Published , by Loren Chandler
Published , by Loren Chandler
Pounce Light looks to be constructing a name for itself brick by brick with their debut title, Tiny Glade. This cozy diorama builder makes you feel like you’re painting a world, but instead of brushstrokes, you’re stretching stone walls, turning wild grass into dirt paths, and patting the friendly sheep on the head. It’s just so darn cute. This is an experience that will appeal to the veteran gamers as well as those who have never dipped a toe into the gaming world and have long looked for the perfect entry point.
Tiny Glade started from humble beginnings. A single render, posted to social media, went viral. That interest pushed the team at Pounce Light to expand the idea and now, a little over three years later, the game has over one million wishlists on Steam. This sort of quaint start is what it’s like to actually sit down and dig into Tiny Glade.
The player is presented with a small structure and just a few tools. Some tools will pop a basic building down for you to stretch out and bend to your will, while others let you paint paths and create a brick wall. It’s immediately clear what you can do, almost like pouring a bucket of LEGO into a sandbox. But before long, the sense of discovery will start a spark of inspiration.
The first canvas I loaded up had a castle with a balcony. I spent ages trying to figure out how to recreate it. I refused to be a balcony-less maiden! So with a bit of perseverance I soon realized my cursor was off ever so slightly. With the correct spot found, a balcony was mine. A little bit more fiddling with the exact right spot with the mouse and my little castle had stairs to the front door.
There are many “Aha!” moments and a real sense of accomplishment as you work within the confines of the glade. While digging in an actual sandbox might uncover something unpleasant, my time spent digging into Tiny Glade delivered all sorts of delightful surprises and elicited “Oohs,” and “Aahs,” from me. I felt like Bob Ross doing a painting, sometimes I’d put in one too many trees, but they were just happy accidents. Each brushstroke, be it a new wall or terrace, added to my painting and told a different story. It’s like a canvas come to life.
I spotted some birds roosting on rooftops and hitchhiking on the back of sheep. An errant click changed a pitchfork by a backdoor to a pot plant. It’s a game that rewards experimentation and making mistakes.
I’m a shocker for wanting everything to be just perfect, but Tiny Glade gently nudged me to let go of some control. It has a sort of randomly generated accessory system where it will put in a pot plant, but if you extend the wall the pot will turn into a bench (or sometimes something else!). There were a bunch of these that would pop in and out of existence and I just had to roll with it. The game manages to walk a fine line between giving you creative control while also injecting a bit of randomness into the smaller details to keep the experience fresh.
At the end of the day, a jagged castle wall and a random wheelbarrow might tell its own story in your little diorama. Maybe the custodian plans to do some repairs after he’s done feeding the ducks in the pond you’ve created out the back?
For those that struggle with getting the creative juices flowing, Tiny Glade offers a daily prompt. Some days might ask you to make a tiny bakery, while others might have something like an alchemist's shop, or a church. One of the cute inspirations I had was to make an apothecary.
It was lovely to get in and just focus on this simple goal. These days I feel like my attention span is too short and getting shorter, so it was nice that Tiny Glade gave me the perfect opportunity to be mindful, to slow down, and take in the surroundings. There’s a real zen-like quality to the whole experience, from the visuals to the audio and everything in between (and if I got sick of one scene, I could pop over to another glade I’d saved).
The whole game is alive with delightful sound effects. From the music that reminds me of games I played in my youth to the sound of actually building a castle, it’s all so adorable. Stretching a wall became more than just a visual treat, as the audio design adds a cute layer to the experience. As the wall stretches or the roof is adjusted, the bricks and cobblestones rattle and clatter. NokNok Audio knocked it out of the park.
As I got more comfortable with the tools and mechanics of Tiny Glade, I started to try and replicate some iconic places or create my own villages. I created Peach’s Castle from Super Mario 64, a little village with a church and a quaint cemetery, and even a small hovel beside a lily pad-laden pond filled with a family of ducks.
You’re not some distant observer of these creations either, as Tiny Glade features more than just a bird’s eye view. The game has a comprehensive camera mode where you can tweak a bunch of settings. With a click you can layer on a tilt-shift perspective, turning your already cutesy creation into something that looks like an actual toy. There’s even a camera mode that lets you walk through your creation, up your slate steps and around your dusty footpaths.
Despite trying to channel the “happy accidents” mindset of Bob Ross, there were a few bumps along the way. It could be a bit fiddly trying to get the cursor in the right spot to stretch or truncate a building. There is also a limited number of color options, which meant I couldn’t have a pretty, pink castle. The lack of a lock or duplicate feature also meant I spent a bit of extra time fixing mistakes or replicating different details. But these are all things that can be addressed with time.
Tiny Glade might be Quaint with a capital Q, but many hours of enjoyment can be had here if you just let it tickle your imagination. There’s just something so delightfully charming about creating an idyllic castle or village, surrounded by a field of flowers and butterflies. Pounce Light has taken this sprout of an idea and created the ultimate cozy diorama builder that makes you feel like you’re creating a work of art.
This review is based on a Steam code provided by the developer. Tiny Glade is available on PC on September 23, 2024.