TINY GLADE
Countryside construction with an invisible helping hand
Developer/ publisher Pounce Light Format Origin PC Sweden Release Q3
The time of day passes naturally as you build, although you can change it in the Photo Mode, as well as the sun’s angle.
Construction in videogames often feels like making a model; at its best, digital building evokes the satisfaction of snapping together a Lego set. Creating bucolic dioramas in Tiny Glade, however, feels closer to painting – but using magic brushes that read your intent and embellish your strokes.
Trace a path with your mouse pointer and the grass parts to let it through; keep going as you approach a wall and an arch forms, so the path can continue around the back. We reach for another brush, and dab patches of purple and white flowers into existence as if we were Bob Ross. Indeed, the game’s mellow ambience is as soothing as the late painter’s soft-spoken words of encouragement to his viewers.