Smushi
Come Home

Smushi Come Home (2023) is a running, jumping, climbing and gliding game where a small mushroom explores a whimsical forest to make its way home. You talk to the people you meet, search for items, and use the oversized environment to get around as you move from location to location. The fantastical world and inventive platforming, paired with a journal where you identify real species of mushroom as you play, make for an unusual mix of laidback fun and biology.

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You play Smushi, a small mushroom character who finds themselves lost in the middle of the forest. You must slowly make your way back home by traversing the many areas of the woods, from streams to trees to glades, meeting colourful anthropomorphic forest characters and cataloguing the mushroom species you encounter.

Play is a mix of running, jumping, and climbing up trees, gulleys, and plants. You can also glide through the air with a parasol. To get to new areas of the map, you must interact with the wacky forest dwellers, akin to the islanders of A short Hike, and gather items for them in exchange for useful abilities that enable you to progress further. As you play, you also see different species of real-life fungi, which you can add to your journal.

The result is an adventure that blends gentle exploration and platforming with a whimsical world to explore to create a laidback experience. Each new area you discover and character you talk to adds to the sense of comical wonder and cosiness.

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Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Smushi Come Home 11 weeks ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 10 weeks ago.