“I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter.” ― Blaise Pascal
Overview
Mail Time is a wholesome cottage-core adventure game about delivering mail to forest creatures! Players can run, jump and glide around Grumblewood Grove in this casual platformer adventure.
Developer: Kela van der Deijl
Released: 27th April 2023
Price: £15.99 – £16.75
Narrative
Upon arriving in Grumblewood Grove the player is given their first assignment of delivering a letter to Greg, if this is successfully achieved they will receive a badge and be a fully fledge mail scout! This makes up the bulk of the overarching narrative however, in exploring and meeting other creatures players will also learn their stories and learn more about the inhabitants of the grove. The dialogue is well-written, extremely cute and often comical, making chatting with the NPCs an absolute pleasure.
Gameplay
It turns out that Greg is quite elusive and players will need to ask around in order to find him. This means exploring the grove and meeting the various forest creatures. Most of them will have a letter that needs delivering or offer quests such as finding lost coins or searching for mushroom samples. In return, some of them may have information!
Completing different tasks and performing certain feats will award different badges that can be collected. These are displayed in a journal that also shows which letters need delivering and incorporates the game menu. As well as badges there are over 4o trinkets to find and collect across the grove and the aforementioned mushroom samples award different mushroom hats that can be worn instead of the default. Mail Time also boasts a nicely detailed character creation screen with a lot of cute options available.
In order to get around this light platformer, players will need to make the most of the running, jumping and most importantly, gliding mechanics. The controls are smooth and responsive so leaping and floating between tree tops and clifftops is both a joy and a highlight of the game.
Styling
Mail Time has lovely 3D visuals that consist of cute, slightly cartoonish character models and bouncy-looking scenery. There is also adorable hand-drawn art with crayon-like outlines that is used for dialogue, menus and the journal. The two styles sit nicely side-by-side and help create a charming overall aesthetic.
The music consists of gentle twinkling with a delightful upbeat melody playing over the top in various instruments such as woodwind or piano. This fits well with the visuals and makes a perfect backing track for the laid-back gameplay with enough variety to avoid becoming repetitive.
Summary
Mail Time’s main story can be completed in around 2.5 hours with full completion taking up to 4 hours making it a fairly short game. It is, however, packed with entertainment, from the delightful aesthetic, charming NPCs and superbly written dialogue to the fun and engaging mechanics and nicely laid-back gameplay this game has something to offer a range of tastes and will appeal to a range of players. I thoroughly enjoyed this game and I’d happily recommend this to fans of light-platformers and quirky adventure games.
Looking for more laid-back platformers? You might also enjoy these reviews:
Little Orpheus – A Vibrant and Amusing Story-Driven Platformer – Arise: A Simple Story – A Time Manipulation Puzzle-Platformer with Heart! – One Hand Clapping: Sing Your Way Through this Brand New Adventure!
