Donut County is a puzzle game developed by Ben Esposito and published by Annapurna Interactive. It released on August 28th, 2018 on PC, PS4, and iOS devices, and later on December 18th, 2018 on Switch and Xbox One. I played the iOS version.
In Donut County you feed an adorably small hole by moving it under anything that can fit inside. The more it eats, the bigger it gets, and the more uncomfortable you feel about your life decisions. It’s the Katamari Damacy feedback loop put into a puzzlebox. It’s the mischief of Untitled Goose Game elevated by a raccoon’s commentary on anything unlucky enough to fall into a hole. It’s a short, charming story that perfectly fits the mobile format.
Each level has a problem gimmick that stops your hole from getting bigger. Much of the early levels have easy solutions in order to teach you about the physics, while later levels challenge your knowledge and require more experimentation. I never was hung up on a solution for more than 5 minutes, though, so the experience remains largely casual. The game is much more focused on the novelty of the hole mechanic than anything else.
The game is well aware of its silly premise. The main character is a raccoon, who is running a Donut Shop and is causing said mayhem around town by remotely moving said hole around. At the end of every level, you can scroll through each item you swallowed up and get the raccoon’s thoughts about them. He was so entertaining, I scrolled through every single one.
Donut County was a fun mobile game I that finished in an afternoon. Perhaps get it on sale since it’s rather short, but that also means that is it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Fans of Katamari Damacy and Untitled Goose Game would do well to play this.
Hookshot, Charge Beam, Revive 