Living Room [Meta Quest 3] | REVIEW

The potential of mixed reality has quickly established itself as one of my favourite things about the Meta Quest 3, so it’s always exciting to see a title that’s built entirely around it. That’s what you get with Living Room, the new release from the team at Thoughtfish, that sees you turning your living space into a wildlife ecosystem where animals can freely roam. It’s charming, relaxing, and fun to play, whilst it also stands out as a kid-friendly release with its accessible gameplay mechanics.

Check out some screenshots down below:

The core gameplay loop of Living Room sees players building up a variety of islands in their living space and then having miniature creatures reside within them. These islands can actually consist of objects in your environment, but during my playthrough, I physically placed an array of islands of various shapes and sizes – it was more convenient for me, but depending on the space you’re playing in, you can do what works for you. Once placed, players have to spray paint these islands and then mould them with a digging tool, allowing them to add mountainous inclines, small watering holes, or simply turn the island into a specific shape (my daughter had a lovely heart-shaped island when she was playing). And when done? You can place animals, plant life, and objects within the island to help bring it to life.

This is where the game gets really charming, with players able to select from all sorts of different creatures that belong to different biomes, with the likes of a jungle, a desert, and a cold mountaintop just a selection of the options available. By placing objects like trees or plant life on the island, you’ll see the terrain adapt to that biome type, bringing with it a change of colour and allowing the player to place animals that belong to that biome there. You don’t have access to everything immediately though, with players completing objectives in-game that’ll slowly unlock rewards that’ll help you flesh out each island.

I started off with some gorillas, and when placed on the island, it was quickly noted that they required food… so I placed some banana trees, which kept them happy. Perfect. They then started breeding and leaving lots of little gorillas running around, which meant I had to get MORE banana trees to ensure I had enough food to feed them. Oh, and I also unlocked and introduced leopards onto the island in this time, who would actually eat gorillas to subside their hunger. The circle of life, huh? However, I also had an objectives that wanted me to keep gorillas safe from being eaten for a set period of time, which meant keeping an eye on the island and making sure my little primates were doing ok.

“Living Room masterfully leverages mixed reality to create a charming and engaging experience that transforms your living space into a bustling ecosystem.”

Despite its casual approach, there can be a lot going on at any time in Living Room, and with players having multiple islands at once that span multiple biomes, plenty of new unlockables to tinker with, and objectives to continually meet, there’s always SOMETHING to keep you busy. It never gets stressful though, with the game taking a casual approach where the animals of the islands will go about their life with minimal input required from the player. Sure, they’ll have their needs that occasionally need to be met, but their ecosystem is self-sustaining and allows the player to relax and simply soak in the cuteness of the world that they’ve crafted. And hey, so what if a few animals get eaten or run out of food? It’s simple enough to replace them, especially since it’s easy to earn currency in-game.

The gameplay loop of looking after your islands is certainly rewarding though, and as you unlock additional animals, plant life, or objects to place on them (including shelters to keep certain animals safe across the game’s day-and-night cycle), it’s always satisfying to continually customise each one in your own little ways. There are other cool little features too, such as the evolution of your animals that sees them change in colour, the breeding island that allows you to bring plenty of little babies into the mix, or even the decorations that you can unlock to place around your room to add a fun twist to your surroundings.

And the best part of all? You can grab one of the animals and put it into a machine that increases its size and lets it roam around your living space. Not only is this adorable (especially when you pet them), but it also allows them to access dig spots that appear within your surroundings as a means to get you some goodies. Just keep an eye on them – there was one point where my little sheep helper got stuck in a digging hole and I had no idea…

Check out some screenshots down below:

What makes everything in Living Room feel particularly special is the way in which it embraces mixed reality. The gameplay mechanics alone are fun, but also simple and nothing that players wouldn’t have seen before. However, when you bring it all into your own living space and you can see it turn into a living and breathing wildlife sanctuary? It really is delightful. And hey, I even managed to do some chores around the house when playing, whilst its accessibility and use of mixed reality made it perfect for my daughter to play too.

What’s also ideal for kids is the game’s ‘Creative Mode’, which gives players the freedom to create their own islands with minimal restrictions in place. This is perfect for those who simply want to enjoy spending time looking after animals without fussing about with objectives, money, or unlocking items. There’s also a ‘Challenge Mode’ that gives players a preset scenario to play in with specific objectives, which actually stood out as a pretty rewarding way to play Living Room. Admittedly, it’s not too challenging, but it does something different with the formula that’ll certainly appeal to those who want a more gamified take on the gameplay loop.

I guess the only real downside to Living Room is that it can be very simple in design, but honestly? That’s exactly what I wanted from a mixed reality game like this. Not only did it make it perfect for my daughter to play, but as something relaxing to play when keeping myself busy with other tasks, it was perfect (even if it did end up becoming a big distraction when playing… those animals are just so darn cute).

Developer: Thoughtfish
Publisher: Thoughtfish
Platform(s): Meta Quest 3 (Reviewed)
Website: https://www.meta.com/en-gb/experiences/living-room/7778145568911617/