Chuchel explores the absurd adventures of a ball of dust lusting after a cherry

Sometimes a sentient ball of hair and dust just wants a cherry. That’s the whole point of Chuchel, the latest puzzle and exploration game from Czech indie studio Amanita Design. Its past work includes surreal point-and-click adventures such as the Samorost, Machinarium, and Botanicula. It’s slated for a release in early 2018 for PC, iOS, and Android, and the full game will have over 30 levels.

I played a demo of Chuchel at Double Fine’s indie game festival Day of the Devs. Like previous Amanita games, it focuses on interaction with your surroundings to solve puzzles. In the studio’s past works, this meant exploring floating surreal worlds and mechanical cities and tiny woodland labyrinths. Chuchel inhabits a much sparser though no less absurdist landscape, dotted with tiny colorful creatures and whimsical objects.