My new indie darling is this crafting game stuffed with hand-sculpted creatures made by a husband and wife dev team
PC Gamer
by Lauren Morton February 25, 2026
AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary
The article highlights *OddFauna: Secret of the Terrabeast*, a charming indie crafting game that has captured the attention of gamers during Steam Next Fest. Players take on the role of an Astor, a small critter living on top of a giant, whimsical creature called a Terrabeast. The game offers a unique sandbox experience where players can craft buildings, plant gardens, and befriend hand-sculpted creatures called Fauna. What sets *OddFauna* apart is its stunning visual style: every character, tool, and plant is individually crafted from clay by one half of the husband-and-wife development duo, Emma SanCartier, before being 3D-scanned and animated by her partner, Cliff Mitchell. This meticulous attention to detail gives the game a distinct artistic charm.
The demo available during Next Fest provides a glimpse into the game's core mechanics, including crafting, building, and terraforming. Players can chop trees, construct small cottages, and plant crops like "sweetroot" in a single biome over five in-game days. The ability to befriend Fauna creatures—each with unique abilities, such as digging or riding—and harvest resources to progress is central to the gameplay. While the demo is short, it successfully conveys the game's whimsical tone and potential for expansion. However, the lack of clear guidance on overarching progression or the impact of player choices on the environment leaves some room for improvement.
One of *OddFauna*'s standout features is its emphasis on environmental interactions. The developers hint at a deeper gameplay layer where players' decisions to terraform landscapes or plant specific flora will attract different Fauna, creating a dynamic ecosystem. This reactive environmental design adds depth and encourages strategic thinking about how
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Originally published on PC Gamer on 2/25/2026