Donut County: Holes Are Important Too

   There are times when filling the hole just makes it bigger, and times when that's exactly what you need.

   Shall we?

   Donut County is a cute little game by Ben Esposito, available on Steam here.

   I played through the backwards Katamari, gobbling up stuff to grow the hole to get more stuff. It wasn't very long, and definitely not super challenging (though there's some puzzles to figure out, and that was interesting). I almost didn't find any lesson to be had, it was just a relaxing, simple game.

   The story was lighthearted, but nothing really deep or thought-provoking (for me, anyway). All the elements of it normally would put it as a mediocre game, except that it didn't feel like that at all. It took me some time to figure out why.

The Mental Void

   Sometimes we need games like this, that aren't life-or-death, aren't strategically taxing or imbued with complex implications. This game was just...fun. Mind numbing fun. And I really needed that today. I think we all have days where we need that.

   I am always looking for a lesson in things, even if the only lesson is learning more about myself. Often, that's the only lesson to be had. I think in this case, though, my need for simple fun isn't so unique.

   As adults, it seems common to complexify things. It's sorta what we do, and in a lot of ways it's necessary. The complexity of taking chaos and organizing it into something simple is still complex, you know? The mind works hard to adult. Once in awhile our brains just want to rest, and it's hard to find the balance between entertainment rest and staring-into-space rest.

   This game seems to have found that sweet spot.

   I don't know, maybe it's priced a bit high in some people's opinions to just deliver that simple, calm entertainment that takes you to a much simpler place. I'm not sure I can put a price tag on that, when there's so many things out there claiming to do the same (but really they're far too simple or too complex).

   What do you think? Would you be disappointed in the simplicity, or could you appreciate the mental calm it offers? Leave a comment below, on Facebook, or on Patreon and let me know your thoughts.

See ya next time, Internet Drifters!