Greedy Grub Review

People may joke about cushy government jobs but working as a public official, even the assistant to one, is no easy task. Every day decisions must be made that will have a severe impact on citizens’ lives. Where should the new post office be constructed? Is it a good idea to plant those trees there of all places? Why has the mayor been lost in thought all day? And why the heck does the tree in the center of town have a giant eyeball sticking out of it? Seriously, Greedy Grub, what the heck?

Apollo, the wise old mayor of the forest, needs a hand. So he picks a grub under the direct control of the player, naturally. As he crawls his way around the small forest town he’ll encounter other denizens in need of some help, most of which involves watering plants or building specific structures. Yes, Greedy Grub is a town building game, although it’s a bit more free-form than many of the ones I’ve played. The town exists inside a circular boundary dictated by the Great Tree (the one with the freaky eyeball on it), and all of the buildings and decorations and such can be arranged within that boundary however players desire. Of course it’s also possible to expand the city limits, for a price.

It may have something to do with Greedy Grub having its own comic or it could be entirely coincidental, but the context for all this remodeling is a bit more interesting than it usually is for these kinds of games. Each of the dozen-plus residents has a different story and personality that will also undoubtedly make kids smile. There’s also a fairly decent collection element by way of the trees that can be planted throughout the town. Once fully grown they both look pretty and supply precious fruits that can be used as a form of currency to expand the town even further. They can also be hybridized with some pretty wacky results.

Even though it has some very pleasing cartoonish visuals and plenty of whimsy (both in the characters and the world in general), as a game Greedy Grub feels like more of the same. Take away the colorful characters and crazy trees and what’s left is pretty much the same old town-building song and dance we’re all used to. Granted, most town-builders are like this, but sometimes they do one or two things differently enough to hold my interest. That’s not really the case here.

Greedy Grub looks as lush and vibrant as the magical forest it’s set in, and features an impressive cast of quirky characters that help to alleviate some of the town-building drudgery. That drudgery is still present, however, which didn't exactly win me over and probably won’t win over those who aren't diehard fans genre, either.