I noticed a game announcement I wasn’t keeping up too much attention to but was still interested nonetheless, Freshly Frosted. It was a puzzle game idea done by The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild. I was happy to see that I got a code in order to test and review the game. Is it the game I was hoping for?
Game Name: Freshly Frosted
Platform(s): PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch
Publisher(s): The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild
Developer(s): The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild
Release Date: June 10th, 2022
Price: $9.99
Freshly Frosted is a very simple puzzle game that runs very smoothly. The music has a very calming presence and will warrant difficulties once you reach past the second box of a dozen levels. There are 12 levels within 12 boxes. Representing a dozen donuts in a dozen boxes because donuts love the number 12. This is a game to play when you need something to do and just want to calm down or just feel like you need to do a quick game of sudoku to get the mind prepared. The puzzles are not too tough, but they are challenging enough to give you satisfaction after finishing up each level. I do love the hint system but wish it could have been added.
Frosting
You start out the game in a small cinematic that gives you an idea of why you are in this donut factory in the clouds. A girl is just wanting to relax and lay down and look at the clouds. She then mentions when she lay down and stares. It makes her mind wander to donuts and how there should be a donut factory in the clouds. The donut factory allows her to sort time itself out. The premise is pretty simple in the beginning. Get the donut from the beginning to the conveyer belt to the delivery side of the belt. The green arrow represents the start; the blue arrow represents the end. You have to get the frosting, sprinkles, cream, and other add-ons onto the donut in a specific order to make it look a certain way for when it is delivered to the blue end of the belt. After you get used to the premise, a new box of levels begins. Each box has something new to add as a mechanic. It could be merging paths together, having the order swapped around, having paths split, and other ways to add variety to the simple mechanics of this game.
If you get stuck on a level, you can use the hint system. The hint system will put down a few blocks in an order that will help you find the correct place to put a number of other blocks on the conveyer belt. There is also a variety of accessibility options and control options that you can utilize. There is also gamepad support on steam but honestly, I really liked using the mouse and keyboard to drag blocks across the floor. When you finish the level, you also get to revel in seeing your creation constantly making the donuts. This gave me a nice, serene feeling of peace just watching donuts move around the floor, getting frosting and sprinkles put on top of them.
Sprinkles
The music in this game is quite cathartic. It doesn’t have a lot of sounds going on in this soundtrack, but it is very simplistic. Add on to the fact that once the path gets put down correctly, the donuts move in sync to a music scale that emphasizes the soundtrack. Each station of the donut also has a big splat sound for getting the frosting and sprinkles put on it. Oddly fits extremely well with the rest of the music. On some of the levels, I would just watch and listen to the donuts going around and getting their toppings.
Filling
The graphics are very stylistic and simplistic. They work for the design of this game, and the cloud backdrops to the factory add to the serene feel of Freshly Frosted. This game isn’t about the legendary epic of slaying a dragon. It shows the merits of a puzzle game with the satisfaction of being able to figure things out and also giving you a desire to eat a Maple Bar donut in the process. I am kind of glad the graphics aren’t realistic because I might want to get a donut more than usual after I play through this game. I also think, though, that this game is really good in chunks. As in not wanting to just hammer down the game to finish and get all the puzzles unlocked. Let yourself relax and go through a level or two every time you open the game. Honestly, that is one reason I am glad this game is on Nintendo Switch. You can just bring it with you portably from Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch and play through levels in some downtime or on a lunch break.
Maple Bar
Overall this game is a really good time killer, especially if you want to play a game that will be short and won’t get you too invested in 20 side quests down the line. If you want a game that will be the epic adventure to seize the next continent for your king, this is not it. This game does however provide a level of satisfaction similar for some of the harder levels. Then you can brag about being able to get to the 10th box of the game. For what this game tries to accomplish, it is definitely successful. Controls aren’t janky, though sometimes on the hold input I might move the mouse the wrong way and it moves the path of the conveyer belt.
Freshly Frosted releases June 10th, 2022. It will be available on PlayStation consoles, Xbox consoles, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Review Disclosure Statement: Freshly Frosted was provided to us by The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy for more info.
Affiliate Link Disclosure: One or more of the links above contain affiliate links, which means at no additional cost to you, we may receive a commission should you click through and purchase the item.
Summary
Freshly Frosted is a fantastic puzzle game worth the price. It delivers some good challenging puzzles and makes you want to eat donuts.
Pros
- Challenging Puzzles
- Serene Musical Soundtrack
- Simplistic Graphics
Cons
- Hints only add a few boxes and they don’t stack on a level so you can’t get any more aid after the first hint of a level.
