Animula Nook is a stunning debut title from LilliLandia Games that sees players shrink to the size of a toy to explore a miniature world. Players control a shrunken, customizable character living on the desk of a bedroom.
The upcoming free-to-play game follows the blueprint of titles such as Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley as players explore the room to collect resources, such as coins, buttons, raindrops, and sunlight, to build various structures. Animula Nook’s impressively rendered world, resembling a toy playset, looks fantastic both graphically and artistically.
Everyday objects such as milk cartons and teacups can be turned into homes, restaurants, and shops. You can then decorate these structures with furniture and other types of decor. Although your settlement begins on top of a desk, it can be expanded to reach the windowsill, cabinets, and even a vivarium. LilliLandia Games promises the game features intuitive tools to make crafting and arranging objects as easy as possible. Gathering resources involves cute actions such as using a vacuum to suck up sunshine from flower patches, hugging creatures like ladybugs, or climbing flower stalks to shake resources from them.
Animula Nook’s toy-like world is full of similarly tiny characters to meet and befriend, from other humanoid buddies to more whimsical creatures. You can grow bonds with residents, and if they like you enough, they may share their personal stories and even move to your town. Animula Nook can be played alone, but it will also feature online co-op and cross-platform multiplayer.
“In this world, ordinary details can turn into extraordinary memories,” says LilliLandia Games in a Steam post. “The smallest things can tell the biggest stories. Animula Nook is about finding joy in little wonders and writing your own story — freely, in your own rhythm.”
Unfortunately, Animula Nook has no release window, but it’s coming to PlayStation 5, Switch 2, PC, and Mac.