I always make it an effort to try to find some cozy games at PAX West, and A Tiny Wander might be one of my favorites. You play as Buie, a pig who works as a deliveryman and is tasked with bringing a package to the farthest reaches of the forest they live in. They realize the trek might be more difficult than it initially seemed as the forest mysteriously starts looping and sending you back to the entrance.
After a couple of failed attempts to navigate the forest, I made my way back to town, only to trip and break my backpack, sending the package I needed to deliver tumbling out and off a cliff. I made camp, repaired my punctured tent, built a fire, and gathered supplies to brew coffee. It was here that I was allowed to explore a part of the forest, gathering clues that helped me piece together a plan to eventually make my way through the seemingly infinite forest.
I met another critter who had fallen into a ditch and needed my help building a ramp to get out. After removing the broken wood and finding fresh logs to build a ramp, I invited him to my camp. He then showed me how to add milk to my coffee to make lattes, and we both enjoyed a cup before resting for the night.
A Tiny Wander definitely feels like it’s pulling from a bit of point-and-click games, as many of the gameplay elements feel reminiscent of the genre. Just the process of making your coffee, even having to grind beans, feels like something I’d have had to do in something like Grim Fandango.
Returning to my demo, I eventually managed to get past a boulder blocking my path and recover the lost package before the demo ended. Unfortunately, while we still have to wait till 2027 to try the full game, there is a demo on Steam that I wholly recommend playing.
