Wilmot Works It Out review – light, jigsaw goodness
You’ve got to feel for Sam the postwoman. Every day she brings Wilmot the next instalment of his puzzle club subscription, and every day she tries to engage him in conversation – about the weather, why there are five cars in the neighbour’s driveway, her sister Ruth moving in, her next walking holiday… Heck, she even invites Wilmot to go on holiday with her at one point. A bit forward, if you ask me, but who am I to stand in the way of human and sentient white cube relationships?
Wilmot Works It Out reviewDeveloper: Hollow Ponds, Richard HoggPublisher: FinjiPlatform: Played on PC and Steam DeckAvailability: Out 23rd October on PC and Mac (Steam)
Wilmot, though, is having none of it. While it’s unclear what prompted him to leave the warehouse where he made his name back in 2019 (was he let go due to operational cutbacks? Or did he just spend too much time making aesthetically pleasing storage wings? Alas, its breezy and earnest script never delves into such questions), Wilmot’s latest occupation is ‘housebound puzzle enthusiast-cum-home decorator’. Instead of using his right-angled good looks to sort and shuffle abstract materials onto conveyor belts, he now uses those same muscular shoulder button squeezes to carry and rotate square picture pieces and – once they flash and emit a soft chirrup indicating what you’re holding is a match to the one you’ve sidled up next to – click them together to make colourful works of art to hang around his home.
Wilmot Works It Out | Wishlist today on Steam! Watch on YouTube
It’s a blissful existence, really, but it really is all puzzles all the time with this guy, to the point where you almost think Wilmot might be a bit of a turd behind that constant happy grin of his. For example, he does, on occasion, get a rare dialogue prompt to ask after Sam’s sister, or later on how Sam’s own attempt at puzzle club is going (again with the puzzles), but most of your interactions with this ever-cheerful post lady boil down to ‘take delivery, shut door, get back to making pretty pictures out of your latest parcel’. I really do admire Sam’s tenacity on this front, because bless her, she’s secretly the heart and soul this gentle little puzzle game, providing a much-needed human touch to Wilmot’s otherwise quite abstract picture building, and rooting each delivery in the warm, friendly embrace of having a hobby you can (sort of) share with other people.
Wilmot himself may be seemingly uninterested in the comings and goings of Sam’s daily chitchat, but her presence here is an important one. Firstly, she’s the Bringer of Puzzles, doling out her daily deliveries to keep you topped up with increasingly large packets of pictures to solve. One parcel doesn’t always equate to one complete puzzle in Wilmot Works It Out, and you’ll frequently have two or three puzzles on the go at once as more packages come in. This not only helps to keep things fresh, but there’s a genuine, low-key thrill at finally spotting the last few pieces you need to finish off another painting you’ve been working on for several in-game ‘days’ and putting it up on your wall (indeed, Sam’s forceful door knocks are the only real indicator that time even exists outside the four, windowless walls of Wilmot’s hallway, that’s how all-consuming his puzzle obsession is).
