Craftlings: A Polished Puzzle-Strategy Adventure That Honors Classic Gameplay

The classic Lemmings series has existed for many years, but its move into modern gaming hasn’t made a huge impact. This left a clear gap in the market for a new type of puzzle game where players guide groups of characters to safety. ARIANO Games steps in to fill that void with their new project, Craftlings.

This puzzle-strategy game comes from a solo developer who received help after changing the title from ‘The Settlings.’ It wastes no time getting players started, making every level available right from the beginning. Craftlings is not an endless game, nor is it strictly linear. It feels refreshing and confident, showing most of its features early on.

Beyond its immediate charm and retro-inspired look—which includes some nice modern touches—it is clear the developer had a strong vision. The game borrows just enough from Lemmings and, for comparison, the Worms franchise. You will see many Lemming-like creatures walking left or right, and the game is 2D. However, at its core, Craftlings focuses on strategy and building games, with a heavy emphasis on automation.

Out of the 12 levels currently available, four are dedicated to teaching new players how to build a working village and lead the Craftlings to victory. They even have to fight giant monsters. There is plenty of space for tutorials that do not feel too restrictive. Besides pointing out the basics and setting simple goals, the developer chooses a path of “learning through experimentation.” This bet pays off, though some early frustrations with key items could have been fixed with better explanations.

For example, wooden signs can force Craftlings to walk left or right when they reach them. A submenu, opened by clicking them, lets players filter who can pass based on their role and whether they are busy. As the Craftlings begin to pick up items and resources, they become more focused on tasks automatically assigned to them. This makes the expert usage of wooden signs and “stop” statues essential.

As resources start to dwindle because no one is reaching them or everyone is too busy, you will spend much of your first two hours pausing the game. Since it is basically a real-time strategy game, you can choose different speeds to meticulously check every part of the village and every Craftling’s route to figure out what is not working. I applaud the choice to use a more player-driven approach for the tutorial levels, but I can see these confusing parts pushing impatient players to quit before the game gets fun.

You might be tempted to say that this difficulty is part of the challenge, but you would be wrong. The game makes its challenges and objectives very clear from the start. The big “automated village” layer is just a means to an end, and it allows for experimentation in future replays. Craftlings is not really about building bustling villages, though it is funny to see the little beings move around in their daily loops. It is about helping the settlers achieve their goals. The town layouts are just a part of the puzzle, and placing everything in the right spots is a rewarding experience.

This overall philosophy also leads to Craftlings’ biggest shortcoming: it does not really shake things up once you have gone through the early levels. The variety of level layouts and end goals is good enough, but beyond adding new enemies to overcome and spells to cast at the right moments, the game feels old-fashioned. Regardless, its breezy pacing and non-linearity almost completely remove any potential repetitiveness. If you cannot figure out a specific level, try another one that might teach you about the power of floating crates.

What I know for sure is that seeing Craftlings fall to their doom and ascend to Heaven after producing the funniest “little freak” sound effects has not gotten old yet. As new ones respawn through a portal, you shift pieces of the massive puzzle around in hopes of getting them to pick up the damn pitchforks. Once armed, you cast a spell to lift them to the level above their heads, but a monster instantly annihilates them. Something was missing. Even in failure, Craftlings feels unlike anything else out there at the moment.

Craftlings is available today, January 15, for $14.99 on PC. No console versions have been announced at the time of writing.

CRAFTLINGS VERDICT

Craftlings successfully rediscovers genre-bending mechanics and systems to deliver a puzzle-strategy adventure that doesn’t reinvent the wheel but feels thoroughly polished and focused.