Cape Town-based game studio Giant Sword has released a prototype of their brand-new, joyful, cozy platformer SQUISH.
The prototype is available on Windows & Mac and is playable right in the browser here!
All Ages of Geeks Review on SQUISH
SQUISH puts a spin on the cozy genre by establishing a familiar setting and then unleashing a witch’s adorable, chaotic-good “familiar” onto the town and its inhabitants.
This first prototype sees players exploring the magical Town of Joyful, befriending quirky, “witch-punk” characters, and completing short-and-sweet quests. The town is presented as a kind of physics toybox, where, for the most part, any in-game object the player sees can be picked up, thrown around, or stacked. There are sweet, humorous character moments for those into worldbuilding, but there are also the foundations of something that could appeal to builders and fidget-enjoyers alike.
Giant Sword has previously stated that the primary goal of this prototype is to test the game’s potential quest system and gauge which characters and story threads players are most interested in. It’s an “earliest access” build meant to launch what the studio refers to as ‘open development’—a philosophy of rapid playtesting and iteration with the public or potential player base. Giant Sword aims to drop a build, gather feedback, drop another build, gather more feedback, and so on—shaping the game — developer and player together. It’s a cool approach to making games that studio founder and lead coder Richard Pieterse picked up during his time working on Broforce at Free Lives.
Some takeaways from the prototype:
In the current build, players are free to navigate a full map as they choose, moving objects like ladders around to make their own paths. Future builds are likely to require players to form new paths more intentionally in order to reach different areas.
Squish can store items inside itself…? Somewhere…
Characters can gift Squish seeds, or the player can purchase seeds from an artsy witch named Opal on the docks. Each pack of seeds propagates different flowers, which seems to be setting up a farming component in future builds. The player can sprout flowers anywhere, and so a greater variety of flowers and many different seed packs could prove to be a lot of fun – turning the Town of Joyful into one huge community garden to nurture and maintain.
Speaking of seeds, the prototype plants the seeds for a larger story of mystery and adventure.
There are hints of charming dynamics. Squish is a familiar/roomie to a witch named Jenny, and an employee at “Sabrina’s,” an everything-shop in the heart of town.
Sabrina, the shop owner, and Jenny seem to be in a bit of a witchy beef. Nothing is explicitly stated, but we did notice that Sabrina has a 1st place trophy on display at the shop, while Jenny has a #2 in her room. We’re eager to see a rivalry unfold in future builds.
The Town of Joyful’s magical properties seem to be depleting faster than usual, and the town’s witch-folk are all plagued by “’Funky Dreams.” At one point, the player encounters a witch who has turned themselves into a crocodile. The croc-witch implies it was the funky dreams that inspired them to *magically* “f— around and find out.”
There are all types of scientist-witches and gym-witch-himbos—narrative beats and comedic dialogue penned by Rohil Aniruth, who previously worked on Infinite Jonathans: The Card Game and the popular Rooster Teeth animated series Recreyo!
Serendipitously, Rohil returned to Cape Town from New York around the same time Richard came back from Los Angeles, where he had been working as an engineer at Netflix. The two met through Cape Town’s local games community meet-up, Makers Massive, and clicked instantly. After a deep dive into the existing SQUISH materials, Richard brought Rohil onto the project.
Cape Town’s game development scene is bustling with fearless emerging voices, a supportive community, and studios breaking into larger playerbases than ever before. Giant Sword and Squish (digital and plushy-form) cohabitate a unique office space with two other Cape Town-bred game studios:
Team Lazerbeam, known for heart-thumping, awkward-kid masterpieces, now gearing up to release the wonderfully meditative, yet exhilarating deckbuilder Shroom and Gloom with Devolver Digital – and Studio Bo, the highly versatile games and animation outfit with over a decade of awesome projects with major international brands including Cartoon Network, ESPN, and OREO.
Play the SQUISH prototype and leave your rating and feedback here!
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