(Received in Humble Bundle’s May Humble Choice)

Packed with charm and adorable pixel 3D graphics, Loddlenaut is a short-but-sweet aquatic adventure into a contaminated ocean planet. Taking the shoes of a nameless, faceless astronaut, the player is tasked with cleaning up after a megacorporation who had contaminated the planet with their careless and wasteful research. Pick up litter, clear up strange goo, and dispose of microplastics to make the planet a safer place for its native species; vaguely axolotl-shaped creatures named Loddles, who can be fed, played with, petted, and grown into unique “evolutions” which depend on their diet. Along the way, the player will pick up scraps of information about why the corporation left the planet in this state, and what led to the collapse of the research operation.

I had a great time with Loddlenaut. It’s very short – only 6 hours to reach 100% completion – and the perfect kind of game for a cooldown after completing a particularly tough title. I particularly enjoyed turning the litter into resources for upgrades; it was incredibly satisfying to empty out my inventory into the recyclers. The upgrades themselves were paced very well, in my opinion. They’re unlocked at a speed that doesn’t render the latter half of the game too easy, but doesn’t leave you crawling through the first half at a snail’s pace, either. Incredibly well done. I also very much enjoyed the story and grew to love the disgruntled man on the comms system. In a game with so little character interaction, his presence was definitely appreciated; I’ve picked up several aquatic titles this year, so I know all too well the isolating landscape of the ocean. Speaking of the landscape, it got quite tedious moving back and forth between the new biomes and the Home Cove. As fast travel is only unlocked once you complete a biome, inventory management becomes an absolute nightmare in the later biomes, where you have to travel even further to recycle all of your litter. That is pretty much my only complaint when it comes to the game’s mechanics, though.

Overall, Loddlenaut is charming, relaxing, and plunges you into an unfamiliar world with kindness, as opposed to other games with similar settings. The game would definitely benefit from slightly more content – though I know the game is intended to be short. I found myself quite sad to leave the planet at the end, even though there was no more work I could possibly do. Maybe we’ll get a DLC someday, in which we tackle another area of the planet? Who knows, but if we do, I’ll absolutely be first to play it.

6.5/10