Developer: Yaldi Games
Publisher: Yaldi Games
Platforms: Switch, Android, iOS
Tested on: PC
Out and About – Preview
At some point in the development of Wholesome: Out and About, developer Yaldi Games decided to drop the ‘Wholesome’ moniker from the title, at least on the game’s Steam page. We’re not quite sure what prompted this change, as the game itself definitely fits the definition of wholesome in its current state. Being an Early Access title, things are, of course, still set to change for the cozy life sim. Even so, we’re pretty sure that the game got its vibe right, so we don’t really expect Out and About to change in that regard. That brings us to the question of what we expect to change, as well as what’s already present in the game. Time for a visit to the seaside town of Portobello.
Your first task when starting a new game of Out and About is to create your own character. The character creator deserves a mention of its own, as it does set the tone for the game. Inclusiveness is the keyword here: the game mentions that your character is unisex and lets you enter your preferred pronouns. The current character creation options feel rather limited, however, with only a single body type and most of the choices for eyes and mouths coming across as being on the feminine side. Default clothing options don’t offer much variety either, although outfits can be obtained as you play the game.
After creating your character, you’re taken to Portobello, the hometown of Granny Mae. On your first night in Portobello, a storm hits, causing a landslide and leaving the town in disarray. Your role is to aid the locals in rebuilding Portobello. Your tasks include foraging for plants and fungi and using these for crafting and cooking. Despite the cataclysmic storm that sets things in motion, Out and About is a game that is about community rather than drama. There are no villains here. Neighbours ask for help, and show their gratitude when you provide them with food or medicine. These acts of kindness form the core of Out and About’s narrative.
The core gameplay loop sees you explore Portobello and its surroundings as you forage for different plants and fungi. You’ll need to actively identify your findings by matching them with ID cards. However, sometimes lookalike plants inhabit the same area, so you’ll need to be careful, as different species have different properties. When in doubt, you can take photos of specific plants to identify them later. Anything that you foraged while out and about (ba-dum-tss) will need to be sorted at your sorting table before you can process it into recipes. This is done in the form of a simple mini-game, which tasks you with matching the plant with an ID card. Correctly doing this adds the plant to your inventory, after which you can use it as needed.
The game is very insistent that you only take what you need from nature, both in terms of the message it conveys and as a gameplay element. Foraging too much harms the plants, and you’ll earn fewer rewards this way. Plants also can’t be kept indefinitely and will spoil over time. There is an educational aspect to Out and About, as the game’s selection of flora is rooted in real life. Although the game’s overall aesthetic has a storybook feel to it, the plants are rendered as close to realistic as possible within the game’s art style. Additionally, the nutritional and medicinal properties of your concoctions are accurately represented as well.
Collected plants are used to craft medicine and cook meals. Villagers request remedies or food, and meeting their demands earns you money as well as improving your bond with them. Money can be promptly reinvested in the restoration of the town or opening up new areas to explore. Supplementing request-based earnings is your market stall. Every three in-game days, you can sell foraged or crafted items. The caveat here is that you can only sell up to 15 things, making it a grind to earn enough money for some of the bigger restoration jobs or to meet the unlock requirements for new areas. This is definitely an area that needs rebalancing as Out and About continues to grow, as much of the game’s intended relaxing atmosphere is currently replaced by how grindy it feels.
It doesn’t help that Out and About’s fast travel is currently disabled due to a persistent glitch. As pleasant as exploring the area is, having to walk the same paths over and over again does get repetitive. Of course, this is an issue that will be dealt with over time. It’s the most prominent hiccup in Out and About’s current Early Access build. Other issues exist, but are comparatively minor. Some of the plant identification resources are blurry, for example, making it difficult to recognize specific details. Villager requests don’t always line up with the areas you have access to, making it impossible to complete them unless you grind to unlock the matching areas. It takes around 10 in-game days to earn enough money to open up a new foraging area, meaning that progress is often locked behind doing the same things over and over again. This is forgivable in this current stage, but if Out and About‘s progress remains locked behind repetitive grinding, then it’ll be a tough title to recommend in the long run.
Conclusion
The heart of the game is unmistakably present in the current version of Out and About, but the game needs a lot of extra polish to make its core loop more enjoyable and less frustrating. If the game piqued your interest, we do recommend giving the demo a try, but we’d hold off on taking the plunge until after Out and About receives a couple more updates. Given that the full version of the game is also set to arrive on Switch and Xbox, it might be worth simply waiting for those instead.
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