Demo code used, many thanks to Aender Lara
Block Block Block is a unique little diorama-type scene-building game with a demo in time for Steam Next Fest. I’m playing this little demo to give you a taste of what kind of game Block Block Block will be on release.
Building A Little Home
Block Block Block was developed by Aender Lara, who is the lone developer and publisher for this adorable game. According to the press kit, Lara wanted to make a game where “every block had to carry weight, balance, and a sense of realism, capturing the joy of physically building something with your hands.” And in that, I think he succeeded.
Playing with the furniture in Block Block Block reminds me a little of playing Little Corners in the way that you feel like you are interacting with real objects. The blocks that you are carving to make all these miniatures do feel like they have weight in the same way the Little Corners stickers were kind of sticky, like real stickers.
The two games feel similar in other ways, too; you get the opportunity to build little scenes and worlds the way you want to, filling them with furniture, decorations, plants, and other details that make a room into something more. And they all have a wood and wood-grain look to them that just adds another level of fun detail.
Carving Each Block
Block Block Block has two main modes in the demo: free-style mode and a pre-made sort of level. The pre-made levels, called puzzles, are all about clicking around and dropping objects into the right places; there are outlines where everything needs to go once you have it properly carved. The carvings all end up looking super cute, fitting together to make a diorama of a kitchen. You also have to vacuum up the shavings from the wood, which made the reward centres in my brain light up like a Christmas tree.
The more freestyle version was insanely detailed. You could pick the colors, the type of wood, the exact placement, and easily copy and paste styles across all sorts of different things. I was very surprised at the breadth of what you could do with each object.
In the Block Block Block demo, there are a pretty limited number of objects, but I have a feeling that the full game will expand on that quite a bit.
Problems and Bugs
I didn’t have a huge issue with anything in Block Block Block, but there were a couple of things I noticed while playing that I didn’t love. The first was the sound design; the music is fine, but the menuing noises were pretty annoying. I ended up muting all the sounds and using my own music after a while. I found Block Block Block to be super relaxing until I needed to go into a menu for anything.
The second issue was a visual bug I ran into; I could get all the furnishings to work properly except the gaming chair. It never showed up when I placed it. Every other aspect of Block Block Block is so well polished that this stood out to me a lot. I was blown away with how well the game worked, looked, and felt, considering the lack of manpower working on it.
Final Thoughts
Block Block Block is pretty great. If you enjoy relaxing, building games without time limits (or really any kind of limits), this is a good one to choose. I will certainly be wishlisting Block Block Block for the future. With an expanded selection of furnishings and more puzzle levels, Block Block Block is my most anticipated game of the year at the moment.
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