By 
Reviewed On: PC (Only on PC)
Price: $14.99 USD
Developer: Hollow Ponds / Richard Hogg
Publisher: Finji
Release Date: October 23rd, 2024
Please Note: A review code was provided for this review but does not influence the opinions stated here in any way.
This title is apparently a sequel to Wilmot’s Warehouse; however I never played that game, so I went in somewhat blind to the character and IP of Wilmot. I have played a few other games from Hollow Ponds, including both Flock and I am Dead. I liked both of those so I was hopeful that a puzzle game from them would be really good. I also have played Tunic, from Finji, and have started both Night in the Woods and Chicory in the past but unfortunately haven’t finished them yet. (I know I need to really play these, backlog problems are not fun are they.) Unfortunately, there really isn’t a whole lot that the game has to offer besides solving lots of puzzles.
There is a story; however, unfortunately the story focuses on the mail carrier named Sam, and really doesn’t have any plot points around Wilmot, besides one. Wilmot has subscribed to the puzzle club and gets puzzles delivered very frequently. It is a shame Wilmot doesn’t really have any more story, since the story around Sam and who she is, is absolutely boring and I honestly cannot remember much of what happened with her or what she mentioned besides having a sister. While I think story is an important thing, for puzzle games I think the focus should be on the gameplay more than a basic plot. The gameplay starts out terrific and very fun, but then unfortunately falls into a slight repetitive slog without much in the way of gameplay getting more complex later on at the end of the game.
The game plays the same way through the 8-10 hours you will put into it to roll the credits. First, a delivery of a puzzle occurs with a bit of speech from Sam (or Neil, the other delivery person when Sam is on vacation). When the puzzle comes, you open it in the hallway where you solve all of the puzzles. You move pieces of the puzzle to connect with other pieces from any of the four sides of another piece. It will advise you when the match of the pieces happen with a quick flash that is subtle but visible. Be warned that in each of the boxes there are more than just one complete puzzle in it. You will not always get all of the pieces of a puzzle at once to complete a picture, rather you will have to sometimes wait for future deliveries to finish the puzzles.
I understand video game logic applies, but I found this very weird. I found it weird because there is no logical subscription service that would ship out an incomplete puzzle as the company shipping wouldn’t know what kind of piece you would already have versus what you are missing to complete the puzzle. While it is weird and not logical, I actually liked it as it did up the difficulty on occasion, especially towards the end of the game. Some of the puzzles really stumped me for a few minutes, so it isn’t just an easy cake walk to solve one puzzle after another. You are given enough space to spread the pieces out, so I think you should spread out the different puzzles in different areas to maybe organize all of the pieces better. Unfortunately, the lack of adapting to add new things later for the puzzles; such as rotating images makes the gameplay slightly boring starting around halfway through.
You unlock new rooms of Wilmot’s house once you complete a set of puzzles, called a season. You can unlock paint colors, wallpaper patterns, accessories like plants, a clock, and more to decorate these different rooms. This honestly does nothing for me personally, but it is a feature there. On top of solving puzzles and decorating rooms, you do gain the ability to adopt either a dog or cat halfway through the game. The problem I have here is I never saw the dog or cat interact with Wilmot in any way. A cool concept could have been something like if the dog or cat came in to disrupt the puzzle you were working on. It could be a great way to incorporate a new challenge to the player with this feature. It is a shame that this isn’t the case because I felt like the adoption of the pet was just shoehorned in for no rime or reason. There is also marathon mode which combines all of the different puzzles together from the game and throws them all at you at once, which is cool, but I feel like it is absolutely way too much for the player to try and tackle that many puzzles at once.
The music was very calming and relaxing throughout the whole game, to the point I actually had to put on other music as it was too relaxing after a while. The visuals of each of the puzzles varied and had effort put into them, so I liked that. The overall art in the game was simplistic but nice. I personally didn’t hate the visuals, art, music, or the solid performance; however, absolutely nothing blew me away which is a shame. Considering this is 2024 and it is a very competitive season of games, I wish they did more unique things instead of doing what they did. As much as it may not sound in this review, I really do love smaller indies and smaller budget games. This definitely is one of those games that the budget and concept was almost TOO SMALL for it to be a full game or for the game length to be as long as it is.
Nothing about Wilmot Works It Out is downright bad or unplayable, but honestly there were many aspects that felt boring, underdeveloped, or way too simplistic. The story about Sam the mail person is very forgettable and there really isn’t any plot around WIlmot. The gameplay was fun at the beginning, but I wished there were some kind of new gameplay element that spiced things up since the overall feeling of the game got slightly boring about halfway through. Either that, or cut the gameplay time in half. The music was nice and relaxing but got a tad boring after a while, the performance was solid on PC, the art and pictures were nice, and the visuals were fine. While Wilmot’s Warehouse offers a fairly satisfying puzzle experience, its relatively limited scope might not justify the full $15 asking price for some players. If you’re a dedicated puzzle enthusiast seeking a relaxing and focused gaming experience, this title could be a great fit. However, those looking for a more expansive or dynamic gameplay experience might find themselves wanting more after a few hours.
Review Score: 6/10
By 
The game is advertised as a puzzle game with the puzzles being the main element of the game and your critique is that you wish there was another element of gameplay? Did you simply ignore the trailer of what you were getting yourself into? They never alluded to there being other gameplay. You not liking this type of puzzle game does not make the game a 6/10. I don’t think you should be getting keys to review games if you’re going to say that they aren’t worth playing because you expected something they never said you’d get.
Hello! Thank you very much for your comment. I personally thank you for your comment and want to state some more about why I scored it a 6/10. I have indeed watched the trailers for this game, and those for Wilmot’s Warehouse and saw that the other game actually has a bit more of a gameplay aspect. I have played games in the past where there was hidden gameplay elements from what the trailers showed. I know not every game does this, but I also think that different things shouldn’t be shoehorned in like the adoption part where I didn’t feel a connection or reason for it to be there. Also, I personally think that the $15 price point may just be a tad too high in terms of the very intensive market in indie games, and games in general, and especially when it comes to this time of year with how many games have and will continue to be releasing. A 6/10 doesn’t mean its a bad game (and it definitely isn’t the worst game I have played this year; please understand this), but a 6/10 does mean that it isn’t something you absolutely must play.