Whatever you choose to do in Wobbly Life, it feels… innocent. And that is the game’s biggest strength: it’s impossible to feel bad, even while stealing a police helicopter. Everything is a safe space here, even a nuclear power plant with a weird radiation-eating monster. Let us explain.
The street life, without the street life
The game starts with your grandma kicking you out for not having a job, forcing you to find one and buy your own place. Then it’s up to you to decide how to earn the necessary amount. You can deliver pizzas, go fishing or take part in racing by land, sea or air. There are also other less… traditionally legal ways.
Above all, Wobbly Life doesn’t take itself seriously. Here, it’s not stealing a car, it’s borrowing it with the owner still inside, not seeming to mind much. It’s not creating dangerous situations trying to fly a plane through a packed downtown, it’s having silly fun without consequences.
Removing any stakes you typically see in these kinds of open-world games, combining it with a cartoonish art style and co-op support for up to four players, the game offers a free-roam experience that you can play with, well, anybody you like, really. It feels like a breath of fresh air.
Exploration is so back
What we especially appreciate is that Wobbly Life encourages and rewards the curious players.
What happens if you fly into a nuclear power plant pipe, you wonder? The game agrees that it’s an interesting question, and gives you an equally interesting answer. What is this shiny gem at the bottom of a nearby quarry? Another great question. If only there was a way to answer it. And how can you steal that helicopter on the rooftop of a building with no doors? How indeed. And imagine if there are secrets waiting for you if you manage to find your way up. Or down.
It’s all in the name
Wobbly Life is indeed, quite literally, wobbly. The ragdoll physics make the game even more whimsical.
At times it’s hard to even press a button, but somehow, it’s hilarious rather than annoying. Your sticky, wobbly hands can be terrible at picking stuff up too, but that is part of the process – especially if your task is timed. It just adds to the experience. Somehow, the wobble removes the trouble, even if only temporarily.