WHALIEN - Unexpected Guests Review

You are Ernest Hemmingwhale, the last human left behind to take care of a flying machine that resembles a whale. The planet where WHALIEN - Unexpected Guests takes place is covered by a cloud desert, with just a few floating isles that poke through the clouds. There wasn’t enough space for the human population, so an inventor and scientist, Whaley Wonly, created Fin, a huge floating paradise modelled after the largest mammal: the whale. Fin provided a living space for thousands of people within the “whale’s” insides. It was home to multiple generations of humans, but one day this changed; purple slime appeared and started to cover everything, even the water was changing colour and becoming salty, like seawater. All the humans abandoned the Fin despite the ship coming equipped with an AI system that was in charge of everything for the humans, ranging from the weather systems to the food. So when everyone left, Fin was in a panic and placed a call to the one human left on board that could help save him, Ernest.

Developer Forbidden Folds has created vibrant and exciting levels placed inside this whale-shaped flying machine. Fin will assign you tasks that you need to accomplish, like cleaning out its blowhole and fixing other areas of the ship. To complete these tasks you will have to take out the Squiddies that have taken over the ship, and complete the puzzles in each area. The controls feel very responsive, running and jumping is smooth along with the actions you need to control Ernest’s gloves. These gloves are used to solve the push/pull obstacles in his way allowing you to grab and interact with any object you see, like books, shelves, t-shirts, rubber duckies, and furniture. Some puzzles have you moving a battery from one side of the level to the other to put into a machine to power up a contraption that will move platforms or some alternate action. You will find other tools like a pearl that acts like a bouncy ball that you can use to knock things over to trigger a reaction. This pearl can be recalled at any point, so you won’t have to try to retrieve it before throwing again. These puzzles start off pretty easy, but as you progress in the game they become more challenging, though they don’t get to the point where you have no idea what to do and can’t progress. There’s always something smaller that you can do.

WHALIEN - Unexpected Guests is a colourful game that just gives off a happy vibe. It’s silly, fun, and full of whale puns. They must have had one person dedicated to only writing these daft puns like “Loading… This may take a WHALE.” This game never gets to the point where you feel frustrated, just challenged to figure out a solution. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there wasn’t any clipping when I was traversing the levels. Usually, when you are playing 3D platformers this happens when you are jumping up on objects or trying to walk past something. Even when I was walking on pipes near the ceiling or the top of that room this wasn’t an issue. The music in WHALIEN mirrors the visual style of the game, it is upbeat and super catchy. I never felt that the tunes were annoying, or repetitive; they just fit the aesthetic of the levels.

While exploring the levels, you come across stickers that have a star on them. When picked up, they will be added to your sticker book where you can view them. These stickers provide some insight into what life was like on the ship before these uninvited guests showed up. It’s an interesting way to tell the background of the previous residents who resided there. You will come across Squiddles around the ship, they aren’t really that evil, just mischievous and destructive, as they damage the machines within the whale. If they are small you can easily take them out using your gloves, but if they are the larger variety they require you to throw stuff at them to defeat them.

WHALIEN - Unexpected Guests isn’t an overly long game, taking about five hours to complete, but the way it ends leaves it open to a sequel in the future. I am hoping that the creators over at Forbidden Folds continue the story in this delightful game. It is so wholesome and funny, it will make you smile, especially when you see all the creative whale jokes that they have managed to fit into the game! WHALIEN is a great time for anyone, no matter their age, or if you are playing on the PC or Steam Deck. If you are looking for a complex puzzle platforming game, WHALIEN - Unexpected Guests may not be the one for you, but if you just want to have a fun time in this quirky world full of personality, this title is one you are going to want to check out!