Ooblets will 'very likely' get an early access release

Lots of people are wondering when the cute farm-life sim Ooblets will finally be released. As it turns out, so is creator Rebecca Cordingley. She said in the latest development blog that things are coming along well, but she's still not certain when it'll release.

"[Designer and writer Ben Wasser] thinks we’re a lot closer than I do, which is why we haven’t said anything specific about release dates," Cordingley wrote. "I think we’ll be talking about it more in a follow-up post, but it’s looking very likely that we’ll do an early access launch."

The update shows off the settings menu, where players can adjust resolution, input device, audio, and graphics quality—"Tatertoot" being one option, although whether that's good or bad I cannot say. Debris like rocks and weeds that can be cleared out for resources has been added to starting fields, and players can earn new Gotsapon tokens by cleaning up the town.

Most (or possibly all) of the starter recipes are now in place, work on Pantsabear Hill has been put on hold—"We realized there were too many conceptual issues with its plot and design, so we’ve replaced it in the region progression with an old favorite region with a brand new script," Cordingley wrote—and there's a deflated hot air balloon that is apparently important for some reason.

Cordingley also listed a number of "big things" that are still under construction:

Finish our badges/achievements system
4 more system introductions (scripts, quests, etc.)
Balance dance moves
Make a better main menu
Friendship unlocks
Universal Windows build (surprisingly much harder than you’d think)
Xbox certification process

"Even though our development is pretty open, we’re leaving a few things we’ve done this month out of the devlog so that they’ll be new and exciting to folks when the game is released," Cordingley wrote. "There are already a handful of ooblets nobody has even seen yet!"

In case you're wondering why dance moves would need to be balanced, it's because that's how ooblets do battle with each other when they can't talk things out. Check it:

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.