What really sets Whiskerwood apart is a set of above-average design decisions. That’s not to say there aren’t problems, I’ll outline the top three below. If the team can solve these problems while continuing to make good design decisions during further development, they could have a really good game with broad appeal in a year or two. It’s already fun to play and worth purchasing if you can get it in the US $20-$30 range.
[h3]#1: Wasteful CPU utilization[/h3]
Once you load a save and the simulation starts, your CPU utilization ramps up, and it stays up. Players with dynamic cooling will notice this because the CPU gets hot and their fans spin up. Another easy way to show this is by pausing the game and tabbing out to another window: CPU utiliziation remains high, even when time is stopped and there’s no input from the player. That points to bugs or design flaws (or both) in the foundational core of the game: the simulation and/or the game loop. It’s worse in a large complex colony, but it’s noticeable even in a brand new colony. At some point this will hold the game back, if it isn’t already.
[h3]#2: Pathing[/h3]
I know the team has already fixed some pathing issues, but it’s a complex problem and there are more. Anecdotally, I’ve noticed “fetching resources” whiskers visiting mining camps for stone underground sometimes just stuck walking in place (no UI error message) until they get ported out end of day.
[h3]#3: Absence of optional tutorial content[/h3]
I’m glad the game doesn’t have a bunch of popups and interruptions trying to teach me how to play. It’s not [i]required[/i], but in the long run, the game will likely be more successful if the team adds optional tutorial content. I suggest as an option from the main menu, and/or entry points and breadcrumbs during general play unless turned off. Focus on things that frustrate new players to improve “first five minutes” impressions, and things that aren’t obvious. E.g.: choice of island at start (even with Claw message, too easy to assume whiskers can climb walls without logs or time-consuming mining and pick the wrong island and have a frustrating start), how logistics work, how belts-slides-warehouses connect, etc.
I really like that the game loads fast, I’m so sick of splash screens (ads) and intros and delays to getting into my games. Save files take an acceptable time to load (with an NVMe and fast RAM).
I hope the team will invest in solving the above problems, and also further develop story elements and add more music tracks for some variety.
