While I played on Xbox, Donut County feels the world like a mobile game. And that's fine: I have no issues with mobile gaming. But mobile games can tend to feel very small when thrown up on a TV screen, played with a controller. Not, you know, image size—which is properly scaled—but, rather, in scope.

Donut County throws us into a city where humans and talking animals exist and live together. However, holes have been appearing across the city, dropping whatever fits into the abyss. And, despite the protests of BK, who owns the donut shop, these holes seem to occur every time someone orders donuts for delivery.

The gameplay is simple: You are the hole and you need to gobble up everything on the screen. Start off small, and get bigger as things fall in. That's the basic M.O. from level one through the end. Some light puzzles and a hole upgrade give a bit of texture to the concept, but "gobble and grow" is the overriding philosophy here.

It's oddly satisfying. Starting off a level only able to consume blades of grass or stones, and ending a level with houses and hills tipping in. The fun overrides the samey nature of the gameplay from level to level.

And it's a good thing it is fun, because otherwise there's not a whole lot to recommend here. The graphics are pretty basic. I doubt if they'd sparkle on a phone screen, but at least they wouldn't stick out as egregiously bland; on a console they feel awkward, as if made for a much earlier generation. Meanwhile the levels themselves feel a bit unfocused and unrefined. Like, the idea is there—particularly regarding some of the puzzles—but without having gone through the creative evolution process. Like, this may be a weird comparison, but let's pretend Donut County is an essay. You remember writing essays in school, right? Do the research, write out index cards, make an outline, expand outline into the first draft, etc, etc. If Donut County was an essay, it would be at the outline stage. It's got the ideas, in the right order, but bullet pointed and lacking in content. As such, level designs feel a bit random and haphazard, without ever taking on the big scope the idea demands.

And that all gets compounded by how damn short Donut County feels. I didn't count how many levels there are, but it feels like 10 to 15, and it's not like these are long, ponderous levels with multiple stages. In fact, most of the game's length seems like it boils down to the conversations the characters have in between levels. Arguably, there's a bit of a visual novel feel to it, although I don't think anyone would play Donut County for the dialogue, which feels pretty unnecessary as the story takes a significant backseat to being a hole and gobbling things up.

But the important thing here is that gobbling things up is fun. I wouldn't want to spend much (if any) money on Donut County, but it's currently available on Xbox Game Pass so from that perspective I'm pretty pleased. if you're looking for a low-key casual almost-puzzler to burn a couple of afternoons, Donut County hits that "I just want to see everything fall into a hole" mood.

Within just a few years, Annapurna Interactive has almost become the A24 or Neon of video games, a company that I trust to the point that I will play any game with its name on it. Annapurna's games aren't necessarily long or particularly deep, but they're always experiences I'm glad I've played. I particularly think of games like Florence or the little bit of Sayonara Wild Hearts I've explored. These are smaller experiences that feel unlike anything I've played before, experiences that stick with me due to their unique gameplay and engrossing stories.

Donut County is easily the silliest game I've played from Annapurna, a ridiculous story about a raccoon and the holes he dispatches to various people, which end up sending them and all their possessions deep below the surface. The gameplay is entirely reminiscent of Katamari Damacy, with the sense of humor to match. This might be the only game I've ever played where I couldn't wait to read the encyclopedia of items I had found in the game. There's a unique wit and humor to Donut County that alone makes this worthwhile.

Considering the size of the team, Donut County is understandably a small game, and it understands its limitations. This game gets in, has some silly fun, and gets out. Donut County doesn't overstay its welcome, and even with its simple premise, finds ways to expand this concept to keep it fresh over the course of its relatively short runtime.

Donut County also does a fine job of making this story feel larger than it really is. The game digs into the stories of multiple characters, before tying all these characters together with one unified goal. It's so simple, yet effective in how this game builds its little world.

For those looking for a quick, humorous game, I'd highly recommend Donut County. It's short, sweet, pretty cheap, and a consistent joy. So why only three stars? I guess it seems like by the end of Donut County, there should be more. Maybe a new way to tackle levels, or a way to keep up replayability. Donut County is a world I'd love to spend more time with, and yet, after about two hours in this world, I felt like I had already seen everything it had to offer.

But that's also fine! I like that fun little eccentric games like this exist, and I love spending just a few hours in a game and getting the whole experience. I definitely can't wait to see more of what developer Ben Esposito can do, because I'd love to see his style and humor expanded even further.