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0 Imagine opening a book and finding a bunch of little creatures that need your help to survive. Meet the Meems! Strange creatures that are on the verge of extinction need your help in Hungry Meem by Dremcom Co. LTD.
Losing your mind when you get a little bit hungry? Relatable.
This game has recently launched on the Steam store and invites you to play the hero for the Meems and the World Tree. This simulation game has a 20% discount at the moment and is available for £19.20. If you’re looking for a more handheld option, you can also grab Hungry Meem on the Nintendo Switch.
Gameplay
The story of Hungry Meem introduces you to the Meems, a happy little species who share a love for food. They are creatures that just love to eat. So much so, that they almost ate their own World Tree and caused their own demise. As you can see, they are the brightest creatures in the room… maybe. After many years of research, the Meems created the Marvellous pot. This led them to a life of joy and wonder for a while! That is, until an excited Meem accidentally destroyed it and sends the entire group spiralling into depression. After losing their will to live, the World Tree starts to wither and that’s where we step in.
It takes a lot to look after a Meem. Not only do you have to worry about their hunger but also their physical and metal health. Let their mental health dip too far and they will lose it. They go from being happy, helpful creatures, to creatures with bloodshot eyes that will steal things rather than deliver them. Thankfully the Meems just need a little snack to prolong their mental health and keep them moving. What a mood.
Tohren the Quest Giver and recovering items
Tohren the Storehouse is one of the side characters in Hungry Meem who interacts directly with the player. After first meeting it, you are guided through the main elements of the game. The tutorial ends quite abruptly but the majority of the progression will come from the quests given to you by Tohren.
The main area that you will spend most of your time in is the base of the World Tree where you will use a bag to guide your Meem to find items and ingredients to feed and save your Meems. Pick up the bag using your mouse and move the bag to somewhere within the outlined radius and your little guys will follow. Once again, as you progress you get upgrades which allow you to carry more items and unlock new starting points so you don’t waste any of your ten minute day following the same path as you did the last time you entered the World Tree.
Be careful on your adventures! As the day passes, shadow enemies spawn within the the World Tree. You Meems mental health will drop at a greater rate and things can be stolen from your bag.
Hungry Meems = Bad at Packing
Considering the main element of this game is to explore the World Tree and fill your bag, the Meems really aren’t that good at it. There were numerous moments where I had all three Meems exploring and they would either ignore the items all together or run half way across the map to pick up a stick. Another issue I had was that it was a long process to pick items up sometimes.
The first thing the Meems do with every item if they aren’t full is try to eat it. There’s a whole animation for them trying to eat something and spitting it out. Then you also had to wait for them to do the pick up animation again.
Similarly, if you move the bag when they’re carrying something, they will just drop it on the floor. It doesn’t make sense to me when there are traits that can improve your Meem’s carrying skill.
Growing Your Village
There are two ways to grow your village. One us just the creatures appearing randomly as you have different feasts and cook different meals. The other option is by having Meems mate. Putting two Meems in a love nest spawns an egg which can be unlocked by finding all of the pieces in the World Tree. As you breed your Meems you can choose different traits that you want them to acquire as they grow. This means you can unlock new colours and designs to differentiate your village.
Graphics & Audio
The design of Hungry Meem is a mix of colourful and old school game design. The Meems themselves are reminiscent of old school game creatures. When I first saw them I couldn’t stop thinking about the baby Glowbox from Rayman 2. For some, the old school graphics might be a bit off putting but I feel like it really added some character. The characters and the enemies do have some unique design. I would love to see more of the shadows and enemies in the World Tree. I feel like there could be more variance in their shapes even when hidden in the darkness.
Sonically, the music adds to the bright vibes that the graphics have. The music isn’t really the forefront of the game but rather something that held everything together in one cohesive spot.
Longevity
Hungry Meem is a bit of a marmite game in the sense that I either played it for hours and couldn’t stop or I played it for half an hour and gave up. It’s not really a game that you can switch off to like other cosy games. There are far too many elements to monitor. If you like management sims then you could definitely spend hours playing this game. Unlocking all the different Meem designs and maintaining your village is a challenge. If you can lock in and get going there is plenty to do, it’s just getting locked in that takes some time. As there are so many elements, it can be a little bit difficult to jump in and out of the game.
Hungry Meem definitely has plenty of lifetime value it can just be difficult to get to grips with basic tutorials and a few gameplay annoyances that are mentioned above.
Final Thoughts
The best way to describe Hungry Meem is rough around the edges. There are a number of great elements of this game that are overshadowed by some smaller issues. Watching time count down to the end of the day whilst the Meems are still struggling to pick up sticks and berries really just ruined the ease of playing the game.
Overall this is a decent game but the never ending attempts to eat the different materials as well as the Meems just struggling to gather, regardless of their level, made it a hard experience to enjoy at times.
Ultimately this has led me to giving Hungry Meem the Thumb Culture Silver Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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