Sometimes, you just want to switch off your brain for a bit. You want that dopamine hit of numbers going up, of progress. However, you’re a working adult with little time to do so. Have no fear, friends, in A Game About Feeding A Black Hole, you can relax, get some of that sweet, sweet dopamine, and even multitask while watching something at the same time.
What’s it all about then?
A Game About Feeding A Black Hole is an idle incremental game where you move your cursor around the screen, destroying asteroids, planets, and stars in order to feed a black hole and help it to grow. Destroying different celestial objects gains you currency to upgrade your stats and improve your runs.
The formula is much the same as any other incremental game, but the loop here is finely tuned. You’re always earning just enough currency to make a bit more progress and be able to unlock more in your skill tree. While other games of this type can have a cycle of overabundance and drought in resources, here, there is a fairly consistent progress curve that keeps you engaged throughout.
How long to beat?
It took a single afternoon and five hours total to unlock everything currently in the game. It’s not very long, but I think it’s the perfect sort of length for this genre. Especially if, like me, you spent your time playing the game on one monitor while watching something on the other (in my case, catching up on what I missed from the Fall anime season), which led to a nice, relaxed Sunday afternoon. To me, that is the best way to enjoy this game. It’s also Steam Deck verified, if you want to play on that. It also has native controller support, which really helps with accessibility.
The options menu is surprisingly detailed, allowing for great customization. My only critique would be that switching to windowed mode only provides a default window size, though it can be stretched to any size you wish. Additionally, options for colour blindness would be useful, as the game relies on colour to differentiate the classes of celestial bodies on-screen.
So, you’ve finished the main game…
So you’ve finished the main game, congratulations! But it’s not over yet. The game currently has four other game modes, with a fifth in beta and five more planned for future release. They are a Quick Play mode that takes 20-30 mins. A Mini Challenge mode. The Line, which is a speedrun with all your upgrades on a line rather than a grid. Finally Zen Mode, where there’s no timer, no upgrades, just casually destroying asteroids. There is currently a rogue-like mode in beta testing, and I’m eagerly awaiting its release in the final build. These alternate game modes help keep things fresh and allow for a low-commitment bit of fun at any time.
With a plethora of game modes and many more to come, relaxing ambiance, and a finely tuned gameplay loop, A Game About Feeding A Black Hole is an excellent pick for an easy incremental game to while away an afternoon relaxing. I’ve come back to it numerous times since its first completion, and I have no doubt I’ll keep returning. This is especially true as new game modes are added. It’s very inexpensive too, so I’d say it’s well worth your while to pick up if you like this genre. If you’re not sure, a demo is available to try.
Platform: PC (Steam)
Developer: Aarimous and Thornityco
Publisher: Aarimous and Thornityco
About the Author
