Do you love raiding old people’s closets for a trendy new outfit? Is your main mode of transportation a bike that’s older than you? Are you always on the search for “the next big thing?” If so, you might be a hipster .... or just a character in Animoca Brands’ latest mobile puzzler Hipster Sheep.
Hipster Sheep’s gameplay is incredibly simple. You assume the character of a self-absorbed Hipster Sheep on the hunt for “the next big thing.” In order to reach your goal, you must assemble a series of maze pieces inside of a grid. If assembled correctly, the path will lead you to the next big thing. If not, the round ends, and you’ll have to spend two precious Starbucks latte’s to try again. The puzzle requires thinking ahead to place the pieces well because you are only given one at a time. Pieces can be rotated and moved before a turn ends, but once you confirm where you want it to go, you cannot move it.
As you move through more levels of the game, the puzzles become larger and more complex, requiring you not only to get to the next big thing but also to create a path that allows you to retrieve other items like cupcakes and mix tapes.
At level 10 another feature of the game unlocks that fans of celebrity dress up games will enjoy -- a hipster wardrobe. With the wardrobe unlocked, your hip little lamb will have the ability to acquire new clothing items for his or her wardrobe. These items are obtained by using coins earned throughout levels. The wardrobe allows players to customize everything from facial hair to clothing ensembles to accessories. Since the mechanics of gameplay don’t change a whole lot, the addition of a wardrobe will provide players with motivation to keep coming back to the game. Along with the wardrobe comes the ability to take snapshots of your sheep in various outfits or download gifs of your sheep in action.
Though I wouldn’t call Hipster Sheep the most inspired game I’ve ever played, one thing I loved from the moment I first saw it was the artwork. Using mostly muted pastels and other hazy tones, there’s something incredibly chill about the whole atmosphere in the game that made it seem worth mentioning. My hope is that in time the developers might introduce some changes to the puzzles or add further complexity to keep the gameplay from becoming dull too quickly.
Hipster Sheep is available now and is free to download on both the Google Play and Apple App store.
