Littlewood – Nindie Spotlight – Little Name, Big Game

Howdy, all! Welcome to another Nindie Spotlight. Today, we are talking about a game that only recently released (and one that I simply couldn’t resist) of an ever-expanding genre – farming sims. Welcome to your Nindie Spotlight for today – Littlewood.

Littlewood

Littlewood’s story begins at the end. You have just defeated the Dark Wizard that has been plaguing the world of Solemn and you can’t quite remember how. But, this has netted you with the title Hero of Solemn. With this new title comes responsibility, as all the townsfolk look up to you to guide them. Your next job is to rebuild the town that was destroyed in that grand battle you can’t remember.

The game starts with you creating your character. It’s pretty basic, just allowing you to choose from a few options and then choose your name – very similar to the character creation of Stardew Valley. After that, it’s time to get to work!

Littlewood is a farming simulator at heart, mixed in with some RPG and adventure elements, offering players more of a relaxing experience. The game has a lot of different elements to it which can come across as overwhelming at first, but you get used to it pretty quick. You will have your own routine of doing things each day. So, let’s talk about what you will be doing in the town of Littlewood.

Gathering

This involves picking various fruits off of trees and picking weeds.

Mining

This is using your pickaxe to break stones and rocks, collecting shiny ores to gain materials to craft and build.

Woodcutting

Pretty self-explanatory but this involves chopping down various types of trees to collect wood. Wood is vital for a lot of building materials.

Farming

Whether this be vegetables or animals – they’re all here.

Bug Catching

Capturing all sorts of critters in your bug net!

Fishing

Pretty much any pool of water has fish in it, catch these to sell or make some yummy dishes!

Cooking

Cook meals for your townsfolk to sell using ingredients you have grown and collected.

Crafting

Building all sorts of buildings, decorations and items for your town and townsfolk.

Merchanting

Selling all kinds of items that you have no use for or are valuable at the market! Dewdrops are the currency is Solemn.

Tarot Monsters

All the monsters that roamed Solemn have now been sealed into cards. Collect them and battle with them.

Of course, all of these things will require unlocking. They won’t all be available straight away and will require specific items or buildings to use. Doing any of these things will gain you some experience points for each ‘hobby’. Levelling these up will net you some pretty cool rewards.

These hobbies are not all you can do in Littlewood. Oh no, that is just the beginning. As you progress through the game you will meet more and more interesting characters who will want to move into your town. The building aspect is a big part of Littlewood, giving you full control of your town. Anything that you see can be moved or deleted at a single press of a button, and trust me, as you unlock more and more things you’re going to want to move things around.

Conversing with your fellow villagers is also important. Speaking to them daily will not only increase your relationship with them but also they will give you hints and tips about certain things. You can have villagers spend the day with you or even go on dates with them – who knows where this could lead?

As well as the above, you will also have the ability to travel around the world of Solemn in your trusty hot air balloon, taking you to places vital for getting the best out of your town. You will visit the Endless Forest, the perfect place to gather wood and fruit. Also, the Dust Caverns for mining ores and even a Port City known as Deluca where you will be able to do a little bit of gambling (remember, when the fun stops – stop), to name a few.

Now for my favourite part, you can completely decorate your home and everyone else’s homes in the town! Change the wallpaper, flooring, put in a fish tank, maybe a plant. The choice is yours. The villagers will have certain requests of how they want their home to look, but you can ignore that if you choose.

The beauty of Littlewood is just how simple it is. In all other farming sims I have played, you are constantly having to switch between your tools to use with certain things, a feature that isn’t a problem in Littlewood. Your character will automatically pull out the required tool when switching between tasks, making for quick and easy gameplay.

Ultimately, Littlewood is an absolute treat if you’re into these sort of games. It’s a game that is easy to pick up and play but is incredibly difficult to put down. You will find many hours will pass you by without you even realising and it’s all thanks to how simple it is. You don’t have to put too much thought into it and I loved that. I could come home from work and just zone out and play. Buy it.

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There we have it, there is your Nindie Spotlight on Littlewood. Join us next time for another brief look into the Nintendo Switch’s best Nindie titles. What are some of your favorite indie games? Let us know in the comments below! Thank you for visiting Nintendo Link. Happy gaming, everyone!