Smushi Come Home was one of my favorite games of 2023—and that’s saying something. In a year dominated by massive franchises like Baldur’s Gate, Spider-Man, and Zelda, the debut game from indie developer SomeHumbleOnion was a welcome, wholesome reprieve. Even now, months after release, it remains an underappreciated gem.
In my Smushi Come Home review, I gushed about nearly every aspect of this short but sweet adventure. The art? Bursting with charm. The story? Cute as can be. The gameplay? A perfect balance of challenge and accessibility. My only “complaint,” if you will, was that I wanted more time to spend with Smushi and his pals.
Well, last week, Smushi Come Home fans like me got that wish. A free content update titled “Heart of the Forest” went live on PC, with a Switch release planned “in a few weeks.” It brings an all-new area to explore, complete with NPCs to help, fungi outfits to unlock, and smooth tunes to vibe out to.
I’ve journeyed to the Heart of the Forest and seen everything the new update has to offer. And let me tell you, if you couldn’t tell from the title: This one is well worth your time.
More Smushi, Zero Strings
I won’t go too in-depth on the specifics of the new content. If you’re reading this, I assume you’ve either played Smushi Come Home or are intrigued by the concept. Instead, allow me to share what I love most about it—and that’s its commitment to quality.
Stop me if you’ve heard this story before: A game releases on day one, buggy and feature incomplete. A few post-release patches attempt to do just that—patch the game up. Unfortunately, by the time the game feels complete, many consumers have already felt burned and fed up.
Every person has their examples. In my case, I was let down by Final Fantasy XV. (Its “Royal Edition” ironed out many of the kinks, but couldn’t save the game’s fundamental issues.) From No Man’s Sky to Cyberpunk 2077, some games manage to right the ship, while others go down with it. However, I think it’s fair to say all games would rather avoid the scenario altogether.
Smushi Come Home didn’t suffer from that problem. It was released with minimal marketing heft, yet brought a level of polish befitting the biggest of game budgets. The writing was sharp, the music was gorgeous, and the level design was divine. The cohesion is palpable, and it remains a wonder how SomeHumbleOnion created this experience with such little help.
Now, we get more of that. And it’s quite a good bit of content to enjoy. Heart of the Forest adds about 90 minutes of new content to Smushi—which, given the four-hour main game, essentially equates to an extra act as opposed to a brief addendum.
In other games, DLC serves as sloppy patchwork. Here, what already felt complete feels like so much more.
Move Over, Shadow of the Erdtree!
Of course, bad DLC practices aren’t always the norm. Just look at the highest-profile DLC release in years: Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. Despite retailing at an eye-watering $40, the expansion offers 25 to 40 hours of content and maintains the same level of polish that made the original 2022 game a best-of-year frontrunner.
Smushi’s Heart of the Forest update isn’t Shadow of the Erdtree. But it accomplishes something extraordinarily similar: It elevates our enjoyment of a game we already love, and does so without making players feel slighted or cheated. (Another interesting parallel: You trigger the Heart of the Forest content by revisiting a late-game area, a la most Soulsborne games. If you need help accessing it, check out this Steam community guide!)
Heart of the Forest may be free, but great DLC doesn’t have to be (as some of our contributors discussed in a recent podcast episode). So long as game makers respect our commitment as players (e.g., our time, our wallets), we too will respect their commitment by supporting their games well past launch.
As for Smushi’s latest send-off… well, you can’t argue with the price! Here’s hoping we see more from the little mushroom that could in the years to come.
Smushi Come Home is available now for PC and Nintendo Switch.
