Sometimes, you need to slow down and just have a donut. Freshly Frosted is the pastry puzzle game that will have you take a deep breath before digging into the cream filling of a clever donut-themed puzzle game. Creative puzzles, a relaxed pacing, and satisfying solutions push this game into one of my favorite “wind down” games of the year. After a night of slaughtering zombies, saving the world, or failing to become an Elden Lord, you can open a baker’s dozen of sugar-filled levels to set you right. Freshly Frosted is the latest entry from developer Quantum Astrophysicists Guild. Founded in 2011, the team out of Seattle Washington is no stranger to smaller-scale puzzle games and has a diverse portfolio of both internally developed and published games.
Freshly Frosted begins with a brief cutscene and invitation to contemplate the soft and fluffy shape of clouds, and particularly their similarity to frosted delicious donuts. As the clouds begin to take shape you see a small factory floor with a raw donut supply conveyer and a delivery conveyor. Your task is simple, make the donuts to order and deliver them to the specified destination. There’s no fail state, you won’t set the kitchen on fire, and cream at your partner over this game. It’s as if Overcooked took a Prozac and finally let you take your time. You’ll work out where to build the conveyer-belt system so that the proper order of frosting, sprinkles, and toppings are added so that the finished donut can be happily delivered to its destination.
Growing in complexity each new world is contained within a box of donuts, each donut its own puzzle. The puzzles grow in complexity until it’s time to move on to a new world with its own recipes, sounds, and colors to correspond with changing seasons. With each solved puzzle stage your narrator will congratulate you or even make various comments about your trial-and-error process. I loved having the one-way conversation with the narrator and felt the dreamy voice added to the atmospheric and laissez-faire nature of the game. However, I’m sure some people will opt to turn her off in favor of a more quiet and ambient experience.
The art design and graphics are cute and cartoonish with little donuts chugging down the conveyer towards its ice-cream scoop of frosting, whipped cream, or sprinkles. All of the colors and sounds complement one another and although the board can look crowded at times, it can be wiped clean at the press of a button. I thought the controls translated well to a gamepad and didn’t find it difficult to tell the game what I was trying to assemble. I got some Simpsons vibes, especially from the starter levels, but the donuts quickly evolve into complex stars with multiple destinations.
The varying accessibility options are very appreciated especially on the console where customizability seems to be improving but not nearly as flexible as on the PC. You can even turn on a mode that fast tracks the donuts to their destinations once the puzzle is solved, but I’d argue you’re missing the sweetest part of the game which is watching your fried donut get all dressed up for its final stop. There’s also the ability to make the text larger which is appreciated as pixels get denser and my eyes get crappier.
The puzzles are satisfying, and the game even features a hint system if you get stuck. I appreciate this support as someone who enjoys solving puzzles but not necessarily having to agonize over the solution. I know it’s not for everyone, but this game isn’t trying to set the bar for difficulty. It wants you to get into a state of flow, and it really added to the experience in having the hint system. However, it can all be turned off should you want to be left alone with your crumbling pastries.
I don’t have any criticisms of the game. It’s a great puzzle game for the $9.99 price tag and doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. It didn’t feel overly redundant and kept new the gameplay fresh when I wanted to move to a new world. At the time of writing, the Xbox sore even has a demo, so why not give it a look if you want to relax?
It was a pleasure to sample the world of Freshly Frosted, and I hope more people looking for a change of pace will give it a chance. The puzzles never feel cheap and keep you feeling cool and clever. It can be a challenge in puzzle games such as these to keep the player on a fast pace, but Fresh Frosted finds a pocket of problem, solution, and hints that I enjoyed and even found cathartic. The inoffensive donut motif was relaxing with its pastels of color and soft music. While not every game needs a shotgun, perhaps a few more games could use some donuts.
