Donut County

Donut County is a unique and colorful adventure game in which players control a black hole swallowing everything on its way. The game was developed by Ben Esposito. This independent American artist has participated in the production of many AAA and indie titles, including The Unfinished Swan. Donut County is his personal project that he has been working on since 2012. The idea for the title was born while browsing the humorous Twitter account, the author of which shared various kinds of absurd ideas for games. The Japanese Katamari series was also an inspiration for the author.

Plot

During the game we play as a raccoon named BK. He is a new employee of a company producing remote-controlled black holes, whose task is to absorb various types of rubbish. By getting bored at work, BK accidentally confuses the control system of one of its employer's products with a mobile game, unwittingly controlling a black hole and spreading chaos in the quiet American county of Donut.

Unlike many logical games, Donut County features cut-scenes. Thanks to them we can see how the confused inhabitants of the county, who fell into the hole controlled by the BK, are doing.

Mechanics

Donut County is made up of a series of missions that take place in various parts of the county we are terrorising. The levels, which fit entirely on a single screen, are three-dimensional, but we always observe them from an isometric perspective. As for the gameplay, we move the black hole on the floor which we can absorb objects from the area.

While controlling the hole, we move it to the next objects or characters that immediately fall into it. The more we absorb, the bigger the hole. We start with a hole that is smaller than a stone, but later the hole becomes so big that it can pull cars or entire buildings. However, the game isn't that simple. It often happens that there are not enough small objects on the screen to swallow. Players must cleverly interact with the environment, including the use of pre-absorbed items that can be thrown out as needed. Subsequent levels present us with increasingly complex challenges and new ways of influencing the locations.

Technical aspects

Donut County offers an interesting three-dimensional graphic design, made in a minimalist style, using simple and colourful models.

Last updated on 12 December 2020