“People assume that time is a strict progression from cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it’s more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.” – David Tenant as Doctor Who
Overview
Wobbly Life is a jolly early-access, open-world physics sandbox that can be played solo, or in online or local co-op! Players will take on jobs, discover mini-games and quests and explore a whole wide wobbly world.
Developer: Rubber Band Games
Released: 9th July 2020 (Early Access)
Price: £10.99 – £14.24
Gameplay
Whilst Wobbly Life is primarily a sandbox game, there is no shortage of things to do. There are repeatable paid jobs such as farming, waste disposal and pizza delivery as well as story missions, side quests, and achievements to keep players busy. Even just exploring is a lot of fun with zip lines, a fairground, a train ride and much more to stumble across and enjoy. There are also plenty of ways to spend the money earnt, from houses to cars and pets and a plethora of fun outfits that can be bought and customised. Whilst some of the tasks are timed the overall experience is very casual as players can wander freely and choose when to engage in different activities.
The game can be played with either a controller or mouse and keyboard and works well with both. The UI is clean and easy to navigate and the map is very comprehensive making it easy to find specific jobs or locations. Some actions and tasks can get a bit finicky due to the ragdoll physics but this is part of the game’s charm rather than an annoyance and adds the to fun and overall cuteness. Whilst Wobbly Life can definitely be enjoyed singleplayer, it is best played with friends. Teamwork can really help ease a job along and it is fun to share the general absurdity of the experience.
Narrative and Styling
Players begin their Wobbly Life at Grandma’s house, where they are promptly thrown out of the house (literally) and told to get a job, luckily there are plenty around town! This makes up the bulk of the narrative with other aspects being found in story missions and even though the environment itself – an underground area containing a UFO does a particularly good job of subtly inferring a kind of story!
Wobbly Life’s styling is a big part of what makes the game so cute. The 3D art style with vibrant colours, low poly models and rounded lines give the game a distinct look that is utterly adorable. This is especially true of the yellow character models and their oversized heads and wobbly ragdoll physics!
The music is lively and upbeat with a catchy melody, it sits nicely in the background of the game, adding to the atmosphere without feeling intrusive. The charming sound effects such as pet noises and ambient city and nature sounds really help to bring the environments and scenes to life whilst also adding the overall cuteness of the game.
Summary
Wobbly Life is full of wonderful silliness and has the potential to provide multiple hours of fun with lots of varied content and things to do. The cute aesthetic and sound design are adorable and work perfectly with the wobbly ragdoll physics and jovial tasks. While the game has a casual feel overall, there is plenty going on and there is a nice level of challenge across the various activities to make sure things stay interesting. Wobbly Life is a pleasure to play and is great value for money with regular updates and I happily recommend this game to players of all ages!
Looking for a different sandbox experience, check out these reviews:
Pocket City – Premium City Building for Mobile – Reviewing Everything – Gaming gets Philosophical – Wobbledogs: Canine Antics and Silly Sandbox Fun!
