Donut County
Release Date: August 28, 208
Developer: Ben Esposito
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
Price: $12.99
I’ve always enjoyed games where you grow larger through eating or absorbing other objects. A few browser games stand out, I remember one specifically where you are a planet absorbing space debris to grow larger, while avoiding the gravitational pull of larger planets, until you grew large enough to absorb them as well. There was a fish themed one as well. I guess Katamari Damacy is the best example of this, although that never grabbed me other than one weekend at a friend’s house.
All that to say, that was the appeal of Donut County, where you play a hole that grows larger as things fall into it. There is actually a way “deeper” story which many people have broken into its components via analysis. I didn’t enjoy the story as much as those people did. It was cute enough and criticized late stage capitalism (so new and refreshing) but I just wanted to be an ever devouring hole. That itch was scratched.
There are also puzzle elements that make the gameplay more interesting, from popping popcorn to multiplying bunnies and bouncing frogs,… how the hole functions fascinates me more than the story. I would have enjoyed a few more locations, just let me devour more. This was a perfect pick to begin my Steam Deck journey. Quick, short, sweet. Give me a little less preachy story and more locations.
6/10
CM 3/21/25
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