Quick Impressions: Hamster Playground

I don’t remember when and how I stumbled over this game’s trailer, but it was so cute, it certainly stuck to my mind! And I also had to show it to bookahnerk at the time. Not long afterwards, the game released into Early Access. And it’s even free to play (with in-game purchases).

But first things first: What is this game? It’s basically a game where you train your hamsters to compete against other hamsters – by running through a maze or in an eating competition, for example. The game even warns you not to do any of these things with a real hamster (especially the showering!).

I turned off the music after a bit because it seemed to be just one song on a loop. But it’s a fun song to listen to, nonetheless. Just not all of the time… The graphics are what drew me into the game. It’s cute, it fits the theme, it shows off super fluffy hamsters. What more do you want?

In the beginning, I mentioned that the game is free to play, but also that it has in-game purchases. The developer said that all play modes will be free to play and not hidden behind a paywall. The game currently shows cosmetics that you can buy for in-game currency as well as a few cosmetics for real-life currency (you buy diamonds for real money and spend these on items, roughly 1 diamond = 0.01 €). As the game is currently in Early Access, I would assume that we’re going to see a lot more items that can be bought with these diamonds later on. Most certainly when the game is out of Early Access as the developers does need to earn money somehow.

At the moment, while cute, the game is a bit too easy. The mini games require fast reactions, but they’re not annoying or anything. Your hamster’s performance is based on its stats (which you can actively train) as well as your performance in these mini games.

One thing I did not like: I didn’t see my two hamsters do anything on their own. Maybe this is like in The Sims where they also never do anything until it’s almost too late? Or they really don’t move a toe without me telling them to in which case I hope this will be patched in because the micromanagement will be crazy otherwise when you’ve got more hamsters. I’m not talking about the training (as that should involve us players telling them to do so), just the survival part: drinking, eating, sleeping,…

But who knows where the game is going during its development? It just entered into Early Access on August 22, after all. But as I said, I really like the game already and thought that I should share my initial excitement here!

“Quick impressions” are what the title implies: Not a fully grown review. I just want to share my thoughts about a game quickly. So there will often be more pictures than text. Please also note that I did not get paid by the developer nor am I affiliated with them in any way. I bought the game from my own money and my opinion is my own – subjective, as always. So please take everything here with a grain of salt!