Odd Dorable Review (PC)

As a father of four incredibly creative children, I too understand the importance of preserving keepsakes and hand-drawn memories, no matter how goofy or simple as they often seem. But, I have to take my hat off to Artur Latkovsky, because where I would usually stick a painting to a refrigerator and let it gather dust, this talented creator instead opts to breathe life into his daughter’s artwork by transporting it into a living, breathing open-world game. And I suppose that is exactly what Odd Dorable is: an ode to parenting, to childhood, and to the simple pleasures that make life feel a little less hectic.

Odd Dorable is the animated embodiment of a fridge full of doodles and doodads—an adolescent dream that, while not technically masterful, has the beating heart of an incredibly talented four-year-old artist’s wildest creations. From its adorable marshmallow-like companions to its one-stroke blotchy backdrops, Odd Dorable happily bathes in its simplicity and its childish charm, and thus, it refuses to pretend that it’s something that it’s not. Alas, Odd Dorable isn’t a masterpiece; it’s a passion project for two kindred spirits who simply enjoy their work, warts and all. And I love that.

Of course, Odd Dorable isn’t on the verge of becoming the Van Gogh of children’s video games, but it does, however, have the potential to swivel a few heads and ignite a warm feeling in your heart. Maybe that’s enough. Maybe, just maybe, it doesn’t need to strive for perfection; it just needs to reveal the importance of preserving a childhood memory. I’m just so glad that this flip book of mementos is in a playable format. Kudos for that, Artur.

The Creative Waterfall

Odd Dorable describes itself as an “open-world” IP. But that isn’t to say that it’s an open-open world; it’s actually more of a small open plain that’s filled with all sort of cascading art pieces and peculiar scribbles. But let’s not bog it down here. Lest we forget that this is, once you remove the tags that come with the description, a hand-crafted love letter to imaginary friends and all of the feel-good things that orbit a child’s mind. And that’s what this is: a to-the-point representation of an imaginative mind, and one that makes a voluntary effort to leave in all of the cookie cutter nonsense and silly shenanigans for the sake of remaining authentic and fun.

The game itself is split into several parts, with the main part consisting of exploring a small and vibrant world and meeting strange but weirdly lovable hand-drawn characters, and the second part involving a series of clean and simple puzzles and fetch quests, the latter of which requires you to actively search for missing candles to aid a princess in their journey. There are no lengthy text boxes to scrub through, nor are there any complex dialogue sequences to sit out. Instead, what you have is a clutter-free puzzler that favors visual cues and hearty animation techniques over complex UI and pointless jargon. And in this case, it works a real treat.

A Time Capsule for Future Generations

Odd Dorable doesn’t overstay its welcome by adding unnecessary filler or hopeless fodder to stretch its runtime. Instead, it uses the short time that it’s given by showcasing a trove of wholesome creatures and pre-school artwork in a fully interactive environment. It doesn’t do anything particularly exciting to shake up the traditional fetch quest-like formula, nor does it push the boundaries of modern programming, for that matter. But again, where it lacks in technical depth and complexity, it makes up for in the message that it so effortlessly conveys. It isn’t a full-fledged game; it’s an interactive work of art with a lot of personality and, frankly, a lot of humorous embellishments.

Let it be said that Odd Dorable isn’t the sort of game that you could quite easily slip in and out of over a lengthy period of time. Actually, it isn’t a game that brings much replay value at all. But again, that isn’t enough to sully the overall experience; if anything, it acts as more of an incentive for players who are unfamiliar with, or at least hesitant about subjecting themselves to longer RPGs. The truth here, though, is that you could quite easily romp through Odd Dorable and enjoy all that it has to offer in less than thirty minutes, give or take.

Verdict

I have to give credit where it’s due and say that, in spite of all its flaws in the design (true to the nature of a child’s imagination, of course), Odd Dorable is still an absolute delight to play for an hour or so. Thanks to its clean interface, kooky characters, and palpable puzzles, it’s an easy one to soak up, and one that you could easily introduce to a younger pair of hands as a bridge to something a little weightier.

While Odd Dorable isn’t the be all, end all of gaming, it is an adorable little time capsule of doodles that deserves its share of love and respect all the same. It’s something that I almost wish I could do, yet lack the expertise to execute. But this isn’t about me; it’s about a father’s love for their daughter and the works of art that two like-minded artists can create with the tools at their disposal, regardless of their personal tastes in character design or world-building preferences. Here, none of that matters, and it shows in its silly but oh-so lovable composition.

To state the obvious, Odd Dorable isn’t going to give you something to write home about. That said, if you’re happy to be a passenger in a rather personal tale, then you should definitely consider forking out for this homage to parenthood and timeless doodles and keepsakes.