Time to Morp, a sandbox colony sim about cute creatures from indie developer Team HalfBeard, will officially release on February 22nd, 2024. It will be available on PC via Steam, with no word on support for other platforms.

In Time to Morp, players explore unique worlds to discover and care for adorable creatures called Morps. You can customize and automate just about anything, and unlock new technology. There’s a campaign about following an SOS signal, as well as co-op support for up to four players.

You can request access to join a playtest on Steam now. Here’s the full release date trailer, featuring a gameplay overview:

Time to Morp clearly draws inspiration from a variety of familiar games, but the concoction itself could be very satisfying. Sandbox and base building gameplay are natural complements for a creature collector.

Also, creature collecting often heavily relies on grindy elements for extra replay value. Time to Morp’s emphasis on automation will surely help smooth that out, with pumps, pipe networks, and ziplines.

The Steam page also mentions that your creatures will “help you build, gather resources, and aid in exploration”. This is a great incentive to explore, and a clever way to substitute traditional combat.

Altogether, Time to Morp looks incredibly friendly, from its features to its atmosphere. The art design, music, and characterization promise a very cozy world. They are colorful and cheerful, with some simple yet charming ideas.

Time to Morp also offers co-op gameplay, which is appreciated. Not only does it reinforce the friendly tone, but it should help the game compete with its peers. After all, TemTem and Pokémon have normalized co-op gameplay.

Time to Morp will have many sandbox freedoms, like customizing your own character or even terraforming. Ideally, there will also be enough narrative to propel players.

Overall, its sugary world and approachable mechanics should appeal to fans of all its different genres.

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