There's something going on down in the world of Ooblets, and it's not just dance battles. Beneath the veneer of cute and quirky, of dancing critters and whimsical words, there's something far more sinister. It's weaved between sentences, hidden in the slats of benches, and maybe even way down in the dirt beneath your farm... There's been an Ooblets murder.
You'll meet plenty of colourful characters on your adventures in Ooblets. There's the intense and intelligent Rugnolia, the ever peppy Melda, the aloof Bazil, the moany Dubble, or even the much-derided Taffy, among other memorable faces, all ready to chat with you and ask you for favours. But, it's Meed that's the focus of this particular investigation, because I need to know what exactly is going on with her.
One of the first characters you'll meet as you arrive in Oob, aside from Mayor Tinstle, is Meed, she's responsible for helping you get set up on your farm. She's the owner of Meed's Seeds, you see, and it's at her store that you'll stock up on all of the various seeds you'll need to grow vegetables and the like on your farm. From clothlets and caroots, to zinooka and sweetiebeeties, Meed has everything… including a dark past.
Meed's opening gambit as you step onto your farm for the first time is a piece of advice. "Just give it a shot!" she says, passing you a basic dirt scraper, before adding, "Just don't dig deeper than six feet down anywhere around here." Suddenly, I'm grateful she just gave us a scraper and not a shovel, and yet I'm intrigued to find out what's down there. I think Meed might have killed someone.
Don't be fooled by the creased brow, the wrinkles, those perfect old lady spectacles, or the cute flower in her hat either. Because that little comment about digging wasn't just some throwaway line. As you begin to dig deeper into Ooblets' world, more and more evidence begins to surface about what Meed may – or may not, for the lawyers – have done.
"Meed is a nice person who you shouldn't get on the wrong side of," comes a slightly awkward warning from Sprin, owner of the furniture shop Manatwee. "I can't leave Badgetown… for reasons…" Meed herself admits at one stage, while later she cautions you that "if you find anything questionable at your farm, come see me first".
Even after some 20-odd hours spent with the game, trying to get the bottom of what exactly Meed has done has turned out to be difficult to pin down. Has she committed some deadly crime and gotten away with it? Is she in hiding? Or is Oob actually the location for some kind of town-wide house arrest?
Whatever's happened, I'm making it my mission in Ooblets to find out. Thankfully, it's clear she's taken quite a liking to me and the work I've been doing on the farm. Not only have I provided her with valuable business in the trade of seeds, but I've also started to gain her trust. Some in-game weeks in and trading of friendship stickers later she makes a point to ask me about the subject of secrets – specifically what I would do if a friend told me a secret.
"If you had a friend tell you a secret, would you tell anyone else?" she asks, blinking innocently behind those round frames. I get the choice of three answers:
Now, intrigued by the criminality lurking behind the majority of my interactions with – and about – Meed, I choose option A, only to be rewarded with a truth teaser: "You probably make for a very good friend and co-conspirator."
Co-conspirator for what Meed? FOR WHAT?
For now though, why not check out our Ooblets tips for making the most of life in Oob, apart from solving mysteries.
