not necessary to start over to earn all achievements if you missed some. However, it's super short and cute, so it's no hardship to play again.

Overall

I adored Smushi Come Home! It's too freaking cute, and I enjoyed exploring the forest and solving the puzzles.

Fofinho demais!! Smushi Come Home lembra muito os Plataformas 3D da era Nintendo 64.

Apesar de ser curtinho é muito gratificante explorar e ajudar os seres que vivem na floresta. O jogo não contém dificuldade alguma mas mesmo assim entrega uma sensação de conforto muito grande ao realizar as tarefas. É tudo o que um cozy game pode oferecer.

É inegável que a interação com o mundo bebeu da fonte de Breath of the Wild, podendo correr, escalar, planar com asa delta, com direito ao mesmo HUD de Zelda.

O cenário além de bem desenhado, também dá um ar crítico apresentando lixos e restos da sociedade humana nas florestas. Ou são vestígios de um pós-apocalipse? Nunca saberemos.

Queria morar nesse jogo.

For this time, this game wasn't played in its entirety by yours truly. My girlfriend has barely had any gaming experience, but she has an affinity for things like mushrooms. So I bought Smushi Come Home when I showed her the game at its imminent release date, and she already fell in love with the content and the premise.

After a few fun gaming sessions with her playing it through, I was happy that she found a new entry point into gaming because Smushi Come Home is a casual-friendly 3D adventure game with some platforming elements and optional challenges. We get to watch with glee the varied cast of characters ranging from mushrooms and plants to bugs and capybaras, those beings that we tend to share with each other on social media.

Even the music is memorable and not tiring on the long run, composed in a style that'd see itself belong in a Nintendo franchise. Hence, I bought the soundtrack for further revisits of the vibe in other contexts.

One case of inconvenience that this game momentarily suffers from is the camera control, which can obstruct the view of Smushi and his surroundings.

All in all, Smushi Come Home is a welcome addition to the game pool for those looking for a cute but generally appealing odyssey through nature, including dialogues with occasional, simple wisdom and a refreshing soundtrack that invokes the sense of adventure and curiosity.