We know that there are a lot of games with a complicated premise and long story. But does one really need that? Sometimes, you are just a lonely explorer who crashlanded on a planet and is now about using its resources to repair your rocket ship and get back to space. That’s what happens in My Little Universe and in our review, we’re going to see if that’s enough to have a bunch of fun (spoilers: it is).

While there’s nothing much story-wise going on, My Little Universe focuses instead on exploration and resource-gathering. You are exploring several little planets, looking for precious resources to harvest and bringing them back to construct buildings, upgrade existing tools and weapons. Everything feels very “sandbox-y”, as you are free to go wherever you want and decide how to use your time.

You have several tools at your disposal, such as a shovel and axe, along with weapons such as a sword. Indeed, there will be enemies around that we need to get rid of. They spawn randomly and can be quite a nuisance, even though My Little Universe tends to be overall balanced so they never become incredibly annoying. Basically, the idea is that the more resources you manage to gather and the easier it is to explore new little pieces of land. Each piece of land requires a set amount of resource to unlock, but can also hide surprises such as new enemies and rewards.

There are also RPG mechanics at play, by killing enemies and gathering resources you can level up your little guy. Nothing much happens, as you don’t have health upgrade or stats bonus, but you can unlock further abilities. Each ability has a little card that can help, for example, with gathering certain resources faster or surviving encounters with enemies.

My Little Universe is not only single player, but it is possible to bring the co-op up to four different players. That is definitely where the game shines, as playing with many friends all harvesting resources and taking care of enemies is the best way to enjoy. But still, even in single player, My Little Universe shows its mobile root by offering a very solid gameplay loop. In a bit of Vampire Survivors thing, you will come back for more again and again. There is just something so delightful in uncovering little islands as you collect resources. That mechanism of reward and work is perfectly balanced, as all good mobile games should be.

Graphically, My Little Universe offers a good-looking little spherical 3D world that just begs to be explored by your little guy. I would have liked to have a more interesting and engaging soundtrack, instead, but there’s not much that you can listen to while you’re around resource hunting. I recommend instead a good ambient rock soundtrack, Hammock work pretty good if you’ve been stressed and need to clock out a bit with a good gameplay loop.

Overall, My Little Universe definitely works better on the go. With great Steam Deck compatibility and a nice Switch port, these are definitely the best ways to play it. If you can even find some friends to play with, then surely this is going to be a game where many hours will be lost in delightful merriment.

Our My Little Universe review is available on Steam and Nintendo Switch (where the game was reviewed).