Collie Companion

[b]Note:[/b] An awesome friend sent me a copy of this game. ^^ [h2]Introduction[/h2] [i]Collie Companion[/i] is a cozy idling game developed and published by Vaynes Bond. You have a cute collie canine on your desktop (or Steam deck, since it should be now playable on it) who runs across the screen, herding sheep and earning money. Occasionally, you may have to take care of your dog by feeding it, playing with it, and giving it baths. The money that your collie earns helps you to unlock other sheep (you start off with the basic white sheep) that can earn you more money as well as purchase decorations and upgrades for your dog, such as faster herding speeds and longer times to feed your pet. Steam achievements are available, but they won't count towards a user's global total until the game is out of "Steam is learning about this game". [h2]Review[/h2] For friends who've known me for quite a while, I'm fond of dogs and I like cozy games, so [i]Collie Companion[/i] definitely got my attention. Thanks to a great friend, I got the chance to try it out and share my thoughts. ^^ [h3]Gameplay[/h3] The gameplay is very simple. A brief tutorial is shown on how to look after your dog. Then you're free to look after your collie as you please. Initially, the game requires more interactivity, as you'll need to feed your pet and such often. Otherwise, your collie won't herd sheep. However, after your collie earns money, you can use it to purchase upgrades and some of them can help a lot. Especially, I found the auto herding feature to be useful since I didn't have to individually click on sheep for my dog to herd them. In addition to looking after your collie, you'll occasionally find patches of dirt to dig, which earns you additional money. As for any negatives, I should point out a couple. Occasionally, some sheep or dirt patches would appear off screen. While this isn't an issue once you unlock the auto herding feature, it is a problem for dirt patches since there's no way for your dog to automatically dig them. Also, dirt patches disappear after a short time, so you can miss out on additional money. During my time with the game, I noticed a relaxed mode, which I assume is present if you want to not be as active in looking after your pet. However, I didn't notice much of a difference when I enabled the feature, and there's no explanation. Regardless, all Steam achievements unlocked for me without any problems. You don't need to purchase all of the decorations, upgrades, etc., to get all achievements. It's great for achievement completionists (like myself), and you can spend as little or as much time as you want. [h3]Art and Music[/h3] The art has a pixelated style, which I like, and the collie and sheep are especially cute. The background is lovely as well, and you can choose to turn it on or off. Also, with the upgrades, you can choose various skins or tints for your collie, so you can change its appearance from the default black and white. Decorations are a great touch although I chose a more minimalistic style. The colors bright but never blindingly so. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3740026613 As for music, there's just one track that continually plays, but it's lo-fi and it has a very relaxing vibe to it. Sound effects are present, too, such as a heavenly sound when a golden sheep appears. Of course, you can choose to adjust the volume for music and sound effects as well as mute them. [h2]Conclusion[/h2] Would I recommend [i]Collie Companion[/i]? If you're looking for a sweet, cute, cozy idling game that runs on your computer or Steam deck while you take care of other tasks, you're especially fond of canines (or pets, in general), and/or you like getting Steam achievements, then it's worth taking a look. Granted, it could use a couple of fixes/improvements, but the dev is continually working on the game. I'd like to wrap things up by saying that I'm happy that I got to play this since I really needed a cozy game to destress. ^^ [quote]For more detailed, fully complete, high quality reviews like this, please follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44702020/]The Introverted Gamer[/url], prioritizing heart and soul always. ^^[/quote]