Starting playing Time To Morp felt like diving into a vivid, lively storybook world. This game, with its cozy atmosphere and engaging mechanics, offers a unique blend of creature collecting charm and resource management depth.
First Impressions
In Time To Morp, my first thoughts centered around navigating automation challenges and caring for cute creatures on a randomly generated distant planet.
Graphics
The art style of Time To Morp is refreshing. Its vibrant, colorful environment is visually appealing, reminiscent of No Man’s Sky but with the playful charm of Spore. The developers opted for a cartoonish style that perfectly captures a cozy feel, avoiding hyper-realism. This artistic choice enhances the game’s overall appeal, making exploration and interaction a constant delight. Occasionally, the visuals can be a bit overwhelming, making it easy to lose track of tasks.
Story
In Time To Morp, you’re an intern on a space expedition gone awry, stranded on an unknown planet with your crew. The game quickly introduces its main loop: discovering and nurturing creatures known as Morps. While the storyline isn’t groundbreaking, it provides enough context to make your discoveries and achievements feel meaningful.
Gameplay
Here’s where Time To Morp truly shines. Capturing Morps and assigning them to optimize resource production is like a simplified, yet deeply engaging, version of Factorio. Each Morp prefers different home themes, and it’s your job to keep them happy.
The expansive world sometimes left me unsure of my next move, but a detailed technology tree kept me hooked. The tutorials are thorough, with illustrative examples of automation. For those who dislike lengthy instructions, intuitive tips and guidance make the game equally rewarding for explorers who learn as they go.
I wish it was easier to mark specific locations on the compass instead of just seeing where your crew is on the map. Although the game includes a scanner for locating specific resources, it’s easy to lose track of where you built your Morp bases.
Building, Evolution & Tech Trees
Creating suitable habitats for Morps and watching them evolve adds layers of strategy. Feeding Morps specific resources to trigger their evolution is a puzzle-like aspect reminiscent of a minimalist Pokémon.
Terraforming certain areas felt clunky, as I tried to level terrain for easier exploration. However, I appreciated the extensive tech tree. Unlike Factorio, where you must feed research points into a lab, Time To Morp allows for straightforward upgrades as long as you have the required materials.
Quests and Crew Relationships
While I enjoyed the crew designs, the dialogues felt a bit generic. The game tries to create a social fabric with side quests and crew interactions, offering bonuses like expanded inventory for completing them.