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.