Hamster Playground Preview

I have downloaded a crazy amount of demos for Steam's Next Fest, and one of the titles definitely wins the award for the cutest game I have ever played, Hamster Playground. In Hamster Playground you play as the owner of four adorable hamsters. You have to take care of them just like you would a real hamster; they need food, water, play, sleep, to be cleaned, and at times take a poo.

Each of the hamsters has a little profile that you see on the screen with meters for each of these requirements. When one of the six meters decreases, that bar changes colour switching from green, to yellow, then red when it gets really low. So when one of your hamsters gets hungry, click on the hamster you want to feed then move your cursor over to the kitchen area where the food is set out and click on it. The little guy will come over from wherever is in the house to eat. It’s nice that you don’t have to follow them the whole way. The game reminds me of when I had a Tamagotchi toy as a kid, but without the annoying beeping and death. At least I don’t think there is death, I haven’t had to experience that yet…

When you get tired of watching your adorable hamsters play, you can take them to the workout area to train. There are four traits that you can concentrate on: Agility, Knowledge, Strength, and Determination. These traits will be used when you compete in one of the two mini-games that are available in the demo: A skateboard race, and a race to get through a maze to find the goal before your fuzzy opponent. When the full game releases there will be more of these challenges available to play against people locally and online. Nothing is cuter than seeing little hamsters riding miniature skateboards!

Hamster Playground has a ton of ways to customise your hamsters’ home. Spend the coins you earn by winning competitions and taking care of your hamsters on things like new posters for your wall, a different pattern of hammock in the sleep area, or tons of plush animals to decorate. One of my favourite parts is being able to dress up the hamsters in little outfits. You can select the pattern of their fur, how long their eyelashes are, sweaters, hats, and even give them a moustache or sunglasses. There are so many adorable combinations to make!

If you have ever wanted to have a super cute pet without the mess, or an updated version of a Tamagotchi, Hamster Playground is definitely a title you need to check out. I can’t wait to see everything that will be available in the full game when it comes out later this year! Download this demo now, you won’t be sorry!