Whiskerwood is a settlement management simulation game from developer Minakata Dynamics and publisher Hooded Horse. The game is set to release on Steam in 2025, with a demo going live today too. Lead a colony of mice on untouched islands. Manage your resources, production chains, and the needs of your Whiskers while growing your settlement. All while surviving under the oppressive paw of your cat overlords. Just be sure to pay your taxes on time, or there will be consequences.
Loving cats and settlement management games, I fell head over heels for Whiskerwood when I first saw it at the PC Gaming Show this year. I instantly put my hand up to cover this little preview for Thumb Culture. So let’s get stuck in.
Monarch Cat Overlords? So just a normal cat.
This preview could have been written a lot easier if my own cat overlord had not made such big demands and expanded their land onto my property (i.e. laid on my keyboard a lot). Needless to say, we both enjoyed watching little mice zip across my screen. Do you have any pets that love to “help” you while you’re trying to work? Let me know in the comments!
Gameplay
In Whiskerwood, as you arrive on the archipelago, your first mission is to find the perfect island to build your base on. Since there is no easy way to traverse between islands yet, you will need to choose wisely! You won’t just have to keep your Whiskers alive, you will also need to somehow pay the ever-increasing taxes that will slowly chip away at everything you own. The most optimal island to start on should have wood for building, berry bushes for foraging, and plenty of coal and copper to pay off the “Claw”. I found out the hard way that most other ores don’t really do much at the moment and can’t be used to pay my taxes. Unfortunately, I learned that lesson after building my base near a huge iron vein with no copper or coal in sight…
What your islands lack in space, they more than make up for in verticality. You can dig into mountains, or build stairs to reach even the highest spots. This is probably one of the most important factors for building your colony, as otherwise, you will not have enough space for anything. Stack efficiently and you should be golden. Who doesn’t want to live in dark, damp caves or probably-not-so-stable skyscrapers? Sounds safe enough to me!
With your island selected, it is time to place down the most important buildings of them all: the Trade Dock and the Warehouse. Pretty self-explanatory. At the Trade Dock, you will regularly receive shipments of goods or new Whiskers to help our your colony. The Warehouse is the largest storage space available to you at the moment, so make sure it is easy to access!
Workers
You can assign Whiskers to perform various jobs, from gathering food and mining resources, to working in factories or fishing. Some Whiskers have special perks that can affect their day-to-day lives and work efficiency. For example, loners prefer to work and live alone, while others may get sick faster. Some can’t smell, which makes them the perfect workers for high-pollution areas, and some are just plain rude and won’t get along with anyone. Most Whiskers get unhappy if they have to do hard labour, but Masochists are totally cool with it.
Your Whiskers will work throughout the day and head to a storage building or café to eat in the evening, before going home to rest. However, if their home is too far away from where they eat, they’ll simply collapse on the ground right then and there once night-time hits. Yes, even if they are 2 steps away from their front door. I learned that one the hard way too.
You can use the resources that your workers produce to pay your taxes when the tax ship arrives. You can send a partial shipment if you’re a bit short on stock, though it’s not a great idea to upset the Claw. If you pay more than you owe, you get some extra rewards and potentially some schematics for new buildings! (Though those aren’t in the game yet.)
At the end of each day, your Whiskers will give you their approval rating, which is based on various factors, like how nice their home is, whether they are hungry, or if they just hate their job. You need a good approval rating if you want to hire more Whiskers down the line, so keep your workers as happy as you can.
Graphics & Audio
Whiskerwood has a unique art style that I personally really like. It is a bit cartoony, yet it still fits the rough vibe that a lot of games in this genre have. I love the colors and the way the textures look. Everything feels very vibrant and natural. It ties the whole game together very well. The menus are really easy to read, and the UI is clean and easy to navigate, which is always a big plus.
The music is pretty whimsical and has a very medieval feel to it, which fits the setting and time period perfectly. The sound effects are rather simple and don’t stand out too much, which is great for a game like this. They are not distracting you from the game itself and don’t blast your ears out every time you click on anything.
Final Thoughts
The version of Whiskerwood that I have played is still pretty barebones, but that is to be expected since it’s just a preview of a demo. It’s meant to be a solid, simple introduction to the game’s concept, and it absolutely delivers on that. There is no automation or industrialization yet, but I am really looking forward to seeing those features in the full game.
Even with what is there right now, it’s a great proof of concept and already really fun to play, even if you don’t get very far. I kept making new save files to try out different ways to build up my settlement. I’m having a blast stacking my buildings like LEGO bricks and digging deep into the island’s mountains to get more space for houses. Sure, it’s not the nicest way for my Whiskers to live, but I honestly fail to see how that’s my problem.
I highly suggest checking out the trailer for the game to see what’s to come. I think Whiskerwood really holds some great potential.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this preview article.
If you enjoyed this preview, why not check out my previous article about Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar.
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