There’s a certain irony that must be acknowledged when playing a game that tells the story of a character who learns to set aside their digital life and to enjoy a summer in nature. But when the vehicle of that story is so darned cute, it’s impossible to take offense. That’s the case with Woodo. Let’s dig in.
You play as a young fox named Foxy who spends one summer in the countryside learning how to enjoy a slower pace of life from her distant, distant relative, Ben. Ben is a frog. Don’t worry about it. Upon first launching the game you select some preferences and are then tasked with the main game mechanic of placing wooden pieces in a diorama in order to first spell Woodo, and then to complete a chest that contains Foxy’s memories. Once you’ve completed this basic tutorial, the game menu opens up.
Each of the 12 levels consists of one or more desaturated wooden dioramas that spring to life in color and motion as you move pieces from a scrollable menu into place. You can zoom, pan, and rotate freely around the scene in order to find where a piece belongs. Most of the time the camera works well, but there were times when it felt like I was fighting the camera to get the angle and zoom I wanted. The pieces are locked into their correct orientation even as you rotate the scene, which helps on some of the larger levels and with pieces that are similar. The levels react as your cursor moves over placed pieces in a very satisfying way. Some pieces will perform scripted actions like forks and knives cutting on a plate or animals that move.
As you complete levels and find hidden figures called monks, you’ll be rewarded with relaxing music, narration of Foxy’s summer, and small journal entries about the characters and locations you encountered along the way. If you get stuck and can’t figure out where a piece goes, there is a hint button with a few-second cooldown that will cause the camera to rotate and zoom to the correct location. I used this a few times for small pieces that were well hidden on larger levels but it’s a great feature to make the entire game more accessible for younger gamers too.
Conclusion
I loved the art style and relaxing nature of Woodo and had a great time playing a level at a time. I wish that Woodo was supported on the ROG Ally as it would be an ideal game to take on the go and play on vacation or towards the end of the day. If you are looking for a puzzle game for a younger gamer or a relaxing game to play for a few hours, Woodo is a fantastic option.
This game was reviewed based on Xbox S|X review code, using an Xbox S|X console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.
