Wilmot’s Warehouse is one of those cult indie hits that you just keep coming back to.

It’s calming, easy going, but taxing enough that it gets the grey cells working. The definition of zen. And so Richard Hogg and Hollow Ponds are back with Finji to try and recreate the magic again.

The spiritual successor, releasing today, is Wilmot Works It Out, and it sees everyone’s favourite expressive cardboard box model and decorate his new home. While solving jigsaw puzzles.

Across the game’s 60 or so puzzles, you will put together pretty pictures in a no-box style and then hang them up on your wall when they’re finished. Never heard of no-boxing? Essentially, you’re putting the puzzles together without having seen them first. All part of the challenge.

And at first, that’s not really as difficult as it sounds. You get supplied various boxes of pieces through each of the game’s seasons and in the early stages you’ll be able to see quite clearly from the puzzle pieces which goes where and with what set.

Later, though, the game purposefully gives different pictures similar aesthetics to try and throw you off, so you’ll need to pay extra special attention to what you’re doing.

But there’s no fail conditions here, no real time limits – other than just to test yourself – and no pressure on the player. You can start, stop, pause, and come back to the game whenever you feel like it.

The zen feeling from Wilmot’s Warehouse is back, stronger than ever here as the game keeps it simple. When you complete a puzzle, most times you’ll get a knock at the door with another package full of puzzle pieces. Sometimes you won’t be able to complete a puzzle until you’ve had a couple of boxes, so you’ll learn to start splitting pictures out into sections on the floor.

When the knock at the door comes, Wilmot will have a short chat with Sam, the delivery person, talking a bit about their life, what’s happening outside, their hobbies and anything else that comes to mind. You’ll then be able to get back to puzzling, pick up your box and deposit a mix of pieces on the floor.

This serves the bulk of the game as you pick up pieces, match, then slot them together until you get a satisfying little twinkle sound and the name of the puzzle.

Wilmot can then place these pictures on the walls of various rooms in his house and decorate the rooms where you feel the aesthetic best fits.

In each season, you pick a new room to build, choosing the floor and wallpaper, essentially designing a new area everytime. It’s a nice way to keep things fresh and simple and just makes for a cozy, calming romp that can slot between other games or make up an evening’s entertainment.

The game doesn’t really evolve beyond its initial stages, and while the puzzles do get trickier, nothing is going to overly tax you. You will get to adopt a pet eventually, but this is mostly just a surface level addition to the game that offers some occassional conversation topics and brief interactions.

A Marathon Mode also adds a bit more longevity to the game beyond the initial campaign, putting all the focus on the puzzle solving, though losing the charm of the conversation between Sam and Wilmot which really makes up the heart and soul of the game.

That’s the whole point, though. Wilmot Works It Out keeps it simple, doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel and makes for a satisfying puzzler that calms and entertains. It’s super cozy and perfect for some good zone out, zen-like fun. Exactly what we need between the heavy hitters and intense experiences that dominate this time of year!

Verdict

Wilmot Works It Out is a charming, simple but enjoyable puzzler that brings a satisfying smile to your face everytime you play. The little back and forths between Wilmot and Sam really add a layer of personality to what is ultimately just putting jigsaws together, but the controls, style and feel just ease you in and keep you playing in short blasts or long weekend sessions. Whatever makes you feel most comfortable.