mingle by cookiecrayon is a super cute browser-based game that has you matching up various single creatures together. They merge if they are the exact same shape, and that repeats until you have one last creature to merge with.

It’s a simple, yet addictive formula as you play a game of Where’s Waldo, except you’re absorbing your twin when you meet them. I promise it sounds less scary than described. Made for the GMTK 2021 Game Jam, this little entry only has one level so far, with the devs mentioning that they would love to expand upon it in the future.

This curious entry has minimalistic black and white art that lends its charm as the chatter of the crowd plays in the background. You’re slowly moving through to each new creature, pressing the spacebar along the way to merge into an entirely different form.

As I head towards your final merge, I eagerly merge them only to find out that my twin doesn’t want to hang (read: become One). Is it because I slowly absorbed each creature bit by bit, leaving them with no other choice? Really takes the “last person on Earth” scenario to a whole new level, in my opinion.

This little cutscene then cuts back to a “Replay?” dialogue, and despite the loop being pretty simple, it was a fun little game as I came up with methods to quickly spot the next partner for my mingling single.

That said, I am eagerly looking forward to updates for mingle, as well as quirky games by the duo behind cookiecrayon — Shannon and Sam.