Overview – developed by Waving Bear Studio and published by TheGamePublisher, STUFFED is a cute and stylized wave defense shooter with a unique premise. As a brave teddy bear, take on the nightmares that attempt to break down your owner Ellie’s door, using weapons crafted from items around the house. This title is available for Steam and Xbox platforms, with a link to each version of the game available at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank TheGamePublisher for providing the copy of stuffed used for this review, via the Keymailer service. The provision of this software has not influenced the provision of this software, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. Please note that this is intended to be a multiplayer experience. However, I was unable to participate in online multiplayer, so I will only be discussing the gameplay from a solo player perspective.
Story – you are a brave teddy bear, who has taken up arms against the nightmares that has been plaguing your owner Ellie. You are tasked to protect her door from the dark versions of ducks, gnomes and killer toy robots. However, there is terrifying nightmare creature known only as the shadow man, who will attempt to break her door down and ruin her night. Can you stop these monsters and make sure that your owner has a good night sleep?
Gameplay – Stuffed is a first person wave defense shooter, with procedurally generated maps that are different every time the game is started. The game can be played alone or with friends, offering the option for public or private multiplayer where up to 4 players can play together. There are three regions available for the player to use, with Europe, Asia and the Americas. Unfortunately, I was unable to test this multiplayer aspect of the game out.
Before the player starts the game, it is recommended to play the tutorial. This will explain the mechanics of the game, while giving players a chance to get to get to grips with the controls and get a feel for the action. Once the tutorial has been completed, the player will be returned to the main menu, ready to start the game proper. If players need a refresher on the mechanics or if they just want to warm up, the tutorial can be played freely from the main menu.
When starting the game up, the player will be placed in a starting room, with a basic ranged and melee weapon along with two popcorn grenades. The gameplay loop takes the player through multiple nights, made up of 10 waves of enemies, with the goal to take down all of the enemies and protect Ellie’s door. Each time the player takes down an enemy, they will get points that are added to their total, which can be used to interact with the map.
In each of the maps, the player will be able to spend points to open doors, unlocking new areas for the player to access. Within these areas, there will be new weapons to buy as well as power-ups to improve the chances of success. The weapons that can be collected include a golf ball launcher made from a skate board, shotgun style robot guns and a cola cannon. The power-ups featured range from self-revive items to refilling popcorn grenades and health increases.
Alongside items that can be purchased, the player will level up by earning XP with each enemy defeated. When the player earns enough points, they will level up and be able to use the special teddy station, which lets the player purchase a perk. These perks include more health for the bear, improving the door defenses and additional ammo for weapons. The perks that can be collected will vary each time the table is activated, adding to the random nature of the game.
As the player opens up new rooms in the map, there will be new spawn points for the enemies to emerge from, as well as warp points for the player. When the player goes into a warp point, the will often be transported back to the main room, where the door is allowing for it to be defended quickly. Players can also use the warp from the main room, quickly jumping to the other areas for more ammo, purchase new weapons and grab power-ups.
During the tenth wave of a night, the player will encounter a boss nightmare that they will have to defeat. Once the boss has been taken down, the map will transition to a new one as the night counter progresses. When the map switches, the player will retain their points, perks and weapons, but since the map has changed the player will need to open doors again. The enemies will also get stronger as each wave and night progresses, increasing the challenge.
The last thing to discuss is the coins that are collected at the end of a run. When the player is defeated, based on their performance a coin reward will be provided. These coins are added to the player total that is tied to their account. These rewards mat vary based on the number of players (I couldn’t test it out sadly), but they all serve one purpose. They can be used to purchase cosmetics in the in-game shop, which can be added to the player and weapons.
The skins that can be unlocked include colors of fur for the bear, including tiger, panda and skeleton, each with their own unique shades. There are also costumes to dress the bear up in, with cardboard robot, astronaut and knight costumes to name but a few, with additional colors for each. Then we have the weapon skins, which allow the player to change the look of each of the weapons, making them more unique and letting players freely customize their experience.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to cover the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – this title uses a relatively standard mouse/keyboard setup for the inputs, with a layout that is easy to pick up and get used to. The way that the controls are laid out can easily be remapped, alongside systems that can make the game more playable for players, including aim assist and sensitivity settings. There is the option to use controllers, but I was unable to test this out as I couldn’t get the controller to work with the game for me.
Difficulty – the difficulty for this game can vary on a couple of factors, which are tied to the procedural generation mechanics. It is possible to get a good map, which can be easily defended and this can make the game a little easier to play, but the inverse is also true. Away from the random maps and items, the enemy waves will follow common patterns, with the enemies getting stronger over time, which can get tricky when playing the game in solo mode.
Presentation – visually, this is title has a rather cutesy aesthetic, with the toy weapons and costumes that add a whimsical feel to the game. The models for environments, enemies and weapons are well put together, creating a vibrant world that has a sense of childlike wonder to them. There are also some decent graphics settings that can be tailored to each computer rig. The sound for this game fits the setting well, with SFX and music that make for a cohesive experience as a whole.
Final Thoughts – I have played many first person shooters in the past, ranging from DOOM and Quake all the way up to Destiny and Call of Duty, so I have experienced a range of titles. This one stands out as a fairly unique title. The gameplay mechanics may have been implemented in other titles, but the presentation and setting are what makes this game special. There are few if any competitors in this specific style, which lets this game stand out on its own.
The overall gameplay loop is a lot of fun, with mechanics that work well and almost infinite replay value with the procedurally generated maps. There is also a wealth of cosmetic content that can be unlocked, further adding to the playtime of the game. I can happily recommend this title to players, but please be aware that this title is still in early access, as well as what appears to be a very limited online player pool. I just wish that I was able to test out the multiplayer functions.
In the end, I give STUFFED a final score of 3.5/5. This is a fun game that has near endless replay value through procedurally generated maps, with a fairly unique premise, vibrant environments and a ton of content to unlock by players during their time playing the game. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to Steam version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
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