Dinkum: A Fun Cozy Game with an Outback Twist – Weekly Indie Spotlight
Even if you’re sick of cozy games, you might want to give Dinkum a try. It combines the familiar cozy game tropes with an outback setting, complete with hostile crocodiles. If you’d like a cozy setting that’s different from the usual farm or desert island, an Australian outback might be just the place to tickle your fancy.
Explore the Outback in Dinkum
Developed by James Bendon, Dinkum drops you into the wilderness and tasks you with creating your civilization so people will come live with you. Like in most cozy games, you can forage, fish, cut wood, mine stone, and craft items. As time progresses, your little campsite can evolve into a farm, and the wilderness around you can grow into a whole town.
However, you’re not alone in the wilderness. An old lady is there to guide you through your adventure, which helps you to feel secure even when surrounded by wild animals. Speaking of those wild animals, you’ve got to deal with them. Eventually, you’ll end up crafting weapons and traps and hunting those creatures down, which gives Dinkum a bit more edge than other cozy games.
The game can also be enjoyed in multiplayer, which could be fun if you have friends to play it with. You can show off your town building skills to other players, similar to the multiplayer mode in the Animal Crossing series, and you might get some ideas on how to spice up your own town from other players.
My Experience with the Demo
This is another game that I don’t own, so my experience is limited to the demo, which was engaging and had me wanting to keep playing. At one point, a crocodile invaded my camp and started chomping at me. At another point, I accidentally walked into my campfire and set myself on fire – I’m not kidding. I was walking around on fire. Moreover, I got an achievement and a reward for taking damage, so it might do you some good to walk into the first.
On the flip side, I also ended up delivering unintentional damage. At one point, I was mining in a little clearing where some dingos were hanging out. I swung my pickaxe, missed the rock, and whacked a poor dingo instead, even though he wasn’t bothering me. No, the dingo didn’t attack me, but my inner animal lover felt pretty bad about it. Of course, whenever I obtain the full game, I’ll probably end up hunting those dingos, so maybe I shouldn’t feel bad about whacking one on the head.
You have to maintain both your health and energy meters. As you can imagine, doing anything depletes energy, which (at least at the beginning of the game) can get annoying. When catching bugs, my energy was depleted after swinging the net just a few times. Yes, eating food can give you a small energy boost, but it got annoying to have to keep eating between net swings when I just wanted to catch bugs. Still, that’s only a small flaw in a fun game.
I Want Dinkum In My Collection!
I’m a sucker for a good cozy sim, and Dinkum definitely looks like a good cozy sim. I had a lot of fun with the demo, and I really want to get to the part where I can build a whole town. I’ve got it wishlisted, and if you enjoy these kinds of games, I’d recommend that you add it to your wishlist too. Also, remember to set yourself on fire so that you can get achievements and rewards for taking damage. Dinkum can be purchased on Steam for $19.99.
